Tracks of Change

Year: 2009–2011

This project established a multidisciplinary partnership between cityLAB, the UCLA Department of Urban Planning, and the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate to conduct investigations on the effect of high-speed rail stations on urban development in Southern California communities, and to delineate the best policy and planning practices for positive change.

This project conducts three interrelated investigations: 1) to determine the types of urban development that have emerged around high-speed rail stations elsewhere through the Delphi method, 2) to identify the likely effects of high-speed rail stations on the Southern California communities adjacent to them through case study analysis, and 3) to delineate the best policy and planning practices to bring about urban development aligned with the state's larger environmental, land use, and transportation goals through participatory action research. The study offers recommendations for the planning, design, and programming of areas around stations so that Southern California communities are better prepared for the arrival of high-speed rail, to leverage that investment, and to amplify its positive effects. Led by Roger Sherman, these varied development narratives demonstrate possible urban consequences when cities take a proactive stance about the coming high speed rail.