Tracking Progress Toward 2035
CREATING LIVABLE COMMUNITIES INDICATORS
The Connections Plan advocates for investment in livable communities as ideal places to live, work, and play. Connections imagines the majority of the region's future development and investment occurring in over 100 Centers that are identified in the Plan. These Centers, of varying sizes and functions, are located throughout the region and already have a high level of development and infrastructure in place.
The Plan also categorizes each of the region's 352 municipalities as one of four Planning Area types: Core Cities, Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs, Growing Suburbs, and Rural Areas. Many of the older Centers, particularly those located in the region's Core Cites and Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs, have seen a significant amount of disinvestment in recent decades. Connections endorses strategies, such as improved transit service and recreational options, to reinvigorate these areas.
DVRPC tracks seven indicators in order to gauge the region's progress toward achieving this planning principle. These indicators focus on investment patterns in livable communities with a particular emphasis on revitalizing our region's Core Cities and Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs. Indicators will be periodically updated as new data becomes available, and will help shape the discussion about, and content of the next iteration of the Connections Plan.
IS THE POPULATION OF CORE CITIES AND DEVELOPED COMMUNITIES/MATURE SUBURBS INCREASING?
Indicator: Population by Connections Planning Area.
How is the DVRPC Region Performing? Between 2000 and 2010, the region's population grew by 4.6 percent. Most of the region's population growth continues to occur in Growing Suburbs and Rural Areas, while the percentage of the region's total population living in Core Cities and Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs has declined since 2000.
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau: 2000 and 2010 Decennial Census of Population and Housing
IS EMPLOYMENT IN CORE CITIES AND DEVELOPED COMMUNITIES/MATURE SUBURBS INCREASING?
Indicator: Employment by Connections Planning Area.
How is the DVRPC Region Performing? Gains in the Growing Suburbs and Rural Areas, coupled with loss of employees from Core Cities resulted in a slight decrease in the share of the region's employment in Core Cities and Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs. This indicator will be updated when municipal-level 2010 U.S. Census employment data is released.
Source: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, based on CTPP data adjusted by information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
HAVE THE TAX BASES OF CORE CITIES AND DEVELOPED COMMUNITIES/MATURE SUBURBS INCREASED?
Indicators: Equalized tax valuation and equalized tax base per capita by Connections Planning Area.
How is the DVRPC Region Performing? Between 2002 and 2009, the percentage of the region's total equalized tax valuation in Core Cities and Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs has increased at a lower rate than Growing Suburbs and Rural Areas. During the same time period, the total equalized tax base per capita of the region's Core Cities also increased at a much slower rate than the other Planning Areas.
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Source: Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board; New Jersey Department of Taxation
HAS RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY INCREASED IN CORE CITIES AND DEVELOPED COMMUNITIES/MATURE SUBURBS?
Indicator: Residential building permits issued by Connections Planning Area.
How is the DVRPC Region Performing? During the five-year periods of 2000-2004 and 2005-2009, the number of residential building permits issued in Growing Suburbs declined by over 45%, compared to a decline of only 22% in Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs, and a 32% increase in Core Cities. For the first time since before 1990, over 50% of the region's total residential construction permits issued between 2005 and 2009 were in Core Cities and Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs.
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Construction Statistics Division
HAS MORTGAGE LENDING ACTIVITY INCREASED IN CORE CITIES AND DEVELOPED COMMUNITIES/MATURE SUBURBS?
Indicators: Change in number, type, and average value of mortgages for home purchases and home improvements by Connections Planning Area.
How is the DVRPC Region Performing? Housing markets in the region's Core Cities and Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs have mixed indications. Between 2000 and 2005, Core Cities saw home purchase loans decrease by 2,941 and home improvement mortgage loans decrease by 1,752. Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs saw an increase of 10,713 home purchase mortgages and 4,616 home improvement mortgages. Growing Suburbs and Rural Areas experienced smaller increases than Developed Communities/Mature Suburbs. This indicator will be updated with 2010 data when it becomes available.
Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA Data Files)
ARE RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE AREAS ACCESSIBLE TO DISADVANTEGED POPULATION GROUPS?
Indicator: Percentage of Census tracts with 5 or more Degrees of Disadvantage (DOD) within ¼ mile of public open space or a recreation facility.
How is the DVRPC Region Performing? Comparatively, active recreation areas are more accessible to disadvantaged populations than passive open space and conservation lands. Of the 354 Census tracts with 5 or more DOD, 81, or 23% are under-served by active recreation and 116, or 33%, are under-served by passive open space. This indicator will be updated when DVRPC 2010 land use files are completed.
Source: DVRPC Degrees of Disadvantage, DVRPC Open Space Inventory File, and DVRPC Land Use File
DOES OUR DEVELOPMENT PATTERN SUPPORT EXPANDED TRANSIT OPTIONS?
Indicator: Number of Connections Centers that increase in Transit Score class over time.
How is the DVRPC Region Performing? In 2000, out of 1,875 Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs) in the region, 966, or 51.5%, were classified as having a High or Medium-High Transit Score. The Transit Score Tool is a method to assess the appropriateness and intensity of various modes of transit service throughout the region. This data will serve as a baseline for comparison and will be updated when the 2010 Census Transportation Planning Package data is released.
Source: DVRPC, Creating A Regional Transit Score Protocol. Full Report, 2007.