Examining the Development Effects of Modern-Era Streetcars: an Assessment of Portland and Seattle
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Project 1798 October 2018 Examining the Development Effects of Modern-Era Streetcars: An Assessment of Portland and Seattle Jeffrey Brown, PhD Joel Mendez, PhD MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE transweb.sjsu.edu MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE MTI FOUNDER LEAD UNIVERSITY OF Hon. Norman Y. Mineta Mineta Consortium for Transportation Mobility MTI BOARD OF TRUSTEES Founded in 1991, the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), an organized research and training unit in partnership with the Founder, Honorable Norman Richard Anderson (Ex-Officio) Steve Heminger* (TE 2018) Dan Smith (TE 2020) Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San José State University (SJSU), increases mobility for all by improving the safety, Mineta (Ex-Officio) President and CEO Executive Director President Secretary (ret.), US Department of Amtrak Metropolitan Transportation Capstone Financial Group, Inc. efficiency, accessibility, and convenience of our nation’s transportation system. 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This document is disseminated in the interest of information exchange. The report is funded, partially or entirely, by a grant from the U.S. San José State University Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers Program. This report does not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the U.S. government, State of California, or the Mineta Transportation Institute, who assume no liability for the contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard specification, design standard, or regulation. REPORT 18-09 EXAMINING THE DEVELOPMENT EFFECTS OF MODERN-ERA STREETCARS: AN ASSESSMENT OF PORTLAND AND SEATTLE Jeffrey Brown, PhD Joel Mendez, PhD October 2018 A publication of Mineta Transportation Institute Created by Congress in 1991 College of Business San José State University San José, CA 95192-0219 TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. 18-09 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Examining the Development Effects of Modern-Era Streetcars: An Assessment October 2018 of Portland and Seattle 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report Jeffrey Brown, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2569-3873 CA-MTI-1798 Joel Mendez, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0356-1156 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business 11. Contract or Grant No. San José State University 69A3551747127 San José, CA 95192-0219 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered California Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report Division of Research, Innovation and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Systems Information Research and Technology 14. Sponsoring Agency Code MS-42, PO Box 942873 University Transportation Centers Program Sacramento, CA 94273-0001 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 15. Supplemental Notes 16. Abstract Most U.S. cities pursuing streetcars are doing so primarily for their purported development effects, as opposed to for their transportation role, yet there is little evidence about the nature or magnitude of these development effects due to a scarcity of rigorous, empirical research. Most available work simply presents descriptive information about development outcomes (typically measured as changes in population, employment, land values, or permit activity) within streetcar corridors as indicators of the streetcar’s development effects. Alternate factors which may have influenced such