tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post3194354391934328375..comments2024-01-12T00:32:20.149-08:00Comments on The Overhead Wire: What is "Economic Development"?Pantograph Trolleypolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17833159138533550544noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-82627382201100069802009-12-06T12:13:34.997-08:002009-12-06T12:13:34.997-08:00Apologies if this was already mentioned in the art...Apologies if this was already mentioned in the article or comments, but am catching up on my reading. I think the important role of transit, BRT, LR, CR or otherwise is to shape a community. <br /><br />Good transit is an anchor for good development. The development is going to happen regardless of whether we have good transit or not. If we don't have good transit, you get sprawl, parking lots and streets designed to whisk you from one place to another with little concern for those without vehicles. <br /><br />Transit projects are about place building and serve to shape the overall pattern of development. In that respect, they serve to revitalize cities long since neglected. This serves as an economic engine of sorts, not only during the initial reconstruction/construction but afterward creating an agglomeration of skilled people in an area (repeating this from paragraph 2), thereby bettering the cities economic potential.<br /><br />+1 to BMcF on keeping the economic engine more local too!Scottieiehttp://towardstransit.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-15991298305116694192009-12-05T15:49:40.837-08:002009-12-05T15:49:40.837-08:00When a transport mode is more energy efficient, an...When a transport mode is more energy efficient, and especially if it can allow a shift from imported to domestic energy resources, there is also the increase recirculation of income inside the region and increased regional employment multipliers for whatever base employment exists.BruceMcFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08502035881761277885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-67802899045049506992009-12-05T12:20:27.640-08:002009-12-05T12:20:27.640-08:00We also forget that many transportation planning o...We also forget that many transportation planning or operating agencies engage in more direct forms of economic development than providing the transit infrastructure around which growth will (or will not) occur. To take perhaps the most famous example, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey—which operates just about everything that moves in NYC—owns the WTC property, which once was (and still might be) the most important symbol of the US economy.G.P. Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01734393680677829056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-72112271140857017032009-12-04T20:05:45.474-08:002009-12-04T20:05:45.474-08:00Okay, BRT is not as "green" as, or green...Okay, BRT is not as "green" as, or greener than, rail.Matt Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18289893559555812236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-17938667701104418042009-12-04T17:36:49.150-08:002009-12-04T17:36:49.150-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Matt Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18289893559555812236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-66340819833009343062009-12-04T14:26:22.268-08:002009-12-04T14:26:22.268-08:00Besides Ottawa, there's also Cleveland and the...Besides Ottawa, there's also Cleveland and the Euclid Corridor as an example. I wish there was rail, but BRT can sometimes bring development on a positive scale like rail does. And BRT is a "green" transit mode.Matt Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18289893559555812236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-82629715748266386202009-12-04T11:07:51.596-08:002009-12-04T11:07:51.596-08:00It seems as though there are different components ...It seems as though there are different components of economic development:<br />- TOD development (typically housing with some retail, although sometimes office)<br />- Job growth (often encouraging small businesses to start or relocating large departments/facilities of major firms)<br /><br />With the first, the relationship to transit is clear; with the second, transit is not required nor is there often a correlation made. I think the job growth component should be brought closer to the discussions around transit. <br /><br />The jobs (or lack thereof) in a particular corridor or region affects transit ridership projections significantly. Furthermore, there are substantial reprocussions in other areas to the decrease in jobs. One example is the inability to solve the foreclosure crisis: no housing program can successfully address many individuals facing foreclosure for lack of a well-paying job. <br /><br />While growth in tax base is important, it is often described in terms of the value of new housing. Perhaps other measures should be included such as the number of new jobs (and the average wages paid), number of new businesses, and the potential to maximize the use of new transit infrasture and minimize the cost of commuting by paying close attention to the location of those businesses.Faithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06969653881751771403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-54066442839406668662009-12-04T08:23:05.116-08:002009-12-04T08:23:05.116-08:00Yes, I agree that BRT brings development almost on...Yes, I agree that BRT brings development almost on a scale like rail does: For example, some TOD has occurred in Ottawa around Transitway stations and has been attributed to BRT. There are other examples I don't want to list here, but of course rail does better at it than a busway.Matt Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18289893559555812236noreply@blogger.com