IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v86y2020ics0966692320302064.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Should I stay or should I go? A survey analysis of neighborhood change and residential mobility concerns around new light rail stations in Charlotte, NC

Author

Listed:
  • Nilsson, Isabelle
  • Schuch, Johanna C.
  • Delmelle, Elizabeth C.
  • Canales, Kristine L.

Abstract

In this article, we examine the effects of rail transit investments on residents' stated mobility intentions and perceptions of neighborhood changes using a survey analysis in Charlotte, North Carolina. We ask residents in neighborhoods along a new light rail line about their reasons for residing in their current neighborhood, thoughts about moving and the light rail's effect on their neighborhood. To control for city-wide housing market pressures, responses from one station-adjacent neighborhood are compared to responses from residents in a similar neighborhood elsewhere in the city while controlling for individual characteristics. Using a mixed-methods research approach, we find that while residents attribute some changes in their property values and rents to the light rail, it is only one of many factors affecting their neighborhood. Light rail also does not appear to affect residents' stated propensity to move out of these neighborhoods. Survey respondents' view of the light rail's effect on their neighborhood is also positive, on average. We find that the stated likelihood of moving is not related to the distance to the station nor to how frequently a resident uses the light rail. This article contributes to debates on transit-induced displacement and gentrification and provides context to neighborhood-scale quantitative analyses from residents' perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Nilsson, Isabelle & Schuch, Johanna C. & Delmelle, Elizabeth C. & Canales, Kristine L., 2020. "Should I stay or should I go? A survey analysis of neighborhood change and residential mobility concerns around new light rail stations in Charlotte, NC," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:86:y:2020:i:c:s0966692320302064
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102790
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692320302064
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102790?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bardaka, Eleni & Delgado, Michael S. & Florax, Raymond J.G.M., 2018. "Causal identification of transit-induced gentrification and spatial spillover effects: The case of the Denver light rail," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 15-31.
    2. Sue Easton & Loretta Lees & Phil Hubbard & Nicholas Tate, 2020. "Measuring and mapping displacement: The problem of quantification in the battle against gentrification," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 286-306, February.
    3. Pilgram, Clemens A. & West, Sarah E., 2018. "Fading premiums: The effect of light rail on residential property values in Minneapolis, Minnesota," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-10.
    4. Lisa Rayle, 2015. "Investigating the Connection Between Transit-Oriented Development and Displacement: Four Hypotheses," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 531-548, July.
    5. Chase Billingham & Barry Bluestone & Stephanie Pollack, 2010. "Maintaining diversity in America's transit-rich neighborhoods: tools for equitable neighborhood change," New England Community Developments, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, pages 1-6.
    6. Mohammad, Sara I. & Graham, Daniel J. & Melo, Patricia C. & Anderson, Richard J., 2013. "A meta-analysis of the impact of rail projects on land and property values," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 158-170.
    7. Khattak, Asad J. & Rodriguez, Daniel, 2005. "Travel behavior in neo-traditional neighborhood developments: A case study in USA," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 481-500, July.
    8. Ellen, Ingrid Gould & O'Regan, Katherine M., 2011. "How low income neighborhoods change: Entry, exit, and enhancement," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 89-97, March.
    9. Jackson, Sara L. & Buckman, Joshua, 2020. "Light rail development with or without gentrification?: Neighborhood perspectives on changing sense of place in Denver, Colorado," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Ghebreegziabiher Debrezion & Eric Pels & Piet Rietveld, 2007. "The Impact of Railway Stations on Residential and Commercial Property Value: A Meta-analysis," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 161-180, August.
    11. Nilsson, Isabelle & Delmelle, Elizabeth, 2018. "Transit investments and neighborhood change: On the likelihood of change," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 167-179.
    12. Dong, Hongwei, 2017. "Rail-transit-induced gentrification and the affordability paradox of TOD," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-10.
    13. Billings, Stephen B., 2011. "Estimating the value of a new transit option," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 525-536.
    14. Coulson, N. Edward & Grieco, Paul L.E., 2013. "Mobility and mortgages: Evidence from the PSID," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 1-7.
    15. Miguel Padeiro & Ana Louro & Nuno Marques da Costa, 2019. "Transit-oriented development and gentrification: a systematic review," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(6), pages 733-754, November.
    16. Elizabeth C. Delmelle & Yuhong Zhou & Jean-Claude Thill, 2014. "Densification without Growth Management? Evidence from Local Land Development and Housing Trends in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-16, June.
    17. Barbara B. Brown & Wyatt A. Jensen & Doug Tharp, 2019. "Residents’ expectations for new rail stops: optimistic neighborhood perceptions relate to subsequent transit ridership," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 125-146, February.
    18. Elizabeth Delmelle & Isabelle Nilsson, 2020. "New rail transit stations and the out-migration of low-income residents," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(1), pages 134-151, January.
    19. Bowes, David R. & Ihlanfeldt, Keith R., 2001. "Identifying the Impacts of Rail Transit Stations on Residential Property Values," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 1-25, July.
    20. Devajyoti Deka, 2017. "Benchmarking gentrification near commuter rail stations in New Jersey," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(13), pages 2955-2972, October.
    21. Jonathan Levine & Lawrence Frank, 2007. "Transportation and land-use preferences and residents’ neighborhood choices: the sufficiency of compact development in the Atlanta region," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 255-274, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Houston, Douglas & Zuñiga, Michelle E., 2021. "Perceptions of neighborhood change in a Latinx transit corridor," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Nilsson, Isabelle & Delmelle, Elizabeth C., 2023. "Smart growth as a luxury amenity? Exploring the relationship between the marketing of smart growth characteristics and neighborhood racial and income change," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    3. Bohman, Helena, 2021. "Same, same but different? Neighbourhood effects of accessibility on housing prices," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 52-60.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elizabeth Delmelle & Isabelle Nilsson, 2020. "New rail transit stations and the out-migration of low-income residents," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(1), pages 134-151, January.
    2. Tornabene, Sara & Nilsson, Isabelle, 2021. "Rail transit investments and economic development: Challenges for small businesses," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    3. Allen, Jeff & Higgins, Christopher D. & Silver, Daniel & Farber, Steven, 2023. "Are low-income residents disproportionately moving away from transit?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    4. Nilsson, Isabelle & Delmelle, Elizabeth, 2018. "Transit investments and neighborhood change: On the likelihood of change," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 167-179.
    5. Meriläinen, Marjut & Karhula, Aleksi & Kurvinen, Antti & Falkenbach, Heidi & Ala-Mantila, Sanna, 2024. "Transit-induced socioeconomic ascent and new metro stations in Helsinki Metropolitan Area: Distinct effects on renters, homeowners, and pre-existing housing dwellers," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    6. Elina Sukaryavichute & Elizabeth Delmelle & Colleen Hammelman, 2021. "Opportunities and challenges for small businesses in new transit neighborhoods: Understanding impacts through in‐depth interviews," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 1025-1041, June.
    7. Shadi O. Tehrani & Shuling J. Wu & Jennifer D. Roberts, 2019. "The Color of Health: Residential Segregation, Light Rail Transit Developments, and Gentrification in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-19, September.
    8. Schmidt, Adam & Bardaka, Eleni & Thill, Jean-Claude, 2022. "Causal, spatiotemporal impacts of transit investments: Exploring spatial heterogeneity from announcement through long-run operation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 151-169.
    9. Houston, Douglas & Zuñiga, Michelle E., 2021. "Perceptions of neighborhood change in a Latinx transit corridor," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Bohman, Helena, 2021. "Same, same but different? Neighbourhood effects of accessibility on housing prices," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 52-60.
    11. Pasha, Obed & Wyczalkowski, Chris & Sohrabian, Dro & Lendel, Iryna, 2020. "Transit effects on poverty, employment, and rent in Cuyahoga County, Ohio," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 33-41.
    12. Pilgram, Clemens A. & West, Sarah E., 2018. "Fading premiums: The effect of light rail on residential property values in Minneapolis, Minnesota," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-10.
    13. Zhong, Haotian & Li, Wei, 2016. "Rail transit investment and property values: An old tale retold," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 33-48.
    14. Li, Jianling, 2018. "Residential and transit decisions: Insights from focus groups of neighborhoods around transit stations," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-9.
    15. Wagner, Gary A. & Komarek, Timothy & Martin, Julia, 2017. "Is the light rail “Tide” lifting property values? Evidence from Hampton Roads, VA," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 25-37.
    16. Dubé, Jean & Le Gallo, Julie & Des Rosiers, François & Legros, Diègo & Champagne, Marie-Pier, 2024. "An integrated causal framework to evaluate uplift value with an example on change in public transport supply," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    17. Zhang, Min, 2023. "Value uplift from transit investment-Property value or land value? A case study of the Gold Coast light rail system in Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 88-98.
    18. Chinmoy Ghosh & Venkatesh Panchapagesan & Madalasa Venkataraman, 2024. "On the Impact of Infrastructure Improvement on Real Estate Property Values: Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment in an Emerging Market," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 103-137, January.
    19. Baker, Dwayne Marshall & Kim, Seunghoon, 2020. "What remains? The influence of light rail transit on discretionary income," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    20. AlQuhtani, Saad & Anjomani, Ardeshir, 2019. "Do rail transit stations affect housing value changes? The Dallas Fort-Worth metropolitan area case and implications," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-1.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:86:y:2020:i:c:s0966692320302064. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.