Effect of Light Rail Investment on Opportunities for Low-Income Inner-City Residents

The exodus of residents and employment opportunities from central cities has greatly impacted the low income residents which have remained as suitable employment opportunities are locating further from their residence. This trend has negatively impacted the employment participation of these residents, worsening their economic situation. The implementation of light rail transit is considered to address this issue as it can connect this population to new labor markets and attract development along its corridor. This development has the potential to produce suitable employment opportunities for low income residents. Surprisingly, studies have found light rail investment to have negligible impacts on the employment participation of low income inner city residents. The researcher theorizes that these findings are due, in part, to the development outcomes achieved within light rail service areas. The aggressive development activity which is commonly observed within new transit areas has the potential to change the character of the surrounding environment. This change may come at the expense of low income residents as areas experience gentrification and lose suitable employment opportunities. This study explores the change in, and nature of, development which arises within light rail station areas in order to better comprehend the impact which resulting development outcomes have on opportunities suitable for low income residents. This is done by focusing on four cities which have implemented a light rail system between 2000 and 2010. The change in employment opportunities within station areas which can be attributed to the presence of light rail is estimated via a difference in difference model implemented within a negative binomial regression. Focus is placed on the change in employment opportunities suitable for low income residents. Next, the impact which light rail has on the odds of station areas gentrifying is explored via the generation of a gentrification index and application of a logistic regression. Lastly, cases which experienced diverging development outcomes were identified and further explored. Interviews and the review of relevant documents provided additional insight on the factors which contribute to the attainment of more equitable development outcomes. The results of this study indicate that development activity within light rail service areas has the potential to eliminate certain which are likely to employ low income residents. At the same time, some employment categories which employ low income residents were found to experience growth. Additionally, station areas in one case were found to face greater odds of gentrifying when compared to similar areas not serviced by rail transit. Results were not consistent across all cases as they deviated based on their respective location. The exploration of cases which experienced diverging outcomes provided insight on factors which may contribute to the attainment of specific development outcomes.