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.