Research
CTUP began full-scale operations in fall 2007 with a successful first call for proposals, which garnered 19 submissions from multidisciplinary teams from across the university. The proposed projects covered a wide range of subjects including transit operations, pedestrian and bike safety, brownfield redevelopment, mechanisms for transfer of development rights and low impact design for storm water and drainage. Four projects were selected for 2008-09 program year funding following review by CTUP's research advisory council:
Assessing the Impact of Light Rail Transit on Land Values and Tax Revenues
PIs: Carol Atkinson-Palombo, John Clapp, Nicholas Lownes, Robert Cromley
Abstract: Light Rail Transit (LRT) has become an increasingly popular centerpiece of smart growth policies in the United States, yet considerable debate exists about its cost-effectiveness. The overarching question that we propose to address in this research is "What are the early returns to proposed and under-construction Light-Rail Transit (LRT) investment and how do these vary across neighborhoods?" It may take 10 or 20 years to generate substantial revitalization of a given neighborhood, but early increases in property value and tax collections may stimulate neighborhood change, and defray capital costs. A related question is "What is the best methodology to address the responses to LRT at the neighborhood level, while simultaneously measuring changes in property values at a regional scale rather than focusing solely on station area impacts?" We propose also to separate agglomeration effects (such as neighborhood commercial and residential development) from those associated with change in mobility (such as better access to downtown).
Accordingly, a team of researchers with expertise in smart growth, spatial and temporal econometric modeling, investment decision making, and GIS/GIS-T, will build a series of models to estimate the effects of LRT on the land markets. Detailed GIS-based data on land-use, new construction, and residential transactions will be analyzed for the LRT system in Phoenix, Arizona, for three distinct phases-pre-approval, planning, and construction. Innovative independent variables include dynamic measures of accessibility at the metropolitan scale derived from GIS-T models, and a proxy for neighborhood change derived from data on new construction. Modeling techniques capable of disentangling neighborhood and regional effects include Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) and a local Spatial and Temporal Autoregressive (STAR) model. Comparison of out-of-sample predictive ability and spatial autocorrelation in the models' residuals will inform on performance, and provide a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics set into motion by decisions to build LRT, quantify the spatial distribution and extent of early returns on investment at the metropolitan scale, and provide more effective decision-making on this smart growth tool.
Start Date: August 22, 2008
Green Modes of Transportation for Connecticut's Mixed Use Developments
PI: Peter Miniutti
Abstract: The multi-disciplinary team will create a dynamic business and transportation model for the delivery of goods for the existing and proposed commercial establishments located in downtown Storrs, Connecticut. These models will demonstrate how the delivery of goods can be transformed from the existing ad-hoc, carbon producing affair to an organized systematic approach which will increase profits for the local businesses, use green modes of transportation and functionally/symbolically begin to change the approach to Connecticut's transportation needs. The team will create a flexible, replicable process which can be used for other towns in the state and region.
Start Date: August 22, 2008
Reversing Urban Sprawl: A Reclaimability Index Approach for Reviving Downtown Brownfields
PIs: Maria Chrysochoou, Amvrossios Bagtzoglou
Abstract: A key step to promoting smart growth principles is the reclamation of dilapidated and contaminated urban sites, also known as brownfields. Brownfield redevelopment aids in using existing infrastructure instead of developing green fields, and promotes the creation of walkable neighborhoods that were the paradigm of growth prior to the prevalence of urban sprawl in cities across America. The conversion of brownfields into local business centers would also favor public transportation and revival of local markets. However, brownfield reclamation meets significant obstacles, depending on the local legal, economic and social conditions. The intervention of state and city authorities with financial and policy-based aid is crucial to overcoming those obstacles. However, allocation of (limited) funds should take into consideration smart growth principles to maximize the related benefits. To support the decision making process, the proposed research will analyze the current conditions in the State of Connecticut, understand the obstacles for the successful brownfield reclamation and develop a spatially-based tool that can be used by public planners to prioritize brownfield redevelopment options based on a consideration of overall social benefits relative to costs, including the promotion of smart growth.
Start Date: August 22, 2008
A Public Transit Design for Smart Growth: Using Choice Experiments to Quantify Tradeoffs, Values and Funding Implications
PIs: Nicholas Lownes, Robert Johnston, Norman Garrick, Eric Jackson
Abstract: The proposed research will quantify the value of public transit using choice experiments in the form of stated preference surveys. The attributes investigated will reach beyond the traditional mobility-centric aspects of transit: focus will be placed on the non-market elements of transit that tend to create value in terms of community building and smart growth by using the innovative context of a hypothetical bond referendum. We will incorporate multiple attribute configurations into our design by identifying the tradeoffs the general public makes and are willing to pay for in a transit system. Three key policy questions will be addressed: 1) For whom should public transit systems be designed?, 2) How does design strategy impact ridership and overall system value?, and 3) What are the implications of #1 and #2 for the funding of future public transit? As a corollary this work will provide new insight into the tradeoffs involved in rail versus bus transit, from the perspective of riders, potential riders, and non-riders. It is hypothesized, for example, that commonly cited preferences for rail over bus transit are held primarily by user segments less focused on mobility and more on quality of life or placemaking. The proposed work is the first phase of a two-phase project. In This first phase we will develop and pilot-test the instruments to be fully deployed during the second, separate phase of the project. In the end, a clearer picture of the value of transit will emerge, identifying those who do pay using conventional devices, those who are willing to pay, and how to better align the two.
Start Date: August 22, 2008