Public Transportation and Industrial Location Patterns in California

2016Final Report: April 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016PDFTech ReportCA16-286965A0529 TO 016Cluster analysisEconomic developmentEmploymentIndustrial locationLand useProperty valuesPublic transitAgglomerationIndustry locationEmployment densityLand valueRail accessUnited StatesCaliforniaCalifornia. Dept. of TransportationChatman, Daniel G.Xu, RuoyingPark, JaniceLe, KimUniversity of California, BerkeleyCalifornia. Dept. of Transportation. Division of Research, Innovation, and System InformationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionThis project investigated how changes in rail transit service in California metropolitan areas (Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and San Diego) are associated with the concentration of firms and commercial property values. A mixed-methods approach was used that combined quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative method involved first, describing location patterns by industry according to transit access, and second, quantitatively modeling the relationship of transit access to (a) employment densification by industry and (b) commercial property values. The qualitative method involved in-depth interviews with real estate professionals that were aimed at finding different possible explanations for firm location, expansion, and productivity and the role, if any, of rail passenger transport in those decisions. The quantitative models suggest that rail development does promote employment densification and increased land value, but the magnitude of the effects differs across regions. San Francisco County had the highest employment densification and land value associated with rail proximity, while the Los Angeles region also had a relatively strong relationship between rail access and both employment density and property value. However, rail development in San Diego was somewhat positively associated with employment density and negatively associated with land value appreciation. The analysis of interviews was generally consistent with these findings, and also suggested that existing land use patterns and policies may play a greater role in the varying magnitude of rail influence on employment density and land value than the availability of rail access itself, and that downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco benefit more from rail than the outlying parts of the metropolitan areas