The Purple Line Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Strategy is the product of a two-year planning process funded by a transit-oriented development planning grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The report includes strategies for affordable housing, small business preservation, safe pedestrian/bicycle access to stations, and inclusive economic growth.
On September 28th, 2022 the final report was released at a public event at the Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library in downtown Silver Spring.
Purple Line Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Strategy
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition and the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland are pleased to invite you to the release of a comprehensive set of strategies to drive equitable development along the Purple Line. “The Purple Line Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Strategy” is the product of a two-year planning process funded by a transit-oriented development planning grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The report includes strategies for affordable housing, small business preservation, safe pedestrian/bicycle access to stations, and inclusive economic growth.
Please Join Us: Wednesday, September 28 Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library 900 Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring, MD (outside where the Purple Line will run under the library) 9:30a Light refreshments 10:00a Program
The Purple Line Corridor Coalition has long held the goal of creating a corridor where workers are well-trained, grow in number, and are well-matched with employers in skills and location. Yet, there is a sizable gap between the realities and prospects of the corridor’s current labor force and the long-term aspirations for the workforce. To gain traction in bridging the gap, the coalition must work with other key stakeholders to ensure a corridor-wide, inclusive, and equitable workforce recovery as the metropolitan region emerges from the depths of the public health pandemic.
To craft the right set of strategies, we must factor in national, regional, and local trends and context. Nationally, we know that 44% of workers are in low-wage jobs with annual median wages of about $18,000. Over the last four decades, middle-skill jobs and middle-skill pay has grown minimally, and for low-wage jobs even less. Black and Latino workers have born the brunt of these economic dynamics, as they are overrepresented in industries not covered by standard labor laws, meaning far less access to basic benefits and protections.
The pandemic has presented the nation and the region with a new set of challenges, exacerbating the underlying dynamics. We know, as well, that new technologies like AI, robotics, and automation will make a lot of low-skill and even middle-skill jobs obsolete before the end of this decade.
Although our Washington D.C. region serves an economic engine and one of the most dynamic regional economies globally, the Brookings Institution found in 2021 that of the 53 very large metro areas with populations over 1 million, the Greater DC region ranks 37th out of 53 in geographic inclusion and 51st out of 53 in racial inclusion. Low wage workers in the D.C. region are mostly found on the eastern side of the region, particularly in southeast Washington, the inner ring suburbs of Prince George’s and parts of southwestern Montgomery County.
Despite the Purple Line corridor serving as an important economic engine for Maryland, the income disparities along the corridor are also significant. For example, 55% of residents in the Riverdale-New Carrollton residents sub-area have a high school diploma or less, as do 57% in the International Corridor sub-area.[i] This percentage is far higher than the national percentage, which is about 39%[ii] and results in too many residents restricted to low-wage and low-skill jobs.
Advancing a Robust Workforce Advocacy Agenda (state & local)
Promoting Workforce Programs Well Aligned with Growing Industries and Occupations (e.g., digital skills, sustainable career pathways, apprenticeships, skills-based hiring, entrepreneurship programs)
Bolstering Workforce Development Support Systems and Infrastructure in the Corridor (robust wraparound supports, adult literacy and ESL programs, access to high-speed broadband, and bringing jobs centers to where people live)
For 2022-2023, the Coalition has committed to focusing in five action areas and pursuing study in five others, again with racial equity central to all action areas.
The action areas are:
Expand outreach and promotion of corridor workforce services and opportunities (mainly through the work of key partners & stakeholders)
Activate far more immigrants into workforce services (again, mainly through coordination and partnerships with stakeholders)
Pursue a 2022 advocacy agenda to increase funding and investments in corridor workforce activities at the state and local levels
Ensure new mobile job centers in each county regularly visit equity corridor locations
Reengage the Maryland Transit Administration and the Purple Line Transit Partners to increase county- and corridor-based construction hires for the construction period 2022-2026.
Study areas include:
Effective ways to engage corridor employers to build better jobs pipelines for residents
How to bridge digital inequities in the corridor
How to expand apprenticeships for adults and for high school students
How to train and support new, corridor-based entrepreneurs
How to support increases in wrap around service
Visual by Stephanie Bickford-Smith
[i] 2015-2019 Census/American Community Survey 5-year estimates and 2019 Longitudinal Employer–Household Dynamics.
You’ve probably seen the recent headlines. As of October, 2020, after a judge’s ruling in an ongoing dispute between the state and the private partners building the Purple Line, construction has significantly slowed. In light of these new challenges, we have been asking ourselves – do we pause? Do we change course?
Our answer is no. The PLCC has always focused on the people and places just beyond the Purple Line tracks – so, in many respects, our work has not changed. The stakes remain high.
Real estate pressures will continue driving up housing costs, threatening to displace the corridor’s low- and moderate-income residents of color. We can’t afford to lose momentum on our goal of preserving or developing 17,000 affordable units.
The halt of construction itself poses yet another challenge for many living or doing business along the line. The Purple Line, in its incomplete form, has significantly diminished quality of neighborhood life for many corridor residents. And since construction began, local business owners have endured closed parking lots and disrupted customer access — now with no end in sight. Completion of the Purple Line is a critical step on our path to vibrant neighborhoods and flourishing small businesses.
As we work toward a thriving labor market along the corridor, we are reminded of why so many people in the community wanted the Purple Line in the first place. The line itself can be a potent tool for racial and economic equity – creating an unprecedented east-west connection between job seekers of color, education and training opportunities, and job centers.
Therefore, getting the project to the finish line becomes part of our work in the months ahead. We remain optimistic that there is enough work completed and public and private support to bring this project to completion, even if we don’t know when. This is not the first stumbling block in the decades of advocacy that brought the Purple Line project to this point. Many successful transit projects once faced hurdles that seemed insurmountable–WMATA’s Green Line and Denver’s RTD N-line being two. Together, supporters of transit can ensure that the Purple Line is completed.
In short, we are accelerating our commitment to development along the Purple Line Corridor that centers on racial and economic equity. We continue to believe that transit can be an important driver of equitable and sustainable growth, and that the people along the corridor deserve the greatest promise of the Purple Line. The pace we set for ourselves now paves the way for that future.
