Sun, Feiyang; Mansury, Yuri S. (2016). Economic Impact of High-Speed Rail on Household Income in China. Transportation Research Record, 2581, 71 – 78.
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Abstract
Although developed only in the past 20 years, Chinese high-speed rail (HSR) has overtaken many of its forerunners in its unprecedented scale. However, such a scale raises questions about its implications for regional economic development. Previous studies have discussed the impact of HSR at the regional and city levels, but few have addressed its impact on the individual level, which is crucial for understanding the distribution of the impact. To fill the gap, this study focused on the economic impact of recent HSR development between 2009 and 2012 on Chinese household income and discussed its significance, magnitude, and distribution. The survey data from the China Family Panel Survey were used and a difference-in-differences approach was implemented. Two key explanatory variables, weighted average travel time and probability of living proximate to HSR stations, were included in the models to examine the direct and spillover impacts of HSR. The study shows that these impacts both contribute to the HSR impact but affect urban and rural regions and production sectors differently. In particular, the spillover effect or the agglomeration effect contributes the most and favors more urbanized regions with stronger service sectors. As a consequence, although HSR plays a positive role in stimulating the regional economy, it may further widen the gap between developed regions and underdeveloped regions. From the analyses, it is concluded that HSR projects need more comprehensive studies of the full spectrum of its impact to ensure both economic growth and regional balance and coordination.
Reina, Vincent; Acolin, Arthur; Bostic, Raphael W. (2019). Section 8 Vouchers and Rent Limits: Do Small Area Fair Market Rent Limits Increase Access to Opportunity Neighborhoods? An Early Evaluation. Housing Policy Debate, 29(1), 44 – 61.
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Abstract
One critique of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)'s Housing Choice Voucher program is that its maximum rent limit is set at the metropolitan level, making more expensive neighborhoods effectively off limits to households who receive rental assistance. As a result, the design of the program limits a voucher household's access to opportunity neighborhood. In response, HUD created the Small Area Fair Market Rent (SAFMR) demonstration program, which calculates the maximum voucher rent at the zip code level so that HUD's rent limits more closely align with local neighborhood rents. In theory, this program should improve a voucher household's choice set and location outcomes. Looking at changes in the location of beneficiaries in the six sites that participated in the SAFMR demonstration program, we find a significant amount of regional variation in the results. Specifically, introduction of the SAFMR rent calculations results in voucher households living in higher opportunity neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas, in lower opportunity neighborhoods in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and mixed effects in other areas. These mixed results highlight some of the potential incremental benefits of the program and reinforce the importance of viewing this policy over a longer period of time, and in the context of other constraints voucher households face in accessing neighborhood opportunity.
Keywords
Choice; Mobility; Families; Live; Section 8; Low-income Housing; Subsidized Housing; Vouchers; Neighborhood; Access; Markets; Mathematical Analysis; Federal Agencies; Urban Development; Housing; Households; Neighborhoods; Rents; Limitations; Beneficiaries; Housing Subsidies; United States--us; Dallas Texas; Chattanooga Tennessee
Born, Branden; Berney, Rachel; Baker, Olivia; Jones, Mark R.; King, Donald; Marcus, Dylan. (2021). Pushing Back on Displacement: Community-Based Redevelopment through Historically Black Churches. Societies, 11(1).
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Abstract
Gentrification and subsequent displacement are common problems in cities, and result in the removal of poor communities and communities of color from urban areas as they move to cheaper locations in the metropolitan region. Here we describe a community-based approach to redevelopment by historic Black churches that seeks to counter such displacement and cultural removal. We explain the history of a historically Black neighborhood in Seattle and the founding and rationale for a church-led project called the Nehemiah Initiative. Our perspective is that of participants in the work of the Nehemiah Initiative and as faculty and students from a local university partner supporting it. We conclude with policy strategies that can be used to support such redevelopment in Seattle, with understanding that some may be broadly applicable to other cities.
Keywords
Black Churches; Community Based; Displacement; Equitable Development; Faith Based; Gentrification; Housing Affordability; Redevelopment; University-community Partnership
Though Transit Equity Day is just one day, the issue of equity on Seattle’s public transit is an ongoing and important conversation to Seattle and King County residents. Neighborhoods across the county have unequal access to transit lines; bus stops are often located in inconvenient or dangerous places due to oncoming traffic and lack of sidewalks; and bus schedules are irregular or sparse, with long wait times. These are just a few of the challenges folks might experience before getting…
Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Real Estate and CSDE Affiliate Arthur Acolin for being awarded a $10,000 Tier 2 seed grant for his project, “Accessory Dwelling Units as Potential Source of Affordable Housing Across Generations”. This grant is part of CSDE’s quarterly call for seed grant applications and is intended to help faculty initiate new research endeavors that have high relevance to population science and a strong chance of building towards extramural funding. Acolin will be conducting a joint project…
College is a time of exploration and discovery for all students. It is a time that often shapes how we view the world. Going through this transition during a moment of turbulence in the world can shape that experience significantly, which is exactly what happened for Assistant Professor of Real Estate, Arthur Acolin. As an undergraduate, international student in the US in 2008, the housing bubble and subsequent recession shaped Acolin’s future as a researcher and professor. “The subprime crisis…
The Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans) announced in January 2021 the project proposals selected for funding. Qing Shen, Professor of Urban Design and Planning and Chair of the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Urban Design and Planning is among those selected for project funding. Shen is working alongside Co-Principal Investigator Catherine (Casey) Gifford–Innovative Mobility Senior Planner–on the applied research project titled “Supplementing fixed-route transit with dynamic shared mobility services: a marginal cost comparison approach”. The project goal is to address a…
Climate change, smart cities, urban economics and the interaction between human behavior and built environment
Research interests: Infrastructure Economics and Planning, Energy Infrastructure, and Urban Economics
The Urban Design & Planning Interdisciplinary Ph.D. at the University of Washington is one of 39 Ph.D. programs in urban and regional planning in North America, and one of the oldest, founded in 1967.
This program brings together faculty from disciplines ranging from Architecture to Sociology to focus on the interdisciplinary study of urban problems and interventions. Covering scales from neighborhoods to metropolitan areas, the program addresses interrelationships between the physical environment, the built environment, and the social, economic, and political institutions and processes that shape urban areas. The breadth of this program permits students to pursue doctoral studies in the various aspects of urban design and planning as well as in a number of related social science, natural resource, and engineering areas.
The Program seeks to prepare scholars who can advance the state of research, practice, and education related to the built environment and its relationship to society and nature in metropolitan regions throughout the world. The program provides a strong interdisciplinary educational experience that draws on the resources of the entire University, and on the laboratory provided by the Seattle metropolitan region and the Pacific Northwest. The program emphasizes the educational values of interdisciplinarity, intellectual leadership and integrity, and the social values of equity, democracy and sustainability. It seeks to promote deeper understanding of the ways in which public decisions shape and are shaped by the urban physical, social, economic, and natural environment. The program envisions its graduates becoming leaders in the international community of researchers, practitioners and educators who focus on improving the quality of life and environment in metropolitan regions.