The impact of light rail transportation announcement and construction : the role of rail transit in property values, land use, demographics, equity, accessibility, and gentrification

As American cities continue to expand and their existing transportation infrastructure becomes strained from increased demand, many cities have turned to light rail transit to not only alleviate congestion but also to provide an economic development stimulus to the areas around the stations. This report focuses on determining the economic impact on areas surrounding announced light rail stations in Austin, Texas while also attempting to quantify changes in land use and demographics experienced in a city who has an established light rail line; Dallas, Texas. In addition to examining any changes associated with the announcement and construction of a light rail project this report will qualitatively examine the role of these project in stimulating gentrification in station areas and what effect gentrification will have in preventing low-income households from accessing the improved transit system. The report will also propose actions that could ensure that these households continue to have access to public transportation, which would mitigate the strain of increasing transportation costs.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Community and Regional Planning

Grantor

University of Texas at Austin

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Plevak, Stephen Henry

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Oden, Michael

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Sletto, Bjorn

• Austin, Texas
• Dallas, Texas
• Light rail
• Gentrification
• Land value
• Land use
• Demographic shifts

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2010-05-1216

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/ETD-UT-2010-05-1216