Employment-Worker Balance & Polycentric Transit-Oriented Development: Towards an Index

This dissertation will further National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) goals to increase access to employment opportunities and provide better models for an increasingly complex transportation system. It will consider the effectiveness of transit-oriented development (TOD) at addressing the equity challenge of urban residential isolation from relevant employment centers. Theories of compact urban development posit that employment-worker balance (EWB) is a key component of transit oriented development (TOD) and is aided by developing the built environment in a polycentric configuration. This approach creates multiple centers of various levels of land use intensity and transportation network interconnectivity. Empirical testing of these premises has yet to be sufficiently carried out. Recent research has furthered the task by i) identifying the degree of centering in the built environment, and ii) deepening the methodological robustness of measuring the employment-worker balance. This dissertation will take the next step by clarifying the measurement of EWB by producing an index that reveals the multidimensional latent processes underlying it, and their many unique regimes across space. Further, it will extend the existing TOD literature by empirically testing the interface between polycentric development and EWB. The results will be of use to the practitioner and policy maker interested in advancing normative goals of equity through greater accessibility.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Funding: $15000
  • Contract Numbers:

    NITC-1440

    69A3551747112

  • Sponsor Organizations:

    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

    University Transportation Centers Program
    Department of Transportation
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Managing Organizations:

    TREC at Portland State University

    1900 SW Fourth Ave, Suite 175
    P.O. Box 751
    Portland, Oregon  United States  97201
  • Performing Organizations:

    University of Arizona, Tucson

    PO Box 210072
    Tucson, AZ  United States  85721
  • Principal Investigators:

    Hibberd, Robert

  • Start Date: 20200601
  • Expected Completion Date: 20221231
  • Actual Completion Date: 0
  • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01745995
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: National Institute for Transportation and Communities
  • Contract Numbers: NITC-1440, 69A3551747112
  • Files: UTC, RIP
  • Created Date: Jul 23 2020 11:05AM