Abstract

Although local and regional planning entities have attempted to direct growth into transit corridors to achieve the sustainability goals of California Senate Bill 375 (SB 375), little is known about the complexity of near-transit infill dynamics. This project aims to enhance the authors understanding of the relationship between transit investment and urban land use change through a systematic investigation of parcel-level land use in Southern California with a focus on the first phase of the Gold Line, opened in 2003. The authors multinomial logistic regression results indicate that vacant parcels within the vicinity of new transit stations are more likely to be developed not only for residential but also for other urban purposes, than those with limited transit accessibility. Although relatively small in terms of magnitude, the presence of long-term (or indirect) effects is also detected, suggesting that continuing investment in a transit system can benefit both new and existing station areas by promoting the utility of the overall public transit service. Transit stations with low ridership, however, tend to generate smaller land use impacts, indicating the importance of the vitality of transit service. Transit investment’s impacts on industrial site reuse also appears to be less evident, while transit investment seems to function as a facilitator of the site redevelopment for multi-family housing and urban open space.