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60026-1 Report Abstract

Suburban Employment Growth and Public Transit Accessibility: A Comparative Analysis

Naomi W. Ledé, Texas Southern University, April, 1993, 65 pp.

A central feature of population growth and expansion has been spatially uneven development in central cities and suburban areas. This study describes the results of a research which was designed to examine critical issues pertaining to suburban employment, population growth and dispersion, and public transit accessibility and availability for residents in the central city. The study explores the scope of suburban employment opportunities and public transit access to them and relates these findings to spatial-specific factors and other impediments to job opportunities and access.

Four primary sources of information were used in the study. One source involved the review of relevant studies pertaining to urban/suburban growth, economic activity, land use, transportation availability and accessibility. Another source involved a survey of residents in two study areas with large concentrations of inner city residents, particularly minority groups. Using a random sample of residents in these areas, data on demographic characteristics and travel behavior were collected. To augment this information, telephone interviews were conducted with other scholars, public officials, and transportation professionals throughout the United States and North America about population migration and growth. These data, combined with a series of special studies on employment growth, suburban mobility, and travel characteristics, and site visits to several suburban activity centers, round out the pool of information from which many of the findings were drawn.

The findings of the study suggest the need for effective approaches to conserving energy. A “Transportation for Energy Conservation” demonstration project is proposed. The cooperative project, using alternatively-fueled vehicles, will be designed to provide a public transit service delivery model for enhancing mobility, reducing vehicular pollution, improving the efficiency of fuel pricing, reducing urban/suburban congestion, and promoting clean fuel and engine technologies. The results of this demonstration project can result in energy savings.

Keywords: Suburban Mobility, Economic Growth and Development, Inner City Minority Transit Needs, Commuting Trends, Public Transit Accessibility and Availability

Report not available electronically.
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Reference Report #60026-1