Light Rail and Neighborhood Change: Comparative Perspectives of Residents, Local Media, and Other Stakeholders

Abstract

Rail transit impacts on adjacent neighborhoods are contested. Through the lens of New Urbanism and sustainable urban development, this article offers a critical analysis of different perceptions of neighborhood changes occurring after the opening of a new light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina. We conducted 15 interviews with representatives in planning, transportation, and real estate; 11 focus groups with 75 residents living close to a light rail station; and a content analysis of 86 local news articles. Although the various stakeholders do not represent homogeneous groups, light rail investments and associated neighborhood changes are typically viewed positively by planners, developers, and local media but have received mixed responses from residents. We tie this into a broader discussion about putting New Urbanism into practice. Besides furthering academic discussions, this article can inform local planning and policy in areas of transportation, housing, and economic development.

Keywords:

• neighborhoods
• transportation
• mixed methods
• qualitative methods
• housing
• New Urbanism

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

National Science Foundation, Behavioral and Cognitive Science Division. Geography and Spatial Sciences, Award No. 175914. https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1759714. This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation [Grant 1759714].

Notes on contributors

J. Claire Schuch

J. Claire Schuch holds a BA in geography and international studies, with a concentration in community and global health, from Macalester College, and a PhD in geography and urban regional analysis from University of North Carolina (UNC) Charlotte. Since 2011, she has been involved in a range of interdisciplinary, mixed-method, community-based studies covering topics such as Latinx civic engagement, minority and female entrepreneurship, immigrant inclusion, postpartum depression among low-income women, unintended pregnancy, affordable housing, school-to-work transitions for Latinx youth, and domestic violence among immigrants. She was the qualitative research lead for this National Science Foundation funded light rail study. In this role, she led the conceptualization, data collection, analysis and dissemination of the surveys, interviews and focus groups. She also trained and supervised research assistants.

Tonderai Mushipe

Tonderai Mushipe is a PhD student in the Geography and Earth Sciences Program at UNC Charlotte. His area of study is urban geography, with a focus on transportation and economic mobility. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public administration. His work on the project that produced this article has focused mostly on community-based research, building relationships with community partners, administering surveys, and recruiting interviewees and focus group participants. He also worked extensively with Dr. Schuch on conducting the interviews and focus groups, analyzing the transcripts and writing the academic articles. He has lived in Charlotte for more than 13 years and has immigrant roots from the country of Zimbabwe.