Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

The Motivations Of Exurban Commuters Within A Region, Judy Seppanen Davis

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This case study of the Portland, Oregon, region analyzes and compares the emerging commuting patterns of exurban, small town, and suburban households. The analysis is based on a mail survey of 1408 households who purchased homes in 1987. By examining the types of households moving to exurbia, their reasons for moving, and the impacts of their moves on journey-to-work a picture is drawn of the forces shaping exurban development and the implications of this type of development for transportation planning and policy.

Labor Productivity In Wood Products: Using Interviews To Supplement Statistical Estimates, Anthony M. Rufolo, Lois M. Bronfman, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

In 1986 the wood products industry in Oregon was producing more output than in 1979 but with about fifteen percent fewer workers. The employment decline in the wood products industry in Oregon can be traced to a variety of causes, including reductions in timber harvest and changes in output mix between the more labor-intensive plywood production and the less labor-intensive lumber production; but increasing labor productivity in the industry was a major factor. Despite substantial amounts of research regarding such productivity increases, there is still ample room for debate about the specific causes of the observed productivity improvement.

In section …

Structural Change And Employment Decline In Oregon's Wood Products Industry, James G. Strathman, Anthony M. Rufolo, Lois M. Bronfman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Employment in the wood products industry in Oregon has declined over the past decade despite a recent resurgence in demand for the industry's products. Reviewing employment and productivity data over the last decade, it is apparent that wood products employment in the state has been reduced as a result of productivity increases. Thus the industry processed more timber in 1986 than in 1979, but with about fifteen percent fewer workers. Continued reductions in wood products employment pose potentially serious adjustment problems because much of rural Oregon remains heavily dependent economically on the industry. There are also indications that timber supply …

Challenges Confronting Metropolitan Portland's Transportation Decision-Making Regime, Sheldon Edner, Sy Adler, Peter B. Morris

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

In this paper we discuss the structure and dynamics of this consensus process through an exploration of a series of challenges to the regime. These challenges include: (1) cultivating new sources of project finance, as the federal government reduces its contribution; and (2) integrating transport projects with regional and local land use plans designed to manage urban growth; in the context of (3) intensifying competition between -business centers within the region, as rapidly growing suburban areas seek transport projects that will facilitate locally-oriented economic growth. We first discuss the institutional and normative elements of the regional consensus process in historical …

Analysis Of Westside Bypass Freeway Corridor Using Pcarc/Info And Idrisi Geographic Information Systems, Matt Newman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The purpose of this research project is to examine the functionality and interface of two Geographic Information Systems, and to perform a potential environmental assessment of the Westside Bypass Freeway corridor in suburban Portland. First is a discussion which describes elementary GIS concepts, data format and fundamental GIS operations. Next is a description of pcARC/INFO and IDRIS! and an analysis of their functionality. Following this, a description of the methodologies used to analyze the Westside Bypass Freeway corridor, is presented. The inventory of resource themes and conflicts with the freeway alignments is discussed next, emphasizing some of the more interesting …

An Evaluation Of Automatic Passenger Counters: Validation, Sampling, And Statistical Inference, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

While automatic passenger counters (APC's) offer the potential for cait effective data recovery and management, they also introduce new complications in the data recovery process. This report addresses three issues associated with the implementation of APC's, based on an evaluation of the recent experiences of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met). First is the issue of validation, which is concerned with both the recovery and accuracy of APC passenger data. The second issue concerns the development of a sampling methodology for APC's compatible with UMTA's Section 15 reporting requirements. Third is the issue of inferring system-level ridership from …

Site Location Study For An Integrated Traffic Data Collection System: Phase 1 Report, Kenneth Dueker, Richard Ledbetter, Bruce Rex

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Improved technology for counting, classifying, and weighing vehicles in the highway traffic stream is becoming increasingly available. Research has been undertaken to make effective use of these new technologies, not just to replace current data collection programs of counting, classifying, and weighing with more efficient versions. This reports on the Phase I research, which had three major objectives;

• a literature review to guide the analysis of alternative methods;
• a statement of requirements to modernize and integrate the data collection programs of traffic counting, vehicle classification and truck weights, and to identify the type and use of traffic data for design, …

Sampling Bus Ridership At The Route Level: Initial Results From Efforts To Improve The Precision Of Sample Estimates, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

UMTA's Section 15 reporting requirements establish precision standards and corresponding sampling plans for estimating bus ridership at the system level. However, many transit providers are interested in recovering data with sufficient precision to permit ridership analysis at the route level. One outcome of extending a system sampling plan to route level data collection and analysis would be a large increase in the sample sizes required to achieve a reasonable standard of precision. Given the costs involved in expanding the data recovery process beyond what is required for Section 15 reporting, alternative means of improving the precision of route level data …

Augmented Analysis Of Oregon's Special Need Transportation Providers, Janice Dean, Sheldon Edner, Kenneth Dueker, Transportation Northwest (Transnow)

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This analysis extends the work originally provided in the 1988 Oregon Public Transportation Study by the same authors. The intent is to focus attention on a particularly diverse segment of the public transportation community, special need providers (SNT), in an effort to further specify and define their nature and role in the public transportation system. The results of this analysis are intended to assist the Oregon Department of Transportation, Public Transit Division, with its efforts to implement Oregon's public transportation programs and to provide a basis for further specifying additional research needs in this area.

Constructing The 1990 Public Transportation Study Process: Reflections Of The 1988 Research Team, Janice Dean, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The 1988 Oregon Public Transportation Study provided a solid foundation of information about Oregon’s transportation providers. In particular, it furnishes information on which revenue sources members of the industry are utilizing, expenditure patterns, capital and operating revenue needs, the protected increased demands for public transportation, and the ability of provides to makes use of available resources in their strategic planning. The study also substantiated that many members of the industry do not identify themselves as transportation providers, particularly the Special Need Transportation providers. The research process also revealed several additional factors about the process of collecting information that should be …

Dynamics Of The Suburban Activity Center, Rodney Jennings

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Suburban congestion is a much-discussed phenomenon, although its nature and dimensions are poorly understood. During the Winter term of 1989, several students in the Transportation and Land Use class in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University, examined in term papers transportation issues related to suburban activity centers, particularly the Washington Square center area of suburban Portland.

This report is a synthesis of work derived from the student's term papers. Four of the students continued their research in a collaborative way and presented their joint finding at a workshop at the University of Washington sponsored by TransNOW, …

The Contribution Of Manager And Organizational Characteristics To Transit Agency Performance: A National Study Of United States Transit Providers, Charles White, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The primary objective of the report is to relate attitudinal and demographic characteristics of transit management personnel and agency institutional characteristics to agency performance. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the relative contributions of manager and institutional characteristics as explanatory factors in transit agency performance. The study is based upon the responses of 1033 managers from 134 agencies representing the full range of agency size, institutional, and locational characteristics.

Across six basic performance measures (coat efficiency, labor efficiency, service effectiveness, maintenance efficiency (measured in two different ways) and vehicle efficiency) used here, manager characteristics and attitudes do not …

1988 Oregon Public Transportation Study, Sheldon Edner, Kenneth Dueker, Janice Dean

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Oregon continues to face challenges in public transportation. The lack of a consistent and comprehensive framework of state policy is making local efforts to meet public transportation demands harder and fails to exploit economic and transportation opportunities for improving the vitality of the state. The absence of continuous and stable state financial assistance has weakened the state/local partnership in providing public transportation services and kept mobility for many Oregonians at a minimal level. Finally, as the federal role in funding transportation declines the need for aggressive state leadership increases. The following recommendations for Legislative and Executive action are offered as …

Implementation And Database Issues Involved In Enhanced 9-1-1 Emergency Services And Rural Addressing Systems, Kenneth Dueker, George Mason, Rodney Jennings

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The purpose of this paper is to explore the transition from the 9-1-1 single number emergency service request system to an enhanced single number system. An enhanced system is one that displays the address of the telephone which is being used to report an emergency and uses that address to identify the correct unit for dispatch. Though the technology has been available for some time now, surprisingly few enhanced systems have been fully installed. Telephone company franchise and jurisdictional boundaries rarely coincide, making it difficult to achieve cooperation in bringing together governments and competitive telephone companies. Outlined below is an …

Land Information System: Strategies For Local Governments In Oregon, Oregon. State Map Advisory Council

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The purpose of this report is to disseminate the findings and recommendations from the deliberations of the Oregon Land Records Committee (OLRC) of the State Map Advisory Council (SMAC). The OLRC consists of state and local government officials and professionals, and representation from utilities and private sector firms involved in the maintenance and use of land records and geographic information systems (GIS) for the analysis of data about land. These individuals have given freely of their time and experience in furtherance of the mission and goals of the OLRC.

This report is directed to professionals and public officials in local …

Law Enforcement Services In Clackamas County: Description And Financial Analysis, Judy Seppanen Davis, Peter B. Morris, Mark Bechtel, Jan Monroe, Charles Tracy, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report was prepared for the Clackamas County Blue Ribbon Committee on Law Enforcement by the Center for Urban Studies, Portland State University. The report provides a description of the current system of law enforcement service provision in the County by city and County service providers. It also analyzes the current financing process of law enforcement with regard to the equity of service received in relation co amounts paid by city and County residents. The analysis focuses only on law enforcement and does not address rhe other services provided by the County or other jurisdictions. Further, the findings presented here …

Employment Decline I Timber Dependent Regions, Anthony M. Rufolo, James G. Strathman, Lois M. Bronfman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Employment in the wood products industry in Oregon has declined over the past decade despite the resurgence in demand for the products of the industry in the last few years. Because of the dependency of rural regions on this industry, the Ford Foundation funded the authors to undertake a study of the causes and consequences of employment decline within the industry. Such information can contribute to the development of strategies for improving the economic viability of these regions.

Tunber dependent regions in Oregon fit the classic export-base model of economic development These areas produce wood products for export to other …

The Market For Convention Facilities, Philipp Degens, M. Hossein Haeri, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Conventions, trade shows and meetings represent an industry of considerable size in the United States. In a 1984 survey, the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus estimated a total of 20.5 billion dollars of annual expenditure generated by 54.3 million delegates nationwide. Despite its economic importance, the industry has received little analytical attention in the literature on tourism. In this paper we develop and estimate a model of demand for metropolitan convention facilities. Our results suggest that metropolitan convention activity is sensitive to both cost and attraction-related factors.

Governing And Managing Multi-Modal Transit Agencies In A Multicentric Era, Sy Adler, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

We explore the dynamics of governing and managing multi-modal regional transit agencies through a case study of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transit District (Tri-Met), which provides bus and rail transit services to the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area (see map). Along with other similarly constituted firms in the United States transit industry, Tri-Met confronts the challenge of providing service in a geopolitical context that is quite different than when the agency was created. The critical new element in Tri-Met's operating environment is the emergence of several suburban business centers that effectively compete with the Portland central business district (CBD), and are seeking …

Geographic Information Systems: Research Issues, Kenneth Dueker

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

GIS research has evolved by trial and error. We need to think more systematically about GIS research. New technology and societal needs are important determinants of issues that govern GIS research strategies. URISA has a stake in fostering GIS research, particularly research that is appliications driven.

Modeling Cadastral Spatial Relationships, Kenneth Dueker, Daniel Kjerne

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Research exploring the object-oriented paradigm as a tool with which to model location of objects in maps is reported. The research led us into three areas:

• the use of an object-oriented language, Smalltalk.-80 to model cadastral location using the object-oriented paradigm.
• study of the development of spatial information systems, such as engineering design and computer-aided design(CAD) database systems based on object-oriented ideas, to see how that approach might be useful for developing a mapping system.
• Finally, the conceptual exploration of how an object-oriented approach might facilitate linkages of location among layers of a land information system.

Future research is needed …

Hillsboro Union High School District Community Information Project, Daniel O'Toole, Sheldon Edner, Chuck Beadle, Jan Monroe

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The material below reports on the results of a contract between the Hillsboro Union High School District and the Center for Urban Studies, Portland State University. This contract reflects the District's desire for additional information concerning community ideas and perspectives on District programs. The District had suffered a series of levy defeats at the ballot box, despite significant budget reductions. The result was a major financial shortfall that produced significant program reductions, including the curtailment of athletic programs and busing services. The District's need was for a better understanding of not only specific citizen attitudes but also proposals that would …

Evaluation Of Vertical Equity In Residential Property Assessments In The Lake Oswego And West Linn Areas, James G. Strathman, Dirce Toulan

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report presents a statistical evaluation of vertical equity in the pattern of residential property assessments in the Lake Oswego, West Linn and nearby unincorporated areas based on an application of the Paglin-Fogarty method to a sample of recent sales. A vertically regressive pattern of inequity in assessments, which is characterized by systemmatic under-assessment of higher-valued properties and overassessment of lower-valued properties, was found. Based on the entire sample, it was estimated that a typical $75,000 property was overassessed by about $4,700, and a typical $175,000 property was underassessed by $8,800.

Portland State University's Impact On The Portland Smsa Economy, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Portland State University's contribution to the metropolitan Portland economy is both diverse and considerable. A 1982 study estimated that the expenditures made by the University, its faculty and staff, and its full-time students generated over $150 million in gross output in the region. Given the changes that have taken place over the past five years, a re-examination of the University's economic impacts is warranted. This report examines Portland State University's contribution to metropolitan economic activity based on data from the 1985-86 academic year.

The approach taken in this report differs in several respects from the 1982 study. In addition to …

New West, New South, New Region: The Discovery Of The Sunbelt, Carl Abbott

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Given the speed with which we have embraced the idea and terminology of a Sunbelt, this essay attempts to explore several related issues. As an introduction, it will briefly review the process of introduction and acceptance of the term. It will then explore possible reasons for the "discovery" of the Sunbelt, its seemingly quick success, and its persistent use after it has slipped to the status of cliche in national journalism. The underlying concern is to understand why Americans took the new terminology so readily to heart by examining what it is that "Sunbelt" explains or implies that lies beyond …

The Growth Of Service Industries In California 1960-1980, Ayalew Adamu, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper investigates structural changes in the service economy in California between 1960 and 1980. The service sector is disaggregated into four segments - distributive, business, personal and social - and a model is developed and estimated relating the relative growth of employment in services to changes in economic, demographic and urbanization factors. Substitution and complementary linkages among the service segments, and between these segments and manufacturing are also explored. Our results are consistent with the Fisher-Clark hypothesis, and the general importance of demographic and urbanization factors is also established. Variations in the influence of the determinants of structural change …

Contracting For Social Service Client Transportation: Multnomah County, Oregon, Final Report, Kenneth Dueker, Judy S. David

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The Multnomah County Aging Services Division (ASD) and the tri-county developmentally disabled programs provide transportation services for their elderly and handicapped clients primarily by contracting with TRI-MET, the regional transit district. This system is strained because the demands for transportation services are increasing, the cost of contracted services exceeds the county's transportation funds, the quality of service does not meet all clients' needs, and TRI-MET has been spending less of its primary funding sources on elderly and handicapped transportation. The county therefore contracted with the Center for Urban Studies of Portland State University, to examine the current provision of transportation …

Tax Equity Effects Of Creative Financing: Empirical Evidence, James G. Strathman, Morton Paglin

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper argues that tax inequities are produced when property assessments fail to account for the effects of creative financing . Changes in equity resulting from the capitalization of creative financing in housing prices are estimated from a sample of properties in Portland, Oregon using the Paglin-Fogarty model. The principal findings of the analysis indicate that : 1) on average, creatively financed houses have a higher mean assessment ratio than conventionally financed houses; 2) the assessment penalty for creative financing is systematically related to the market value of houses, and is both absolutely and relatively larger for houses with lower …

Ridesharing In Oregon: A Descriptive Analysis, Jan Monroe, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report provides an overview of the major rideshare programs in the cities of Portland, Salem, and Eugene. A general description of the setting, a brief history, and the current program is provided for each city.

The cities of Portland, Salem, and Eugene all have existing rideshare programs that include a matching service for prospective participants and a discounted parking cost program for vehicles used for ridesharing. The two hospitals reviewed (Good Samaritan and The Oregon Health Sciences University), in addition to the matching service and parking discounts, also subsidize mass transit as an alternative . Good Samaritan and the …

Manager Retention And Job Change In The Transit Industry: A Survey Of Manager Attitudes, Charles White, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper examines issues related to the managerial personnel needs of the transit industry over the next five years. Specifically, we explore the career expectations reported by 1301 managers from 178 agencies. Their responses are grouped based on whether they will be with the same transit agency, a different agency, retire, or leave the transit industry. These stated intentions are examined in relation to agency characteristics, individual demographics, professional experience, and evaluations of personal career development and opportunities.

our survey results portray a significantly different transit manager than that described by Mundy and Spchalski in 1973. Current managers are younger, …