Growth/decline Of Employment Subcenter In Polycentric Regions: The Case Of The Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area
Abstract
This research is concerned with explaining the variation in growth rates among
employment subcenters. The purpose of the study is to find answers to the question:
What factors/variables contribute to the growth or decline of employment subcenters?
More specifically, the study aims to 1) identify and describe employment subcenters in
the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and 2) explain the variation in their growth
rate over a specified period of time through testing a set of variables extracted from
related literature. A multiple regression analysis technique is employed to complete the
empirical analysis. The DFW metropolitan area was chosen as a case study sample of polycentric
regions in order to explore the phenomenon. Data sets covering over six thousand
Traffic Survey Zones in the metropolitan area were used in the identification and
analysis of employment subcenters. The results of the study identify several explanatory
variables that affect the growth rate of employment subcenters in the DFW metropolitan
area. Some of the variables identified are distance to the DFW international airport,
distance to highway interchanges, distance to the Dallas CBD, whether the area is
served by public transportation or not, and the proportion of subcenter’s area located in
a floodplain zone. All of which were statistically significant in explaining the variation
in the growth rate of employment subcenters in the region. Finally, the complexity of
the subject covered in this dissertation requires a combined set of detailed future studies
to better explain the phenomenon.