Browsing by Author "Wexler, Noah"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Advancing Social Equity with Shared Autonomous Vehicles: Literature Review, Practitioner Interviews, and Stated Preference Surveys
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2022-01) Fan, Yingling; Wexler, Noah; Douma, Frank; Ryan, Galen; Hong, Chris; Li, Yanhua; Zhang, Zhi-Li
    This report examines preferences and attitudes regarding the implementation and design of a hypothetical publicly-funded Shared Automated Vehicle (SAV) system in the Twin Cities metro area. We provide a brief literature review before delving into our main findings. First, we discuss a series of interviews in which officials at local planning agencies were asked about their vision for SAV in the Twin Cities. According to these interviews, SAV could be especially useful in solving first-and-last-mile problems and connecting with already existing transit and on-demand transportation infrastructure. We then analyze data sourced from an originally designed digital survey instrument implemented over social media in 2020 and specifically targeted at Twin Cities residents. Data from the survey emphasize that people who currently experience barriers to transportation are more likely to value SAV highly. The data also give insight into design considerations, emphasizing flexibility in payment and booking and the importance of security features. Finally, we examine data from a similar survey administered at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair, which we use to gauge preferences toward SAV among people living in the Twin Cities exurbs and Greater Minnesota.
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    Commercial Gentrification Along Twin Cities Transitway Corridors
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2022-05) Wexler, Noah; Fan, Yingling
    This report examines how the construction and operation of Light Rail and Bus Rapid Transit corridors in the Twin Cities metropolitan area affected commercial gentrification. Using data on establishments providing retail, food, or personal services, we use several econometric approaches to examine how both the construction and operation of new transit affected sales, employment, and concentration of nearby establishments. We estimate separate models for small single-location firms and establishments affiliated with larger multiple-location firms. Overall, we find that robust evidence that the Green Line reduced sales for single-location firms. We also find some evidence that the A Line BRT slightly reduced sales and employment for the same types of firms. By contrast, the Blue Line did not have significant effects on nearby stores. We use the Green Line as a case study to examine the mechanisms of transit-induced commercial gentrification, finding that gentrification effects are correlated with positive residential construction effects. These findings suggest that transit-induced gentrification is dependent on transit's affects on surrounding physical infrastructure, pointing to actionable policy remedies that can protect small firms during periods when nearby construction may disrupt business.
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    The Effects of Highway Improvement Projects on Nearby Business Activity
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2023-08) Wexler, Noah; Fan, Yingling
    This report analyzes how state-funded highway improvement projects in the seven county Twin Cities metropolitan area affected businesses in adjacent Census Tracts. We first identify demographic factors associated with the temporal and financial prioritization of some projects over others, finding that the per capita income of a Census Tract is associated with it featuring more heavily prioritized highway improvement construction. We then turn to the effects of highway improvement construction and operation, using results from the previous analysis to account for endogeneity of improvement timing. While we find largely null results of highway improvement on sales, employment, establishment counts, and turnover for both single-establishment and multiple-establishment firms, we also find that pooling data masks several sources of effect heterogeneity. Specifically, we find that single-establishment firms experience negative sales effects from construction when tracts are affected only by infrastructure replacement projects (improvements that do not affect traffic operations, i.e., a bridge replacement). Furthermore, negative sales and employment effects occur after construction is completed for single-establishment firms in urban areas and in tracts affected by longer bouts of construction. Meanwhile, in suburban areas, some modest gains accrue to multiple-establishment firms. These results suggest that regional planners need to account for potential externalities from highway construction on particularly nearby small business establishments.
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    Episode 91: Students discuss UMN minimum wage
    (2022-02-10) Ericson, Sean; Moser, Sam; Horstman, Ken; Tennis, Davyd; Ayala, Jose; Wexler, Noah
    The University’s CBS and Institute on the Environment recently raised minimum wages for student workers to $15 or above.
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    Value of Transitways to Regional Economies: National and Twin Cities Perspectives
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2020-04) Fan, Yingling; Wexler, Noah; Guthrie, Andrew; Van Dort, Leoma; Guo, Yuxuan
    This study is comprised of two main analyses: (1) a national analysis that assesses the relationship between the presence and quantity of transitway service with the overall economic strength of US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and (2) a comparative analysis of accessibility to regional employment centers, educational institutions, and workforce development service providers under current and hypothetical future transit conditions. For the first analysis, two-way fixed effects regressions controlling for demographics and total transit activity provide evidence that transitway investment is associated positively with GDP and job growth. However, no statistically significant relationship exists between transitway investment and median household income or inequality. The regional comparison analysis finds that fixed-guideway transit is widely accessible, yet slightly concentrated in higher-income or gentrifying neighborhoods.