UTA Rails and Transit-Oriented Development—Spatial Analysis on Urban Commodification and Gentrification
Personal Investigation
Work in Progress (2022–TBD)
In Salt Lake’s race to solve a growing housing crisis and the demands for green space and better public transportation, the government and enterprise are investing in transit-oriented development (TOD) to mitigate these issues that are exacerbated by its expanding population, NIMBYs and YIMBYs, and gluttonous developers.
However, TOD is only remedying the problems for those who can afford the subsequent commodification that lies in the wake of extending UTA’s TRAX, a light rail system akin to San Francisco’s BART and Boston MBTA’s T. Once again we see marginalized communities, who are already on the brink, dispossessed from what they’ve survived and struggled to build from disinvestment, and displaced farther away from the white-collared implosion.
As enamoring as efficient mobility is, TOD is a byproduct of modern urbanizing procedures and its potential is overshadowed in how it sets the stage for gentrification in its current state.
BACKGROUND: UTAH TRANSIT AUTHORITY (UTA)
The UTA is responsible for public transportation services in the Wasatch Front (i.e. the more urbanized region in north-central Utah that includes Ogden, Salt Lake City, Provo, etc.). In the context of this study, the light rail and streetcar lines are only observed in the Salt Lake county area with census tract level observations.
LIGHT RAILS
Blue Line: Opened in 1999 with extensions in 2008 and 2013, stretching 19.3 miles (31.1 km) with 25 stations from downtown Salt Lake City to Draper. Extensions currently being discussed for eastside’s Highland Drive and Draper’s 14600 South. Opening and first extension analyses from 1998 to 2000 and 2007 to 2009 omitted due to lacking race data from ACS.
Red Line: Opened in 2001 with extensions in 2003 and 2011, stretching 23.7 miles (38.1 km) with 26 stations from the University of Utah to Daybreak in South Jordan. No extensions are currently planned. Opening and first extension analyses from 2000 to 2004 omitted due to lacking race data from ACS.
Green Line: Opened in 2011 with extensions in 2013, stretching 15.01 miles (24.16 km) with 19 stations from the Salt Lake International Airport to West Valley City. No extensions are currently planned.
STREETCAR
S-Line: Opened in 2013 with extensions toward the eastside planned for the near future.
COMMUTER RAIL
FrontRunner: Opened in 2008 with extensions beyond Salt Lake City planned for the future, which is out of the scope for this project and will be omitted from analyses.
