TY - JOUR
T1 - Regional Policies, Practices, Tools, and Strategies to Implement Polycentric Development
T2 - Comparative Case Studies of Portland, Seattle, and Denver
AU - Ewing, Reid
AU - Lyons, Torrey
AU - Ameli, Seyed Hassan
AU - Hersey, John
AU - Kaniewska, Justyna
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the NSF, the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), and the U.S. DOT University Transportation Center.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Many of the larger US metropolitan regions promote polycentric development as a way of fostering livability, accessibility, and sustainability. Polycentric urban structures can increase transit ridership, promote active transportation, and decrease vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and CO2 emissions. Although many regions include ambitious polycentric aspirations in their plans, only a few follow up with rigorous implementation and see their efforts come to fruition. The topic of implementation is also widely omitted from scholarly inquiry. This research aims to explore three examples of successful implementation of urban polycentricity: Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Denver, Colorado. Each region employs a very distinct polycentric development model, but each relies heavily on its regional governance organization for direction, guidance, and even command in the implementation process. To understand specific strategies and methods used by each region, the authors conducted interviews with metropolitan planning organizations, central cities, and transit agencies in the three regions and used qualitative techniques to analyze the interview transcripts and collected documents. As regional governance organizations play a crucial role in implementing regional plans, their policies and practices were also investigated by the authors. Based on collected data and insights, we conclude that the three regions are great examples of an advanced implementation of polycentric development. This research can be helpful to other US metropolitan regions that wish to promote polycentric development. The lessons learned from the three case studies can provide guidance and possible paths to successful implementation.
AB - Many of the larger US metropolitan regions promote polycentric development as a way of fostering livability, accessibility, and sustainability. Polycentric urban structures can increase transit ridership, promote active transportation, and decrease vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and CO2 emissions. Although many regions include ambitious polycentric aspirations in their plans, only a few follow up with rigorous implementation and see their efforts come to fruition. The topic of implementation is also widely omitted from scholarly inquiry. This research aims to explore three examples of successful implementation of urban polycentricity: Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Denver, Colorado. Each region employs a very distinct polycentric development model, but each relies heavily on its regional governance organization for direction, guidance, and even command in the implementation process. To understand specific strategies and methods used by each region, the authors conducted interviews with metropolitan planning organizations, central cities, and transit agencies in the three regions and used qualitative techniques to analyze the interview transcripts and collected documents. As regional governance organizations play a crucial role in implementing regional plans, their policies and practices were also investigated by the authors. Based on collected data and insights, we conclude that the three regions are great examples of an advanced implementation of polycentric development. This research can be helpful to other US metropolitan regions that wish to promote polycentric development. The lessons learned from the three case studies can provide guidance and possible paths to successful implementation.
KW - Denver CO
KW - growth management
KW - metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)
KW - polycentric development implementation
KW - Portland OR
KW - regional transportation planning
KW - Seattle WA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85185891054&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/d5fd139a-2196-352a-a4d0-84e9c81d601b/
U2 - 10.3390/land13020238
DO - 10.3390/land13020238
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85185891054
SN - 2073-445X
VL - 13
JO - Land
JF - Land
IS - 2
M1 - 238
ER -