Graduation Semester and Year

Fall 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Public Policy

Department

Urban and Public Affairs

First Advisor

Ardeshir Anjomani

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the effects of the employment sub-centers on the surrounding area. It does so by examining the percentage changes in workers' socioeconomic characteristics such as age, earnings, and industry sectors from 2002 to 2020 while controlling for job and population density. The data for this study is derived from the Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) data set.

The dissertation aims to answer five crucial research questions. These questions delve into how the percentage change of socioeconomic characteristics of employment sub-centers affects households' income, ethnicity, age, and gender in the surrounding area of the employment sub-centers. The study also seeks to determine the best method to identify employment sub-centers in the DFW Metropolitan Area.

As defined in this study, an employment sub-center is a contiguous set of block groups with a density above ten workers per acre (as the employment density cut-off) and at least 7000 jobs as a threshold.

The results of running multi-regression models indicate a significant relationship between the dependent variables (the percentage change in household income, ethnicity, age, and gender) in the surrounding area of the employment sub-centers and independent variables, including workers' age, earning, and industry sectors in the employment sub-centers of the DFW Metropolitan Area from 2002 to 2020.

This analysis underscores the urgent need for policies to strengthen and expand jobs in the information and finance sectors of the economy. Planning efforts need to be envisioned and implemented to increase the density of the employment centers by providing necessary amenities, urban design, and infrastructure improvements, such as growing accessibilities, providing public transit, and digital infrastructure. This research emphasizes the importance of future studies applying quantity and quality research methods to clarify further the effects of the employment sub-centers in the DFW metropolitan area, shaping future urban planning decisions.

Keywords

Employment sub-centers, Socio-economic effects, Multi regression model, DFW Area

Disciplines

Urban, Community and Regional Planning

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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