| This research is a study of the relationship of United States rail transit development and success with urban population, employment and congestion characteristics. It is conducted through a three-pronged approach. First, a statistical correlation analysis of the relationship from a regional or metropolitan area perspective is done. Second, a more qualitative analysis of the relationship from a corridor scale is conducted. Third, a case study examining the reintroduction of rail transit into Denver, Colorado is presented. The major findings of this research are several. First, the geographic characteristics of rail transit development and success today are very different from those found in earlier eras of rail transit development. Second, rail transit development and success today is strongly related to metropolitan area and corridor congestion characteristics. Third, rail transit development and success today is also related to corridor population density, however today this density is found in corridors that are much wider than during earlier eras of rail transit development. Last, rail transit development and success today is related to employment density in clusters outside of the central business district as well as employment density inside the central business district. The major significance of this research is that new rail transit is continuing to be built in U.S. metropolitan areas today, and having a better understanding of its relationship to urban population, employment and congestion characteristics will improve the fit of this transportation mode into overall U.S. urban form. |
