Future of Cities Featured

Linking Transportation and Land Use

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The planning profession often has to look ahead, to see the bigger picture, and help connect people to their destination. One principle that helps achieve this is linkage between land use and transportation. This is vital for organizing at the neighborhood, community, county, and regional scales. Transportation services and infrastructure can impact land use patterns, quality of life of an area, and the overall economic trajectory of a region.

Before going too far in describing how this principle can be applied, it is important to define three components:

Land use – The fundamental setting and context for determining application of the land use/transportation linkage principle. Are you dealing with a local neighborhood issue or something at a higher scale that may involve more agencies to consult or review a proposed solution? Are you in a semi-rural area or a dense urban setting? Both the primary project and the associated benefits may be affected.

Transportation – The key determinant that may involve greater review and comment, depending on the mode (highway, transit, vans, bicycles, etc.), scope of the project, the jurisdiction(s) involved and the level of community outreach and information required. Sometimes, however, a controversial proposal may create a level of public interaction that is beyond the initial physical scale of a project.

Linkage – The key ingredient for the principle to work as designed, in order to yield multiple benefits. Linkage can include physical connections, improved accessibility, coordination, and integration. Recognition by participants that these outcomes are important is needed to yield both direct and indirect benefits. Linkage works two ways: the project affects the geographic area, and the geographic area will affect the project. An open and participatory involvement process typically helps to keep all participants informed and maintaining a stake in the outcome.

All professions have various qualifications, standards, and principles that reflect their values and approaches to the issues that they address on a daily routine. These standards are intended to frame ethics and core education and practice requirements to ensure a fundamental level of attainment for practitioners and academics engaged.

Applying the principle

Conceptually, two examples come to mind which demonstrate how linkage can work. One way is through transit-oriented development (TOD), involving a rail or transit line, including busses. In legislation and in local ordinances, TOD usually involves development within a quarter to a half mile radius around a station. This compact area is intended to facilitate use of transit, including walking, handicap access and close-in parking for driver access. Accessibility to the station and transit platforms is also critical. If the new or existing development does not provide effective accessibility, then the result will become transit adjacent development (TAD) rather than TOD. The TOD area can also be used to provide development bonuses for locating there, as well as a rationale for financing mechanisms to capture a portion of the value of new investments to derive funds for other municipal projects. In Pennsylvania, the Transit Revitalization Investment Act (TRID) is intended to support the creation of TODs and the simultaneous funding approach for other investments.

Another way to showcase linkage is through interchange area districts involving cooperating developers, office parks, and shopping centers to create an incentive for locating around the interchange and a financing approach for needed public improvements to benefit both the community and the participants. Here in the Greater Philadelphia region, PennDOT has been an active partner with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Chester (Rt.29 and 202) and Montgomery counties (King of Prussia/Upper Merion) have been successful in such approaches, including working with local Transportation System Management Agencies (TMAs) for supplemental van services in coordination with SEPTA where possible.

How we can help

Land use and transportation linkage works and is available for use in a variety of settings beyond the two instances that I have described. Now is a particularly critical time to identify opportunities to leverage this principle. Understanding how transit adds value to development projects and determining how it can support broader community goals and objectives is crucial for long-term success. Situations like TOD investment will play a significant role in the years to come because of the American Jobs Plan providing significant federal investment across the United States. ESI combines economic, strategic, and analytics capabilities to help clients navigate an ever-changing environment and achieve these types of objectives. Likewise, thoughtful engagement with decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public provides the foundation for sound planning, successful projects, and better communities.

 

Richard Bickel | [email protected]

Richard Bickel is a member of ESI’s Senior Advisory Board. He has been a practicing professional planner for more than 43 years. Richard has been active in the American Planning Association, American Institute of Certified Planners, and Transportation Research Board throughout his career. He currently serves on the Legislative Committee of the Pennsylvania Chapter of APA and was President of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the APA, one of the forerunners of the current statewide chapter, and a member of the national Legislative and Policy Committee and a site visitor for the Planning Accreditation Board.

Mini-Webinar Series: Critical Issues Facing the Higher Education Sector

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In April and May of 2023, ESI will host a series of weekly mini-webinars addressing critical issues currently facing the higher education sector. Topics will range from navigating supplier diversity, to understanding HBCUs and economic development, organizational leadership in uncertain times, as well as the current and future role international students will play at American institutions. These discussions will be led by a diverse group of thought leaders and industry experts.

All sessions will be moderated by Lee Huang, President of ESI and Lead Principal for ESI’s Universities and Hospitals practice.

These mini-webinars will occur every Tuesday from April 4 to May 23, 12:00-12:30 pm.

Learn more about the different topics below or register here.

April 4: Adam Glaser, Campus 2.0- Creating Lifelong Engagement with Alumni
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How people gain workforce skills and credentials is fast evolving. How should institutions respond? We’ll explore what some are calling “Campus 2.0,” a complete rethink on how to organize campus footprints and create lifelong ties to students.

April 11: Bernadine Hawes, Anchoring Innovation Ecosystems
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Universities are playing a greater role in driving the innovation that is powering regions’ economic resilience and competitiveness. We’ll look at how institutions’ innovation work has evolved over time and what it might look like going forward.

April 18: Angela Dowd-Burton, Supplier Diversity on Campus
View Here | Summary
A successful supplier diversity program is essential to the healthy ecosystem that surrounds a university.  How can educational institutions contribute to economic inclusion that helps to support thriving communities? Learn the key components for establishing, growing, and sustaining and supplier diversity program that works.

April 25: Dr. Jamie Green and Dr. Joseph Whittaker, HBCUs in Economic Development
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Like all institutions, HBCUs are innovating in response to crisis and opportunity. Come find out how HBCUs are approaching the value proposition of college, building pathways to middle class jobs, and contribute to regional economic development.

May 2: Dr. Benjamin B. Olshin, Chinese Students in American Institutions- Past Present, and Future
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Chinese students have been a prominent part of some college campuses. Geopolitical uncertainties are complicating these relationships. We’ll look into why that is and what institutions should do in response.

May 9: Dr. Curtis Gregory, Organizational Leadership in Uncertain Times
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Leading a university is hard enough in calm waters. These tumultuous times tax leaders tremendously. We’ll explore research-based methods for leaders to cultivate the emotional intelligence and communications skills to succeed.

May 16: Robert Fleming and Raymond Barclay, Sustainability
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Sustainability is increasingly a framework by which institutions are rethinking their operations, educational offerings, and core missions. We’ll consider the case for this paradigm shift in philosophical and practical terms.

May 23: Dan Garofalo, The Bottom-line Case for Energy Efficiency
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Institutions sit at an important intersection as large utility users, thought leaders on environmental sustainability, and flashpoints for protests around energy consumption. We’ll explore energy strategies that account for all of these perspectives at scale.

Moving Cities: Pittsburgh

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Unique Public Transportation Infrastructure

Among major American cities, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania finishes in the top ten for transit ridership. Impressively, Pittsburgh’s public transit system achieved this success without a single heavy rail line: all but one of the major cities with higher transit ridership than Pittsburgh feature at least one heavy rail line (Seattle is the only exception).

Pittsburgh’s most iconic mode of public transportation is today used primarily as a tourist attraction: the Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines. These funiculars were originally built to transport workers residing at the top of the hill known as “Mount Washington” (located directly across the river from Downtown Pittsburgh) to industrial jobs along the banks of the Monongahela River, one of Pittsburgh’s three intersecting rivers. Today, while some may still use these inclines for transportation (after all, public transportation cards are accepted as payment), the inclines are best known as one of the city’s top tourist attractions, allowing visitors to access breathtaking views from Mount Washington.

Today, Pittsburgh features two light rail lines connecting the South Hills neighborhoods and Allegheny County suburbs to downtown and the city’s North Shore, an entertainment district. Free transit access is available if traveling between downtown and the North Shore.

Still, these light rail lines do not run through the city’s densest area, the East End neighborhoods including Oakland, Shadyside, and East Liberty. Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, the light rail lines are not the highest-ridership lines in Pittsburgh’s Port Authority system. That honor instead falls to the innovative mode of rapid transit that does serve these neighborhoods — the Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway.

The East Busway is a bus-only highway that begins in downtown Pittsburgh and runs through the densest neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, as well as a few of its eastern suburbs. It was actually the city’s second busway – the South Busway, developed in 1977, was the first Bus Rapid Transit development in the United States. It was followed by the East Busway in 1983. In a city like Pittsburgh, the busway allows for transit service that is both dependable – operating on a dedicated road – and flexible – allowing for routes that begin and terminate in different locations.

                                               Source: Port Authority of Allegheny County

The East Busway’s primary buses are seen above — routes “P1”, “P2” and “P3”, with the “P” name matching the route’s purple color on the system map. Routes P1 and P2 are the most popular in the Port Authority system. Some East Busway routes (such as P1 and P2) begin in the city’s downtown, while others (including P2) begin in Oakland, a college neighborhood in the East End that serves as the city’s “second downtown”. All pass through the East End of the city. While routes P1-P3 stop at the end of the busway in the city’s east suburbs, more than ten other routes (identified by route names beginning with “P”) speed through the city on the East Busway, then merge into regular traffic to serve far-flung suburbs and towns in eastern Allegheny County with rapid service to the East End and Downtown Pittsburgh.

There are now three busways in Pittsburgh, including the West Busway which serves both local travelers and allows rapid transportation to Pittsburgh’s airport, located in the city’s western suburbs. The city is investigating an extension of the busway to serve more of its eastern suburbs.

 

Moving Cities is a series of posts dedicated to exploring the vast diversity of cities and how their transit systems shape them. Moving Cities examines the organizational structure of transit in relation to the city, the economics of the transit system, and the role of the transit system in the economics of the city, and last, but certainly not least, the experience of the city from the perspective of the transit user. 

 

John LaVaccare | [email protected]

John LaVaccare is an senior analyst at ESI. As a graduate of the Master’s in Public Policy and Management program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, where he concentrated in Urban Development, John LaVaccare has academic knowledge in urban economic development, urban design, urban ecology, and real estate development. Prior to ESI, Mr. LaVaccare gained work experience in local government, housing policy, and stormwater management. Mr. LaVaccare also has extensive experience in academic communications research, journalism, and professional writing.

Steve Wray Named Executive Director of the Block Center for Technology and Society

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Beginning in March, ESI Senior Vice President and Principal Steve Wray will be stepping down from his current role with the firm to serve as Executive Director of the Block Center for Technology and Society at Carnegie Mellon University. Steve has been a great asset to ESI over the past 5 years and an invaluable teammate whom we will all miss.

We are excited to see him take on this new position and look forward to his continued success!

I have some personal news to share. Beginning in March, I will be starting a new role as Executive Director of the Block Center for Technology and Society at Carnegie Mellon University in my hometown of Pittsburgh (and my graduate alma mater). I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the faculty and staff at CMU and the Heinz College and am looking forward to working with the numerous partners and collaborators that the Block Center has built since its creation in 2019. The work of the Block Center focuses on two key pillars – the future of work and responsible artificial intelligence – and I can think of no better time to be diving in on these rapidly emerging issues. The intersection of technology, society and public policy is rapidly changing, and Carnegie Mellon and the Block Center are well-positioned to take a leadership role in developing the solutions that will guide this transformation and ensure that technological change and innovation is a force for social good and inclusion.

While I am excited to return to Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh, it is going to be tough to match the experience I have had in the Greater Philadelphia region. 28 years ago when I came to Philadelphia and joined the Economy League as deputy director and then executive director, I don’t think that I understood that I would have the privilege to work closely with, and learn so much from, the many creative, innovative and passionate leaders that make this region truly World Class. As I learned quickly, there really is something different about Philadelphia. It is a Philly Thing! Thanks to all!

And a huge thanks to the entire team at Econsult Solutions! For the past five years, I have been able to work locally, nationally and internationally with the incredible team at ESI. ESI combines the best of academic research with a practical understanding of economics, government and strategy that is unmatched. Being a part of the team and being able to work with fantastic clients gave me an opportunity to learn and apply my skills in a wide variety of settings. I can’t thank the principals enough – Dick Voith, Steve Mullin, Lee Huang, Peter Angelides, Gina Lavery and Ethan Conner-Ross – for their wisdom, guidance, and partnership. I am excited to see how the firm grows and develops in the coming years.

Steve Wray | [email protected]

Over the past five years, Steve’s work with ESI has focused on the development and implementation of programs and projects that support the firm’s vision and short- and long-term plans. He has led the work of the firm’s principals and senior staff in developing new partnerships, expanding and building on existing practice areas, and integrating the firm’s strengths in economic analysis and thought leadership. Mr. Wray joined ESI in 2017 as a director and was promoted to Vice President, Strategic Initiatives in 2019.

Paving the Way for EV Policy in America

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Don’t miss our upcoming webinar produced in partnership with Santander UK. This hour-long session will bring together city leaders, urban planners, and practitioners to examine the challenges and opportunities electric vehicles (EVs) pose, discuss upcoming policies/strategies, and present new ideas on preparing for broader EV adoption in America.

Cities and communities across the US are beginning to take further strides towards fully adopting EVs and integrating them into the fabric of their roads and urban infrastructure. The benefits of making the switch to EVs are well-documented and growing, but there are still several challenges that need to be overcome to allow for an easier and equitable transition.

Addressing these barriers will need effective, comprehensive, and long-term policies for communities to reach electrification and emission targets. Municipalities both large and small will need to look to their states not only for guidance on EV policy, but also as a partner ready to champion their specific needs on the federal level.

Attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions and engage with a panel of industry experts to better understand the US market and current views on electrification.

Panelists include:

  • Paul Ayres – Founder, Connected Kerb
  • Karen Lightman – Executive Director of Metro21, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Ali Maher – Director of Rutgers CAIT (Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation)
  • Timothy Phelps – Executive Director of Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC)
  • Emily Yates – Chief Innovation Officer at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)

Moderated by Steve Wray, Senior Vice President and Principal at Econsult Solutions

Click here to learn more and register for this free webinar.

10 for 10: Transportation and Infrastructure

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This year, to celebrate our 10th anniversary, we’re going to highlight ten big projects from each practice area on a regular basis, and we’re starting strong with transportation and infrastructure. Community and events may connect people emotionally, but infrastructure connects us physically. It shapes how and when we travel, how long it takes, and how often we will do it. Here’s a look at our 10 for 10: Transportation and Infrastructure.

  1. How do we optimize a city for transit? Where does the balance lie between personal and public transit, and what role does congestion play in it? In this report, completed in 2019, ESI examines congestion in Center City, Philadelphia. It assesses the economic impact congestion has on the jobs, time, and dollars of Philadelphia residents and workers. And though the pandemic has changed the way we interact with public transit, the feedback loop identified in this report still exists: If public transit wait and ride times increase, riders who are able are more likely to turn to personal vehicles, increasing congestion on our roads. This is a huge barrier that transit agencies often have to overcome. If their product is not seen as a net positive over personal vehicles, they will lose ridership, making it more difficult to gain funding and run routes with frequencies to serve their base.
    Read the report here.
  2. What is the value in creating long, separate pathways for cyclists and pedestrians, outside the confines of streets designed for motor vehicles but still within and through major metropolitan areas? The East Coast Greenway is doing just that, creating a continuous pedestrian and cyclist path from Maine to Florida. ESI, in partnership with NV5 was commissioned by the East Coast Greenway Alliance to quantify the benefits of completing the Greenway in the Delaware River Watershed. Projects like this one lie at the economic intersection of tourism, transit, equity, and the environment. When complete, the Greenway will be a continuous 3,000 mile path through 15 states and 450 communities. ESI found, based on completed portions of the path in the Delaware Valley, every mile of trail will see an average of $6.3 million in annual spending, goods, and services.
    Read the full report here.
  3. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) helps people across the region get to their destination. How does the economic impact of SEPTA compare to the rest of the Commonwealth? In 2018, ESI retained to find out. This study found that the five counties SEPTA serves generate 41% of Pennsylvania’s economic activity on only 5% of its land.
    Read the full report here.
  4. Transportation and infrastructure grants play a large role in any government’s ability to improve and maintain the systems that get people from point A to point B. The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity RAISE grant program, formerly known as BUILD and TIGER, is one of the many types of grants to which ESI has helped its clients apply. Some projects that have secured funding with the help of ESI’s grant services and Benefit Cost Analyses are: SEPTA’s 30th St MFL Station renovation, the Bronx Greenway in New York City, and the Wilmington Riverfront Transportation Infrastructure Project.
    Learn more about applying for grants here. 
  5. Nightlife is an important part of any metropolitan area’s economy. But what is the economic impact of nightlife on transit? In 2017, ESI estimated that 32%, or 101 million of New York City’s for-hire rides could be attributed to nightlife activity.
    Learn more about the economic impact of New York City’s Nightlife here.
  6. When most people think of transit, they think about trains, busses, cars, and planes. But for cities and regions sitting near large bodies of water, ferries can be an integral part of the transportation network. In 2013, ESI was commissioned by New York City Economic Development Corporation to study the impact of ferries on the city. This report calculated the economic impact of the East River Ferry, and examined potential opportunities for expansion.
    Read the full report here.
  7. The next step in private vehicle technology is automation. From 2018 to 2020, KPMG commissioned ESI to create an annual autonomous vehicle index. These studies examined a country or region’s readiness to adopt driverless vehicles.
    Read the 2020 index here.
  8. In 2019, ESI was commissioned to update its 2017 economic and fiscal impact report for Philadelphia International Airport and Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Calculating the direct and indirect impacts of an airport system means looking not just at aviation and airport operations related revenues, but also the impact on regional businesses and residents. PHL serves a metro area of more than 6 million, and calculating its impact on the region means government officials can quantify its value and the value of maintaining it.
    Read the full report here.
  9. Boosting ridership on public transit creates rippling benefits throughout a greater metro area. In an effort to do just that, ESI worked with SEPTA to create an institutional pass program- a mechanism by which large employers and institutions  in Philadelphia and the surrounding area can purchase discounted monthly passes for its employees. The program is now being expanded to smaller businesses, because public transit is only strengthened by its riders.
    Read more about ESI’s work with Key Advantage here.
  10. In 2018, ESI was hired by the Port Authority of Allegheny County (now Pittsburgh Regional Transit) to assess its economic impact. ESI found that the aggregate annual economic impact in Allegheny County was $877 million, in the southwest region of Pennsylvania $916 million, and in the Commonwealth totaled $929 million annually. ESI also calculated the tax revenue impact from operating and capital activity, as well as economic competitiveness, equitable growth, investment, and property value impacts.
    Read the full report here.

 

Grace Hanoian | [email protected]

Grace Hanoian is a Business Development and Marketing Associate at Econsult Solutions, where she supports the marketing and business development team by assisting with proposals, events, and social media. Prior to joining ESI, Grace was a marketing coordinator, working to support product launches and coordinate trade show appearances. She also served two terms in AmeriCorps, one as a State and National member at Rural Action in Appalachian Ohio, and the other as a Marketing and Communications VISTA for Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County in Washington State.