Economic development benefits are often cited as a justification for transportation investments. For a variety of reasons, federal transportation funds go mainly to large, regional-scale projects with identified regional economic benefits. Local benefits to low-income communities—when they exist—are usually incidental. The transportation and economic development needs of such communities generally get overlooked in transportation project planning. This may lead to distributive inequity. A review of state- and regional-level transportation programs found few that target transportation investments to local economic development in disadvantaged communities, either in effect or in stated purpose. The Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TCDI) program administered by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is one of the small number of such programs. While the DVRPC's municipal eligibility criteria for the TCDI now go beyond strictly disadvantaged communities to serve other goals such as regional growth management, the intended economic development benefits are still aimed primarily at disadvantaged communities. This program can point to some impressive results in local economic revitalization of disadvantaged neighborhoods that probably would not have occurred without the impetus the TCDI provided. On balance, the TCDI program is a good model for integrating transportation and economic development planning for the purpose of reviving disadvantaged communities. However, even TCDI's emphasis on revitalization of such communities is no guarantee that their inhabitants will benefit from economic development that might be generated by the program's projects.
Sharing the Wealth
Case Study of Targeting Transportation Funding to Economic Development in Low-Income Communities
Transportation Research Record
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board ; 1960 , 1 ; 23-31
2006-01-01
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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