This document discusses the economic importance of bikable and walkable places. It summarizes research showing that: - Talented young workers increasingly seek out dense, diverse, transit-served cities and neighborhoods that are bikeable and walkable. - As a result, many companies are choosing to locate or expand in walkable downtown areas in order to attract and retain top talent. - Walkable cities are experiencing economic growth and increasing property values, while driving and freight transportation are declining in importance to the new knowledge-based economy.

2. CityObservatory.org

3. The Economic Importance of
Bikable/Walkable Places
Joe Cortright
May 2016

4. Ed Glaeser
“At the local level,
fundamentally the
most important
economic
development
strategy is to
attract and train
smart people.”

5. Talent determines prosperity

7. Talent now seeks place
Thinking about how you will look for and choose your next job, which of the
following statements best reflects your opinion?
(Asked of 1,000 25-34 year old college graduates)
Look for the best job I can
find. The place where it
located is pretty much a
secondary consideration.
1
0% 18% 35% 53% 70%
Look for a job in a place that
I would like to live

8. Concentration of College-educated 25-34 year-olds
3 miles from CBD
Growth of
25 to 34 year-olds
1990 to 2000
+30 Percent
Share of
25 to 34 year-olds
with a 4-year degree
54 Percent

9. Young, well-educated
increasingly choosing cities
Table 5: Relative Preference for Close-In Urban Neighborhoods, 1980 to 2010
1980 1990 2000 2010
Population 25 to 34 10% 12% 32% 51%
25 to 34 with a four-year degree NA NA 77% 126%
Source: Decennial Census, years cited, American Community Survey, 2008-12 five year data.
How to read this table: Figures represent the proportionately greater likelihood that a person in the demographic group would reside in a close-in
neighborhood compared to the average metropolitan resident. For example, in 1980, a 25 to 34 year old person was about 10 percent more likely to live
in a close-in neighborhood than the average metropolitan resident.
This trend was nearly universal across large
metropolitan areas. The number of well-
The largest concentrations of talented young
adults in close-in urban neighborhoods are not

10. Nationally: Close-in neighborhoods
growing twice as fast
0%
10%
19%
29%
38%
Metro Close-In

11. What young talent seeks
• Dense
• Diverse
• Interesting
• Bikeable
• Walkable
• Transit-Served

12. The new reality of
economic development:
The HR Department now drives
business location and expansion
decisions
• Where can we find lots of talented
workers?
• Where can we easily attract more?

13. For companies hoping to hire top talent, the simple fact is that most tech workers want to live and work in the city.

14. Surging
City Center
Job Growth
Joe Cortright
Dillon Mahmoudi
February 2015
cityobservatory.org

15. Job suburbanization reversed

16. “Core Values”
Since 2010, nearly 500
companies expanded or
relocated downtown
Reasons:
• “Attract & retain
talented workers”
• Build brand &
company culture
• Support creative
collaboration

17. Where do companies
relocate to:
Walkable places
calculated Walk Scores, Transit Scores, and Bike Scores for each company both before and after their moves
was 51; the average Walk Score of the new locations is 88. Similarly, Transit Scores went from an average of
52 to 79. Bike Scores went from an average of 66 to 78.10
Cities of all sizes
Our survey focused primarily on the country’s major metropolitan areas. As we noted in the introduction, there are
likely many more moves not included in this survey that have happened in small towns, secondary markets within
a given metro area, or in suburbs that are becoming more walkable.
Our survey found that companies are also attracted to smaller and mid-size cities. Far from being limited to
WALK SCORE TRANSIT SCORE BIKE SCORE

18. VC flowing to cities
San Francisco
San Jose
Boston
New York
Los Angeles
Washington
San Diego
Chicago
Austin
Seattle
Philadelphia
Dallas
Baltimore
Venture Capital Investment (Millions)
0 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000
City/Walkable Suburb Other Suburb
Source: R. Florida, Startup City, 2014

20. VMT Declining

21. Portland: 4 Miles less per day than average Metro

22. Portland’s Green
Dividend
• Portlander’s Drive 16% less than US
average
• Transit commute 2x US average
• Compact job pattern
• Walkable, diverse neighborhoods
• Net savings: $1.1 billion out of
pocket; $1.5 billion in time

23. Local Spending

24. Walkable Neighborhoods

25. Walkability adds value

27. Freight dependent?

28. Creating just as much value
moving 42% fewer tons
0
40,000
80,000
120,000
160,000
2007 2012
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
2007 2012
Source: 2012 Commodity Flow Survey, US Census
Tons (Thousands)Value (Millions)
Down 42%

29. Feb. 2015: Hanjin leaves
Apr. 2015: Hapag-Lloyd leaves

30. Portland: 2nd fastest
growing metro in 2015
Oregon Employment Department