Skeptics, progressives, and adoptees: The constituencies of public transit and their perceptions of place along the Los Angeles Purple Line

Abstract

ABSTRACT Whether pursuing high-speed rail, light-rail transportation, or bus, transit agencies must invest in transit infrastructure that significantly alters the built environment. Resident responses to new transit vary. Some will be more hesitant out of concerns that it will drastically change their neighborhood and worsen their quality of life. Others may worry about its displacement impacts. However, one’s sense of place and perception of their neighborhood can also shape their response to new public transit. Using Los Angeles’s Purple Line extension project as a case study, this study draws from semi-structured interviews with residents to understand how their perception of and experience with their neighborhood shapes their responses to new transit infrastructure. The authors find that there are three different constituencies: (1) progressive non-users, (2) preservationist transit skeptics, and (3) transit users and adoptees. Each group has distinct perceptions of their neighborhood—as a quaint, residential suburb, a historic community, or a business and cultural district—that directly informs their response to transit infrastructure and transit-oriented development.