LIVABLE COMMUNITIES:PERSPECTIVES FROM OTHER UTC’S

Jill Hough, Ph.D.

Small Urban & Rural Transit Center

Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

North Dakota State University

“The essential purpose of the Federal transit law is not simply to fund the capital and operating costs of transit systems; more generally, the purpose is to improve the quality of life in urban and rural communities through the use of transit systems, recognizing them as the lifeblood of livable communities.”

- Federal Transit Administration Livable Communities Initiative

Recognize Need Transit and Livability

• Need for a better understanding of relationship between transit and community livability.

• Need to measure the impact of federal policy on livability.

• What are some measures?• SURTC 2011 Transit and Community Livability Report

• Livability initiatives being incorporated into Fargo City Planning.

• NDSU Campus Livability

SURTC 2011 Transit and Community Livability Report

• American Housing Survey Regions

• Transit Livability Statistics

• Regions• Urban• Rural

Transit Livability Statistics Construction

• Transit Availability• Transit Accessibility• Transit Use• Transit Desirability• Transit to Work• Vehicle Availability

 Transit

AvailabilityTransit

AccessibilityTransit

UseTransit

DesirabilityTransit to

WorkVehicle

AvailabilityNational 57% 6:06 20% 5% 3% 94%             Northeast 69% 6:00 30% 4% 3% 87%Midwest 53% 5:42 16% 5% 4% 95%South 41% 6:37 13% 3% 3% 96%West 75% 5:58 19% 5% 3% 96%

National Transit Livability Statistics

What is Fargo doing about Livability?• Community of approximately 100,000 people• Large University Presence• Major Employers• Growing Public Transit Use

Trends

-More bike lanes

-More walkable community

-Redevelopment near campus

-More transit hybrid buses-Better transit route frequency-Increased transit ridership

Livability – NDSU Campus

Mixed Use Buildings and High Frequency Transit Service