From the July/August 2007 issue of the Congress for the New Urbanism’s New Urban News paper comes a very interesting story detailing the successes brought by Portland’s streetcar system.

In the six years since the Portland (Oregon) Streetcar began operating, the city’s Pearl District has experienced a remarkable development boom — one that is causing other cities to consider starting streetcar systems of their own.

From 2001 to 2005, approximately 100 development projects, with a total value of $2.3 billion, were built in the Pearl District, a former warehouse and light industrial area just north of downtown. The streetcar has helped generate a high-quality urban environment in the district and reportedly has a ridership 700 percent higher than buses on the same routes.

The development spurred by the streetcar has created huge amounts of housing, including critical affordable housing:

The Institute describes the Portland Streetcar as the first modern streetcar system installed in an American city. The system connects the Pearl District to downtown and to the redeveloping South Waterfront. In the Pearl District, 7,248 housing units have been constructed, 25 percent of them affordable, enabling Portland to achieve its 20-year housing goal in just seven years.

In the South Waterfront, where four residential towers have broken ground, redevelopment is expected to generate 3,000 housing units and 5,000 jobs. Development there is encouraged not only by the streetcar but also by an aerial tram linking the South Waterfront to the hilltop Oregon Health & Science University.

As we’ve said before, streetcars are about more than just moving around. From the article:

Streetcars promote street life, serve as image-makers for their neighborhoods, and provide an amenity and attraction, the Institute says. Most of their installation cost can be borne by developers, leaving minimal cost to municipalities, according to the (Seaside) Institute.

Fort Worthology considers a streetcar system a top priority for Fort Worth if we are to truly encourage smart walkable growth in our city. A streetcar running through downtown and linking up the Cultural District via 7th Street, Uptown and the Trinity River Vision, and Fort Worth South through Main and Magnolia is something we would want to see put into action as soon as possible. The TRE and other heavier commuter rail projects are good, and important as well, but without a light rail/streetcar system our transit options are woefully incomplete.

We are still working on our Fort Worth Light Rail page. Expect more light rail posts, news, and activisim from Fort Worthology as a regular part of the site.