Transit-Oriented Development and the Implications for Equitable Development: a Case Study of the Milwaukee Streetcar
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University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2019 Transit-Oriented Development and the Implications for Equitable Development: A Case Study of the Milwaukee Streetcar Joshua Diciaula University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Transportation Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Diciaula, Joshua, "Transit-Oriented Development and the Implications for Equitable Development: A Case Study of the Milwaukee Streetcar" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 2174. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2174 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE MILWAUKEE STREETCAR by Joshua Diciaula A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Urban Studies at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2019 ABSTRACT TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF THE MILWAUKEE STREETCAR by Joshua Diciaula The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2019 Under the Supervision of Professor Kirk Harris Many cities across the US have reintroduced the streetcar as an economic development tool, or as an image-branding and tourism-promoting amenity, while public transportation benefits are largely afterthoughts. The purpose of this research is to investigate the Milwaukee Streetcar as a transit-oriented development strategy, the distribution of benefits and burdens, and its implications for equitable development. Guided by semi-structured interviews and content/discourse analysis of planning/policy documents through an equity lens, this study analyzed Milwaukee’s initial downtown streetcar routes against the potential extension lines into the more transit-dependent communities of Bronzeville and Walker’s Point. The findings suggest that the initial routes and possible extension lines were engaged in very different political and planning processes, the latter of which employed explicit attention to equitable development. While certain tools have been identified to address concerns of displacement resulting from transit-oriented development, there continues to be several barriers to overcome to achieve equitable development. ii Ó Copyright by Joshua Diciaula, 2019 All Rights Reserved iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................3 Neoliberal Urban Restructuring: Entrepreneurial Cities ..........................................3 Neoliberal Urban Restructuring: The City as a Growth Machine ...........................5 Neoliberal Urban Restructuring: Urban Regime Theory .........................................7 Neoliberal Development Strategies: Public-Private Partnerships ..........................10 Neoliberal Development Strategies: Creative Cities .............................................14 Transit-Oriented Development and Implications for Equitable Development ......20 Racial Equity and Evaluating the Benefits and Burdens .......................................26 Knowledge Gap .....................................................................................................28 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................31 4. CASE STUDY OF MILWAUKEE ...................................................................................32 Milwaukee’s Creative City Development Strategies .............................................32 Historical Context of the Milwaukee Streetcar ......................................................40 High-Speed Rail and the Race for Governor .........................................................44 Milwaukee Streetcar: M-Line/L-Line ....................................................................50 Milwaukee Streetcar: Convention Center Extension .............................................61 Milwaukee Streetcar: Bronzeville and Walker’s Point Extensions .......................63 5. DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................82 Comparative Analysis between Initial and Extension Lines .................................82 Racial Equity Impact Assessment ..........................................................................84 Implications for Equitable Development ...............................................................86 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................90 7. REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................93 8. APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................107 Semi-Structured Interview Questions ..................................................................107 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Property-led development in Milwaukee ......................................................................37 Figure 2. Proposed High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail network ...............................................45 Figure 3. Milwaukee Streetcar M-Line/L-Line routes ..................................................................50 Figure 4. Tax Incremental Districts financing streetcar construction ...........................................53 Figure 5. Downtown activity generators .......................................................................................54 Figure 6. Milwaukee Streetcar extension lines study areas ..........................................................62 Figure 7. City of Milwaukee context of African-American populations ......................................66 Figure 8. Bronzeville population changes and racial composition ...............................................67 Figure 9. Bronzeville poverty levels versus the City of Milwaukee .............................................67 Figure 10. City of Milwaukee context of Hispanic or Latino populations ....................................69 Figure 11. Walker’s Point population changes and racial composition .........................................70 Figure 12. Walker’s Point household income versus the Third Ward ...........................................70 Figure 13. Bronzeville average number of vehicles per household ...............................................72 Figure 14. Walker’s Point average number of vehicles per household .........................................73 Figure 15. Spatial skills mismatch of jobs serving Walker’s Point residents ................................74 Figure 16. Spatial skills mismatch of jobs serving Bronzeville residents .....................................74 Figure 17. Indicators for potential displacement ...........................................................................76 Figure 18. Indicators for potential gentrification ...........................................................................77 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS DCD Department of City Development DNC Democratic National Convention DOT Department of Transportation e-TOD Equitable Transit-Oriented Development FTA Federal Transit Administration GARE Government Alliance on Race and Equity ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act MAM Milwaukee Art Museum MCTS Milwaukee County Transit System MLK Martin Luther King MMAC Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce PPP Public-Private Partnerships REIA Racial Equity Impact Assessment SOM Spirit of Milwaukee TID Tax Incremental District TIGER Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery TIF Tax Incremental Financing TOD Transit-Oriented Development YPM Young Professionals of Milwaukee vi INTRODUCTION Many cities across the United States are currently experiencing a resurgence of the modern streetcar. In the past—prior to the automobile-centric design of cities and the widespread suburbanization during the post-war era—streetcars were essential for daily urban life and the expansion of cities, which allowed people to live further away from the pollution and bustle of central urban areas. After the 1930s, President Roosevelt’s New Deal—along with the rise of the personal automobile and other political interventions from automakers1—fostered the expansion of suburbs and highways, and rendered the streetcar technology obsolete. Since then, nearly all the 45,000-miles of streetcar lines in the United States have been abandoned or dismantled, and in Washington D.C., the last streetcar ran in 1962 (Smithsonian, n.d.). Currently, there are 32 cities operating streetcars in the United States, and an additional 76 cities are seriously considering or are in the actively planning stage of developing a streetcar system (APTA, 2019a, 2019b). The rebirth of the modern streetcar offers alternative modes of transportation, but also promises the benefits of increased private investment and local economic development. Modern streetcar projects are hailed as catalysts for transit-oriented development (TOD), improved pedestrian environments and walkability,