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Turning cities inside out: transportation and the resurgence of downtowns in North America

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  • Martin Wachs

Abstract

North American urban areas have changed dramatically over the last four decades. While downtowns were thought to be in long-term decline 40 years ago, central business districts are today the most vibrant residential and commercial centers throughout a largely suburban continent. This paper examines the role of transportation technology and policy in the earlier decline and recent revival of American downtowns and examines challenges to the continuation of urban regeneration. Major recent investments in physical improvements in central cities have been complemented by a dramatic shift in the locus of logistical and goods processing activities from city centers to outlying areas. While many tout the energy efficiency and environmental benefits of walkable and denser inner cities, a more complete accounting of their impacts also requires analysis of increasing urban congestion and the steady rise in urban goods movement in support of the new development patterns. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

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  • Martin Wachs, 2013. "Turning cities inside out: transportation and the resurgence of downtowns in North America," Transportation, Springer, vol. 40(6), pages 1159-1172, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:40:y:2013:i:6:p:1159-1172
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-013-9501-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Circella, Giovanni & Alemi, Farzad & Tiedeman, Kate & Berliner, Rosaria M & Lee, Yongsung & Fulton, Lew & Mokhtarian, Patricia L & Handy , Susan, 2017. "What Affects Millennials’ Mobility? PART II: The Impact of Residential Location, Individual Preferences and Lifestyles on Young Adults’ Travel Behavior in California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt5kc117kj, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    2. Circella, Giovanni & Tiedeman, Kate & Handy, Susan & Alemi, Farzad & Mokhtarian, Patricia, 2016. "What Affects U.S. Passenger Travel? Current Trends and Future Perspectives," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2w16b8bf, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    3. David Hartgen, 2013. "Hubris or humility? Accuracy issues for the next 50 years of travel demand modeling," Transportation, Springer, vol. 40(6), pages 1133-1157, November.
    4. Sakai, Takanori & Kawamura, Kazuya & Hyodo, Tetsuro, 2017. "Spatial reorganization of urban logistics system and its impacts: Case of Tokyo," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 110-118.
    5. Audrey C Jamal, 2018. "Coworking spaces in mid-sized cities: A partner in downtown economic development," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(4), pages 773-788, June.
    6. Circella, Giovanni & Tiedeman, Kate & Handy, Susan & Alemi, Farzad & Mokhtarian, Patricia, 2016. "What Affects Millennials’ Mobility? Part I: Investigating the Environmental Concerns, Lifestyles, Mobility-Related Attitudes and Adoption of Technology of Young Adults in California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt6wm51523, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    7. Kenneth Joh & Sandip Chakrabarti & Marlon G. Boarnet & Ayoung Woo, 2015. "The Walking Renaissance: A Longitudinal Analysis of Walking Travel in the Greater Los Angeles Area, USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-27, July.
    8. Circella, Giovanni & Matson, Grant & Alemi, Farzad & Handy, Susan, 2019. "Panel Study of Emerging Transportation Technologies and Trends in California: Phase 2 Data Collection," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt35x894mg, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    9. Scheiner, Joachim, 2018. "Transport costs seen through the lens of residential self-selection and mobility biographies," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 126-136.

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