CENTER CITY REPORTS GETTING TO WORK: TRANSIT, DENSITY & OPPORTUNITY
JUNE 2016
CENTER CITY DISTRICT, CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION FIND MORE REPORTS AT: CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG
Peter Tobia
Center City Philadelphia, located at the center of the region’s transit need a giant, surface parking lot of 2.6 square miles – larger than network, holds the largest concentration of employment anywhere William Penn’s original plan for the city (2.2 square miles river to in the metro area, with 295,000 jobs.¹ More than 1 million residents river, Vine to South) – leaving little room for the office buildings, ho- of surrounding suburban counties live within one mile of a rail tels, hospitals, universities, residences, cultural institutions, historic station, connecting them directly to downtown’s employers, retail destinations, restaurants, retail shops and parks that define the shops, restaurants, educational, medical, arts and cultural institu- diversity and create employment opportunities downtown. Instead, tions. Fifty percent (50%) of city residents can commute by transit to SEPTA rail, subway, trolley and bus lines converge with PATCO and Center City in 30 minutes or less; 61% of those who live in Greater NJ Transit from New Jersey to deliver 290,000 workers, students, Center City can get to City Hall (the geographic center of downtown) visitors, shoppers and patients each weekday into Center City. in 15 minutes or less. Center City's transit connectivity is particu- Center City employers benefit not just from a multi-modal transit larly important to the substantial number of lower-income Philadel- system, but also from the rapidly growing, live-work neighborhoods phia residents who do not own cars. that are expanding around the downtown core. While just 10% of downtown jobs are held by Greater Center City residents, the per- JOB DENSITY AND TRANSIT centage of downtown residents with a BA degree or higher is 58%, Transit is not just a convenience; it is essential to the density that nearly twice the regional rate of 34%. This critical mass of talent enables Center City to provide 42% of all jobs in Philadelphia.² If is positively impacting business-location decisions. Another 41% downtown workers relied on cars to the same degree as commut- of downtown jobs are held by residents of city neighborhoods, ers across the region, then 295,000 workers would arrive each day north of Girard Avenue, south of Tasker Street and west of the in 227,150 cars.³ At 330 square feet per parking space, we would Schuylkill River; 39% are held by residents of the suburban counties surrounding Philadelphia.
1: Greater Center City, from Girard Avenue to Tasker Street, river to river, holds 286,427 salaried jobs; another 8,500 individuals are compensated either as partners or work freelance. 2:JUNE Transit-accessible 2016 University City holds another 11% of the city’s jobs. 3: 81% of the region’s commuters use a car, truck or van to get to work, 90% driving alone. Accounting for the 10% of those who carpool, there are approximately 0.77 vehicles involved in commuting for each worker in the region.
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 1 Trappe Skippack Upper Gwynedd Hatboro Warminster Northampton Worcester Langhorne Lower Gwynedd Collegeville Horsham Langhorne Manor Middletown Upper Southampton Penndel Lower Southampton East Norriton Whitpain Ambler Lower Providence Hulmeville Upper Moreland Bryn Athyn West Norriton Upper Dublin BUCKS Upper Providence Bristol Norristown MONTGOMERY Bensalem Plymouth Lower Moreland Far Northeast Abington Springfield Bristol Upper Merion Bridgeport Jenkintown Schuylkill Whitemarsh Cheltenham Rockledge Conshohocken Beverly Burlington Tredyffrin
West Conshohocken PHILADELPHIA Olney/Oak Lane Edgewater Park Roxborough/ Burlington CHESTER Manayunk Delanco Willingboro Lower Merion Riverside Germantown/ Near Northeast Chestnut Hill Easttown Radnor Westampton Riverton Delran Narberth Palmyra
Cinnaminson Haverford Willistown Newtown Bridesburg/Kensington North Philadelphia /Richmond Moorestown Pennsauken Hainesport West Philadelphia BURLINGTON Marple DELAWARE University City Upper Darby Merchantville Maple Shade Edgmont East Lansdowne Greater Center City Lumberton Upper Providence Camden Lansdowne Mount Laurel
Clifton Heights Yeadon Thornbury Springfield Aldan Darby Woodlynne Media Collingdale Colwyn Collingswood Cherry Hill Haddon Haddonfield Morton Darby Haddon Middletown Sharon Hill Oaklyn Rutledge Swarthmore Gloucester City Audubon Park Glenolden Darby South Philadelphia Haddon Chester Heights Rose Valley Nether Providence Prospect Park Audubon Folcroft Southwest Philadelphia Mount Ephraim Evesham Medford Haddon Heights Ridley Brooklawn Norwood Tavistock Concord Ridley Park National Park Bellmawr Barrington CAMDEN Aston Brookhaven Parkside Westville Lawnside Tinicum Upland Magnolia Voorhees Runnemede Somerdale Bethel Eddystone Paulsboro West Deptford Gibbsboro Chester Greenwich Hi-Nella Chester Woodbury Stratford Upper Chichester Deptford Laurel Springs Trainer GLOUCESTER Lindenwold Lower Chichester Clementon Berlin Woodbury Heights Gloucester Brandywine Logan Marcus Hook East Greenwich Pine Valley Berlin Wenonah Pine Hill Pine Hill NEW CASTLE Mantua Washington
FIGURE 1: REGIONAL JOBS AND TRANSIT LINES BY PHILADEPHIA AREA AND SUBURBAN MUNICIPALITY JOBS: SEPTA: PATCO:
Total jobs by municipality Broad Street Line Regional Rail Lines PATCO in surrounding counties 100,000 Market-Frankford Line Total jobs by area Norristown Highspeed Line within Philadelphia Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Local Employment-Household Dynamics, 2014
AT THE CENTER OF THE REGION’S TRANSIT NETWORK, CENTER CITY IS ALSO THE METRO AREA'S LARGEST EMPLOYMENT NODE, WITH 295,000 JOBS.
2 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG GIRARD AVE
VINE ST
VINE ST
RACEVINE CHINATOWN 2,290 164
ROAD ST
B SUBURBAN JEFFERSON STATION 15TH ST STATION 13TH ST STATION STATION 25,049 39,086 15,028 14,369 8TH ST STATION 5TH ST STATION 13,160 3,306 MARKET ST City Hall
22ND ST STATION 19TH ST STATION 2ND ST STATION CITY HALL 11TH ST STATION 1,741 2,533 9,090 8TH & MARKET 3,307 31,995 5,578
WALNUTLOCUST 6,460
15TH/16TH & LOCUST 12TH/13TH & LOCUST 9TH/10TH & LOCUST 6,669 1,661 1,608
PINE ST
LOMBARDSOUTH 2,644
IG RE A ERAGE WEE AY RI ER HIP IN CENTER CITY SEPTA: Subway Lines: 116,590; Bus Lines: 91,813; Regional Rail Lines: 39,418; Trolley Lines: 23,244 PATCO: 15,516 NJ TRANSIT: 4,084
MARKET FRANKFORD LINE BROAD STREET LINE REGIONAL RAIL TROLLEY PATCO
Note: Ridership counts for 13th and 15th Street Stations include both Market-Frankford Line and Trolley riders. Source: SEPTA, NJ Transit, PATCO
GETTING TO WORK,
GREATER CENTER CITY FIGURE 3: WHERE DOWNTOWN WORKERS LIVE Residents of Greater Center City enjoy the most commuting alter- natives and rely the least on cars (Figure 6). Because 40% work in Center City (the highest live/work ratio in the city and region) and another 12% work in University City, 60% get to work without a car. 10% 10% By contrast, 60% of the residents of the balance of Philadelphia and GREATER ALL OTHER 80% of the residents of surrounding counties depend on cars for CENTER CITY TASKER ST their daily commute.
In Greater Center City, the closer one lives to the core, within the pre-automobile street-grid established in the 17th and 18th centu- ries, the lower the dependency on a car for commuting (Figure 5). In 41% 39% the neighborhoods of Rittenhouse Square, Chinatown, Washington ELSEWHERE IN METRO AREA PHILADELPHIA OUTSIDE Square, and Logan Square, more people walk to work than drive PHILADELPHIA (Figure 4). In almost all of Greater Center City, the majority of com- muters get to work by means other than a car; the only exceptions are neighborhoods at the periphery, along I-76 and I-95, like Grays Ferry, Pennsport, the Waterfront and Northern Liberties. Overall, Center City has the lowest reverse-commute rate to the suburbs (24%) of any portion of Philadelphia. Source: US Census Bureau, Local Employment - Household Dynamics, 2014
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 3 FIGURE 4: COMMUTING MODE BY NEIGHBORHOOD
CAR TRAN IT WAL I E HO E OTHER
RITTENHO E CHINATOWN WA HINGTON ARE LOGAN ARE OL CITY ELLA I TA POINT REE E GRA ATE HO PITAL PA Y N ARE EEN ILLAGE LO T I TRICT OCIETY HILL AIR O NT GRAY ERRY NORTHERN LI ERTIE PENN PORT WATER RONT
0% 20% 40% 60%80% 100%
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates
FIGURE 5: COMMUTING WITHOUT A CAR, GREATER CENTER CITY
81% 100%
CALLOWHILL/POPLAR NORTHERN LIBERTIES 61% 80% FAIRMOUNT/SPRING GARDEN 41% 60%
21% 40%
0% 20% VINE ST NO DATA LOGAN SQUARE CORE CENTER CITY Source: US Census Bureau, CHINATOWN OLD CITY American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates UNIVERSITY CITY CAMDEN
WATERFRONT
RITTENHOUSE WASHINGTON SQARE WEST SOCIETY HILL
SOUTH ST GREATER CENTER CITY GRADUATE HOSPITAL BELLA VISTA QUEEN VILLAGE
GRAYS FERRY POINT BREEZE PASSYUNK SQUARE PENNSPORT
TASKER ST 4 Peter Tobia GETTING TO WORK, CITY AND REGION AN AVERAGE OF 25% OF THE WORK- Beyond the downtown core, auto-free commuting is possible along subway and trolley lines that were extended in the early 20th ING RESIDENTS OF NEIGHBORHOODS century into Lower North, West, South, and Southwest Philadel- phia (Figure 7).⁴ In those areas, more than half of workers reach OUTSIDE THE DOWNTOWN COMMUTE their job without using a car. The Regional Rail lines, particularly in Northwest Philadelphia, provide good connectivity as well to Center TO JOBS IN CENTER CITY; ANOTHER City and University City. Outside of Philadelphia, most of the car- free commuters are also living along regional rail lines – particu- 6% WORK IN UNIVERSITY CITY. IN larly the Paoli/Thorndale and Media/Elwyn Lines, the Norristown High Speed Line, and PATCO. ALL THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, MORE
In the balance of the neighborhoods of Philadelphia outside Greater PEOPLE WORK DOWNTOWN THAN IN Center City, an average of 25% of workers commute to jobs in Center City; another 6% work in University City. In all these neigh- THE AREA IN WHICH THEY LIVE. borhoods, more people work downtown than they do in the area in which they live (the citywide average live/work ratio is 12%, Figure 9). But 39% of city residents who live outside Greater Center City commute to jobs outside the city and are highly dependent on cars.
4: Defined by Philadelphia City Planning Commission districts.
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 5 FIGURE 6: MODE OF COMMUTING TO WORK – GREATER CENTER CITY, PHILADELPHIA AND PHILADELPHIA METRO AREA
GREATER CENTER CITY PHILADELPHIA PHILADELPHIA METRO AREA
CAR 6% CAR 8% CAR 6% TRANSIT 39% TRANSIT TRANSIT 11% AL AL AL 25% 59% 26% I E I E I E 80% HOME 24% HOME HOME OTHER OTHER OTHER
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates
FIGURE 7: COMMUTING WITHOUT A CAR, CITY AND REGION
81% 100%
61% 80%
41% 60%
21% 40%
0% 20%
NO DATA
RAIL LINES
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates
6 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG FIGURE 8: WHERE PHILADELPHIANS WORK
FAR NORTHEAST VOLUME OF WORKERS
18% LIVING IN AREA 2% 14% 46% 25,000 20% OLNEY/OAK LANE ROXBOROUGH/ GERMANTOWN/ NEAR NORTHEAST MANAYUNK CHESTNUT HILL 22% PERCENT OF WORKERS 23% 40% 19% 24% 4% EMPLOYED IN 6% 46% 6% 3% 7% 6% 40% 42% 18% GREATER CENTER CITY 8% 28% 11% 22% BRIDESBURG/ UNIVERSITY CITY KENSINGTON/ 25% RICHMOND NORTH PHILADELPHIA SAME AREA WEST 22% PHILADELPHIA 24% REST OF PHILADELPHIA 38% 4% 35% 3% 27% 9% 11% OUTSIDE PHILADELPHIA 38% 28% 8% 26% 7% GREATER 20% UNIVERSITY CITY CENTER CITY PERCENT WORKING IN GREATER CENTER 21% 42% CITY AND UNIVERSITY CITY 16% 32% 21% 40% 25% OR LESS
16% 25.1% TO 35% FIGURE 7: COMMUTING 13% 35.1% TO 45% WITHOUT A CAR, SOUTHWEST SOUTH PHILADELPHIA PHILADELPHIA CITY AND REGION MORE THAN 45% 26% 33% 35% 38% 81% 100% 10% 5% 7% 13% 14% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Local Employment-Household Dynamics, 2014 61% 80% 19%
41% 60%
21% 40%
0% 20%
NO DATA FIGURE 9: LIVE/WORK PERCENTAGE BY AREA OF PHILADELPHIA
RAIL LINES GREATER CENTER CITY 40%
Source: US Census Bureau, NI ER ITY CITY 16% American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates AR NORTHEA T 14% O TH PHILA ELPHIA 12% NEAR NORTHEA T 11% NORTH PHILA ELPHIA 11% RI E RG EN INGTON 9% GER ANTOWN CHE TN T HILL 8% O THWE T PHILA ELPHIA 7% WE T PHILA ELPHIA 7% RO ORO GH ANAY N 7% OLNEY OA LANE 6%
0% 5% 10%15% 20%25% 30%35% 40%45%
Source: US Census Bureau, Local Employment - Household Dynamics, 2014
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 7 Peter Tobia
The high position of Bensalem and Abington in the rankings is REVERSE COMMUTING due largely to commuters coming from nearby Northeast Phila- For Philadelphia residents who commute to work outside the delphia. The home neighborhoods for Philadelphians working in city, the most frequent destinations are in adjacent Pennsylvania Lower Merion and Upper Merion are much more geographically counties: Montgomery County is the locale for 13% (73,391 jobs) diverse, with these townships ranking as the first or second top held by Philadelphia residents; Delaware and Bucks Counties, each reverse-commuting destination for every other part of the City of account for 5% (33,462 jobs and 31,661 jobs, respectively). Despite Philadelphia. Despite having less than one-fifth of the population proximity, Camden County holds only 2% of the jobs taken by of Greater Center City, Upper Merion (home of the King of Prus- Philadelphia residents. sia Mall) has almost three-quarters as many retail jobs – a sector which pays an average wage of $25,000 per year. To fill those posi- Figure 10 shows the top 10 reverse-commuting destination tions, Upper Merion needs to import labor from outside its borders, municipalities for Philadelphians, ranked by number of jobs. Six including many workers from Philadelphia. Fully 95% of Upper out of 10 are in Montgomery County; Delaware and Bucks Counties Merion’s work force commutes in from outside the municipality, are home to two each. The top two, Lower Merion, with 10,247 jobs with almost 15% of its jobs staffed by Philadelphia residents. held by Philadelphia residents, and Bensalem, with 9,333 held by city residents, directly border Philadelphia. Upper Merion, which There is nothing unusual about commuting between counties contains the King of Prussia mall and office parks, is in the third within a region. In fact, the designation of a metropolitan sta- position, with 8,402 of its total 57,960 jobs held by Philadelphia tistical area (MSA) by the Office of Management and Budget is residents, despite its distance from the city. based on economic interconnectivity – employee commuting and business-to-business patterns - within a cluster of counties. The
8 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA includes Philadelphia and The suburbs simply have more jobs and in the last 25 years, the four suburban Pennsylvania counties, four suburban counties in surrounding counties have steadily added opportunity, while New Jersey, and one county each, in Delaware and Maryland. The Philadelphia, despite success in Center City and University City, Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs have the strongest connec- has 9.4% (72,803) fewer jobs than in 1990 (Figure 12). tions with Philadelphia. In those eight counties, 13% of workers The challenge comes into even sharper focus when Philadelphia commute to Philadelphia, with the highest percentages of workers is viewed in a longer time-frame and placed alongside East Coast coming from Delaware County (23%) and Montgomery County (17%). peers. Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. have all surpassed But Philadelphia’s reverse-commuting rate is more than twice the the job levels they had in 1970 (Figure 13). But Philadelphia is still rate of New York City’s and this poses significant challenges for 28% below the employment number it had in 1970; this represents many lower-income residents. a loss of 274,449 jobs, which in 2016 terms is the equivalent of The educational levels required for suburban jobs are not signifi losing nearly every job in Greater Center City. cantly different from the educational levels required for downtown jobs. A slightly higher percentage of downtown jobs require a BA degree. But across the city and region about a third of all jobs re quire no more than a high school diploma; another 30% require an associate degree (Figure 11).
WITH LESS THAN ONE FIFTH OF THE POPULATION OF GREATER CENTER CITY, UPPER MERION HAS ALMOST THREE QUARTERS AS MANY RETAIL JOBS, HELPING TO DRAW 8,400 WORKERS FROM PHILADELPHIA IN SPITE OF THE LONG COMMUTE.
FIGURE 10: TOP REVERSE-COMMUTING MUNICIPALITIES FOR COMMUTERS FROM PHILADELPHIA
ONTGO ERY CO NTY C CO NTY ELAWARE CO NTY 12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
LOWER ERION EN ALE PPER ERIONA INGTON TINIC HOR HA CHELTENHA PLY O TH PPER AR Y I LETOWN
Source: US Census Bureau, Local Employment - Household Dynamics, 2014
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 9 FIGURE 11: PERCENT OF JOBS BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION REQUIRED, WORKERS 30 AND OLDER
GREATER CENTER CITY PHILADELPHIA PHILADELPHIA METRO AREA
HI H SCHOOL HI H SCHOOL HI H SCHOOL . OR LESS . OR LESS . OR LESS 32.0% 34.5% . SOME COLLE E 38.4% . SOME COLLE E 34.7% 35.0% . SOME COLLE E 34.7% ASSOCIATE ASSOCIATE ASSOCIATE . ACHELOR S . ACHELOR S . ACHELOR S DE REE OR MORE 29.6% DE REE OR MORE 30.3% DE REE OR MORE 30.9%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Local Employment-Household Dynamics, 2014
JOBS IN THE SUBURBS REQUIRE SIMILAR EDUCATION LEVELS AS THOSE IN THE CITY. BUT 39% OF PHILADELPHIANS REVERSE COMMUTE TO WHERE THE MOST JOB GROWTH HAS OCCURRED. MORE JOB GROWTH DOWNTOWN CAN BE PARTICULARLY BENEFICIAL TO LOWER-INCOME CITY RESIDENTS WHO DON’T OWN CARS.
FIGURE 12: TOTAL WAGE & SALARY JOBS, 1990 VS. 2014, PHILADELPHIA AND ADJACENT COUNTIES
JOBS (THOUSANDS) 1990 2014 800
600
400
4
7
6 3
200 , 3
7
8
, 0
6 1
7
0 777,888 705,085 224,259 271,591 175,140 264,796 218,894 238,693 440,714 514,089 172,971 219,537 215,212 210,153 PHILADELPHIA, PA BUCKS, PA CHESTER, PA DELAWARE, PA MONTGOMERY, PA BURLINGTON, NJ CAMDEN, NJ GLOUCESTER, NJ PERCENT CHANGE 9.4% +21.1% +51.2% +9.0% +16.6% +26.9% 2.4% +39.7%
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Total Full and Part-Time Employment
10 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG FIGURE 13: MAJOR CITIES TOTAL WAGE & SALARY EMPLOYMENT, 1970-2014
PERCENT ABOVE/BELOW 1970 EMPLOYMENT LEVELS WASHINGTON, D.C. BOSTON NEW YORK CITY PHILADELPHIA DETROIT 20% 19.7% 16.2%
10% 6.5%
0%
-10%
-20%
28.0% -30% 34.5% -40% 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2014
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Total Full and Part-Time Employment
routes (204, 205, and 206) that connect to suburban office parks and TRAPPED IN OLD TRENDS retail centers. For other outbound commuters, SEPTA suburban Across the country, the top 25 most populous cities have been bus routes are supplemented by shuttle operators, either operat- growing jobs faster than the overall economy. Our Northeast peers ed by suburban agencies, like Rushbus in Bucks County, or by the have more than replaced their lost manufacturing jobs with new employers themselves. post-industrial opportunities. In many cities, the old story of decline In the last 40 years, Center City and University City have emerged has ended. But too many portions of Philadelphia are still living the as vibrant, live-work clusters built around dense, post-industrial post-World War II economic narrative that undermined American employment. Their success has brought Philadelphia’s declining cities, as residents and employers left central cities for auto-de- share of regional jobs to an end. But their growth is neither strong pendent suburbs. As people and jobs decentralized, the average enough, nor matched by enough other employment nodes in the number of vehicle miles Americans traveled each year steadily rose, city, to enable Philadelphia to regain regional market share. Thus, increasing by 78% between 1971 and 2016 (Figure 14). the farther one lives from the gravitational pull of Philadelphia’s Between 1970 and 2014, as Philadelphia was losing population and two major, 21st century employment centers, the more likely one jobs, the city dropped from a 45% share of regional employment to is to reverse commute to a suburban job. While 25% of the working just 24% of metro-area jobs (Figure 15). At the same time, the city residents of city neighborhoods outside downtown are commuting and region experienced a significant shift from transit to driving: to Center City for work, 39% are reverse commuting to the suburbs. in 1970, the mode split in Philadelphia was 50% driving and 37% In the City Council Districts that border the suburbs, the rate climbs transit; by 2014, 59% were driving and transit dropped to 27%. In into the mid- to high-40% range (Figure 16). the region, the 1970 mode split was 69% driving and 19% transit; by There is probably no better predictor of out-migration from these 2014, 81% were driving and just 10% were taking transit. neighborhoods than a reverse commute to the suburbs. Unless a For morning commuters taking SEPTA regional rail out of the city, working spouse is required to live in the city, reverse-commuters more than a quarter ride the Paoli-Thorndale Line, which connects immediately get a 3.9% pay increase if they can find a home in the Philadelphia to employment centers in Montgomery, Delaware, same county as their job and cease paying Philadelphia’s wage and Chester Counties – including the numbers one and three re- tax. There is a very strong statistical correlation between the verse-commuting destinations – Lower Merion and Upper Merion.⁵ municipalities to which Philadelphians reverse commute and The largest transit destination outside of Philadelphia for outbound the municipalities to which Philadelphians move.⁶ commuters is Paoli Station, where riders can access three bus
5: SEPTA, 2013 Rider Census 6: The correlation coefficient of 0.679 between out-commuting destination municipalities and out-migration destination municipalities demonstrates the strong connection between the two. While the statistic does not prove a causal relationship, experience suggests that people choose to live as close to their job as possible.
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 11 cars via mobile apps are central to the new urban experience. But OPPORTUNITY AND EQUITY for many, being car-less is not a choice but rather a significant bur- Automobiles are an integral part of modern life. But there are den and a barrier to accessing dispersed employment opportunities. significant disadvantages to a complete dependency on driving that While 93% of suburban households have access to a vehicle and go beyond the frustration of traffic jams. Tailpipe emissions are a 61% have access to more than one, 33% of Philadelphia households major source of pollutants and the EPA currently designates lack access to a vehicle (Figure 17). For city households below the Philadelphia as a nonattainment area for ozone and a maintenance median income ($37,460), 50% have no access to a car.⁷ For them, area for carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter. There are connecting to employment opportunities in auto-oriented centers major equity implications as well. can be a considerable challenge, including commute times of more than an hour, requiring several changes of mode.⁸ Even those with For many, living without a car is a lifestyle choice made possible by limited means who own cars experience a considerable financial neighborhoods with multiple transportation options that connect to burden. AAA estimates the annual cost of owning and operating a nearby employment. Walking, biking, taking transit or summoning vehicle at $8,500,⁹ clearly a stretch on a $37,000 annual income.
50% OF HOUSEHOLDS IN PHILADELPHIA WHO EARN BELOW THE MEDIAN INCOME DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO AN AUTOMOBILE. FOR THEM, BEING CARLESS IS NOT A CHOICE BUT A SIGNIFICANT BURDEN AND A BARRIER TO ACCESSING DISPERSED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
FIGURE 14: VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED PER CAPITA, 1971-2016
T PER CAPITA THO AN
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data
7: Calculation from Public Use Microsample of American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates 8: Two thousand residents from North Philadelphia and Olney work in the King of Prussia area. For those without a car, the commute entails a subway or bus ride to 13th and JUNEMarket 2016 to connect with the 124 or 125 bus to King of Prussia. Alternative routes pass through the Wissahickon Transportation Center, 69th Street, or 30th Street. All can take more than an hour. 9: http://newsroom.aaa.com/2015/04/annual-cost-operate-vehicle-falls-8698-finds-aaa-archive/
12 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG FIGURE 15: PHILADELPHIA SHARE OF REGION’S JOBS AND WORKERS
PHILADELPHIA SHARE OF METROAREA JOBS PHILADELPHIA SHARE OF METROAREA COMMUTERS
50% 40% 44.6% 36.1% 45% 35%
40% 30%
35%
25% 30% 24.4% 23.0% 20% 25%
25% 15%
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Total Full and Part-Time Employment Source: US Census Bureau 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 Decennial Census; ACS 2010 and 2014 1-Year Estimates
FIGURE 16: PERCENT COMMUTING TO JOBS OUTSIDE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, BY CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT
40.4% 46.1%
DISTRICT 10 38.5% RESIDENTS OUTSIDE OF DISTRICT 8 DISTRICT 9 DISTRICT 6 CENTER CITY ARE REVERSE 41.3% 40.7% DISTRICT 7 COMMUTING TO THE SUBURBS DISTRICT 4 DISTRICT 5 40.8% AT A VERY HIGH RATE. FOR THOSE WITHOUT CARS, THIS POSES A DISTRICT 3 GREATER CENTER CITY 38.1% 35.1% SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE. DISTRICT 1
DISTRICT 2
35.3%
34.2%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Local Employment-Household Dynamics, 2014
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 13 TRANSPORTATION
Peter Tobia PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE Philadelphia today benefits greatly from the legacy transportation system it has inherited from the early 20th century. But continuing reinvestment is crucial to keep transit competitive as technology and the economy evolve. The rollout of the highly-anticipated, new fare system, SEPTA Key, has begun. Once completed, SEPTA Key SEPTA HAS MORE THAN $7.3 BILLION will leapfrog many other cities’ transit payment technologies and enable riders to pay using credit or debit cards, smart phones, and IN CAPITAL PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE. SEPTA smart cards. By the end of 2019, SEPTA vehicles will also be outfitted with cellular modems to provide accurate real-time arrival CONTINUING REINVESTMENT IN THE information accessible by smartphone. These are just the tip of REGION’S TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM the iceberg of more than $7.3 billion in capital projects that SEPTA has in the pipeline over the next 12 years, including: increasing the IS CRUCIAL TO KEEP TRANSIT number of hybrid buses to 95% of SEPTA’s total fleet, purchasing 55 double-decker regional rail cars, and completing the installation COMPETITIVE AS TECHNOLOGY AND of computerized safety controls on Regional Rail lines. In addition, SEPTA is enhancing the experience of downtown transit users with THE ECONOMY EVOLVE. significant renovations to the Center City Concourse.
PATCO recently completed $103 million in improvements to Ben- jamin Franklin Bridge rail tracks and plans to upgrade its 120-car fleet by 2017.
14 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG CONCLUSION It is easier, more efficient and more economical to add jobs in a transit-oriented employment center than it is to extend rail or bus lines to auto-dependent settings. The concentration of employment in the core of downtown is already 203 jobs per acre. That density is of benefit to both employers and employees in that it enables face-to-face communication, the cross-pollination of ideas and diversifies choice. Across the suburbs, employment is dispersed at 0.6 jobs per acre.
Philadelphia’s legacy transit system is a gift from the past to the present, not readily replicated at reasonable cost. Reinvesting in existing transit systems, concentrating development and facilitating job growth where it can take advantage of already built infrastruc- ture is also the most equitable way to give lower-income workers and residents true transportation choice. Some suburban job clusters, particularly Jenkintown, Radnor, and Conshohocken are built on the rail network. So, too, are University City and Temple University’s campuses. But the highest social returns can come from development in Center City. For those low-income, inner-city residents who are piecing together multiple transit rides to reverse
Peter Tobia
FIGURE 17: HOUSEHOLD VEHICLES AVAILABLE BY AREA
NO EHICLE ONE EHICLE TWO OR ORE EHICLE
NI ER ITY CITY
NORTH PHILA ELPHIA
GREATER CENTER CITY
O THWE T PHILA ELPHIA
WE T PHILA ELPHIA
RI E RG EN INGTON
PHILADELPHIA AVERAGE
O TH PHILA ELPHIA
OLNEY OA LANE
GER ANTOWN CHE TN T HILL
NEAR NORTHEA T
AR NORTHEA T
RO ORO GH ANAY N
SUBURBAN AVERAGE
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates
CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG 15 FIGURE 18: PHILADELPHIA POVERTY AND TRANSIT ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN
TRANSIT TRAVEL TIME TO CITY HALL PERCENT OF POVERTY (MINUTES / 8:30AM DEPARTURE)
Low (0%) Average (26.7%) High (94.7%)
0–5
6–10
11–15 16–20 21–25 26–30 31–35 36–40 41–45 46–50 51–60
61–125 City Hall
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates (left); Google travel times via Econsult Solutions, Inc (right) Note: Average Transit Commute time to City Hall by block, based on 8:30am departure
THE AREAS OF PHILADELPHIA WITH THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF POVERTY ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE BEST TRANSIT ACCESS TO CENTER CITY. GROWING JOBS DOWNTOWN CREATES OPPORTUNITIES EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE AREAS THAT NEED THEM MOST.
commute to the suburbs, a job in Center City could reduce their The region’s transit and housing investments from the late 19th and commuting time by at least half, closer to average commute time early 20th centuries have been re-infused with value by employment, for all city residents (33 minutes).10 demographic and cultural trends of the early 21st century that favor dense, diverse and transit-oriented job centers. Land use and de- Sixty-one percent (61%) of all Philadelphians can take transit to a velopment patterns in the third quarter of the 20th century created downtown job in less than 30 minutes. The areas of Philadelphia an environment that not only required a car for the most essential that have the highest rates of poverty also have some of the best trip a person regularly undertakes – the journey to work - they also transit access to downtown with the quickest commutes for those disconnected many lower-income workers from easy access to living closest to the Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines employment opportunities. By reinvesting in existing infrastructure (Figure 18). Along these transit lines, 33.2% of those within half a and concentrating development around transit-oriented nodes, mile of a subway station live in poverty. Overall, forty-three percent Philadelphia can decrease congestion and air pollution, reinforce (43%) of Philadelphia’s population living below the poverty line are the competitiveness of our employment centers and create new within a half mile of a subway stop. More downtown jobs and more opportunities for disadvantaged workers. neighborhood jobs would dramatically reduce the time and financial burden of reverse commuting to the suburbs.
10: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2014 5-Year Estimates.
16 CENTER CITY DISTRICT & CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WWW.CENTERCITYPHILA.ORG