Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2001

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Planning

Major

Planning

Major Professor

James A. Spencer

Committee Members

Cecilia Zanetta, Arun Chatterjee

Abstract

This study focuses on the relationships that exist between new urbanism and public transit in the United States. At a time when new urbanism continues to grow in its popularity and application as an innovative tool for mixed-use land development, public transit systems are experiencing tremendous growth in investment, infrastructure, and in many cases ridership. One of the many tenets of new urbanist promoters is to include public transit as an operational component in the planning and design of new urbanist communities. This Researcher's hypothesis states that developers of new urbanist communities are not seeking that objective.The research tools used in this study include a survey in the form of a questionnaire and a set of case studies. Questionnaire responses come from representatives of several new urbanist sites across the U.S., contributing datasets that can be measured against one another. Case studies build upon questionnaire data by examining qualitative information gathered at four new urbanist sites determined to be significant among the questionnaire responses.Among the findings, it is revealed that a vast majority of new urbanist developers neither had any form of communication with the local transit provider before construction began nor considered public transit to be important in the site analysis of the project. The researcher concludes that public transit is an operational component of design primarily when the design firm responsible for the master plan considers it to be operational.The author of this thesis has had a lifelong interest in the arts of the built environment. From early studies in architecture to later academics in urban planning, he continues to take particular interest in both the conventional and the innovative aspects of design, both what works and what does not work. New Urbanism has created a forum in which many of the aspects of the built environment come together upon one project site. It is this location on which he focuses his study.The field of public transit evaded the author until his unexpected employment as a transit planner in 1995. Today, public transit permeates many of his observations about urban environments. It is this system on which hecenters his attention.Chapter One introduces the thesis report by providing a background and purpose for the study, stating the research questions, delineating the structure of the report, and discussing the limitations and scope of the topic.Chapter Two examines the implications of new urbanist development in the United States, tells of the accepted principles of the modern public transit system, defines terminology, and describes assumptions and conditions.Chapter Three shows the organization of the survey questionnaire,illustrates the selection of the participants, and analyzes the questionnaire responses.Chapter Four outlines the role of the case study, shows criteria for the selection of participants, examines the interview responses for each case study location, and compares and contrasts data between questionnaires and case studies.Chapter Five ends the report with a summarization of conclusions and statements on implications for future new urbanist development.

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