Economic Impact Case Study Tool for Transit (2016)

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46 A P P E N D I X B Training for the development of case studies and the inter- pretation of them is provided on the website for EconWorks. The training is in the form of a series of 13 videos. The link to these videos is https://planningtools.transportation.org/516/ case-study-development-training.html A description of the videos, as contained on the above- referenced website, is provided below. This course is designed to provide transportation practitio- ners and planners with the necessary skills to accurately assess the observed economic impacts of transportation projects. The course provides step-by-step guidance for analyzing and integrating a range of information sources in order to add new cases to the EconWorks Case Studies database. Additional case studies will help expand the breadth and depth of the case study database. The EconWorks Case Studies tool is populated with 105 case studies representing 10 types of transportation projects, such as bypasses, bridges, highway widenings, transit projects, and intermodal projects. This database can be used to obtain esti- mates of a potential transportation project’s economic impact based on parameters defined by users. The tool is designed for use in earlier stages of the project planning and priori- tization process as a screening tool, particularly when eco- nomic develop ment impacts are an important motivation for a transportation investment. The course consists of 13 modules: • Module 1 introduces the training and the case studies component of EconWorks. • Module 2 summarizes the generative and redistributive economic impacts and their application to the EconWorks Case Studies tool. • Modules 3 and 4 provide a tool description as well as define the basic components of each case study: data needs, search Case Study Training

47 • Module 10 provides instructions how to synthesize all the information collected through the case study investigation to estimate the economic development impacts of a case study project. • Module 11 describes how to develop the case study narra- tive, with a focus on the types of information that are critical to developing an informative narrative. • Potential challenges in conducting case studies, and some possible solutions to these challenges are discussed in Module 12. • Module 13 describes the process of submitting of case studies on the website and other final conclusions. These training modules range from 10–20 minutes in length each. criteria, project characteristics, project results and impacts, examples of project types, and project setting—regions, eco- nomic distress, motivation, case study research components. • Data and the data collection sources and methods needed to support a case study are presented in Module 5. • Module 6 explores how to conduct case-specific web-based research. • Module 7 uses numerous examples to explain how to use aerial photographs to help identify the economic and land use impacts of transportation investments. • Conducting case study interviews to identify key economic impacts and supporting non-transportation factors of a given transportation project is the focus of Module 8. • Module 9 discusses how to use site visits to clarify project impacts.