TRANSIT AND URBAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Urban economic development is the planned investment of public resources to attract private resources and attendant jobs, income, and tax revenues for local communities. Using transit as an important lever to influence private investment decisions is an approach that has received growing attention lately. Although results of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in San Francisco are something other than gratifying, public planners and private developers have exploited transit effectively as a development tool in Montreal, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. Transit ridership is an important contributing factor. Areas around transit facilities in Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington, D.C., have undergone, or are currently undergoing, a remarkable transformation through joint development projects. Such coordinated investments come from hard work and attention to detail by business and government. Joint development, the multiple use of transport corridors and station areas for real estate projects and transit facilities, can achieve greater economic benefits than if real estate and transit goals were pursued and accomplished separately. Advantages of joint development to both business and government are discussed. Innovative modes of transit financing are outlined. The practical implications of joint development include a need for early planning and participation, an expanded view of costs and benefits, and a requirement for improved measurement and credit of benefits against additional costs. Key linkages between transit planning and joint development include systems planning, route alignment and station location, land acquisition and development strategy, and station design and area design. Real estate development reauires a detailed economic analysis to identify development potentials, to determine the feasibility of specific projects, and to provide the documentation necessary to gain access to sources of private funds. Ways in which transit can affect private investment decisions are described. Types of market and financial analysis that are generally applicable to most investigations of the prospects for private investment as part of a major transit improvement are market research, development programming, financial feasibility analysis, and economic feasibility analysis; each is described. For both public officials and private developers, each expenditure of a resource must add value beyond its cost.