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

Robert Hibberd, University of Arizona, Tucson

Summary:

This dissertation will further 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 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.

Project Details

Project Type:
Dissertation
Project Status:
In Progress
End Date:
December 31,2023
UTC Grant Cycle:
NITC 16 Dissertation Fellowships 2020
UTC Funding:
$15,000