Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Research Articles

Changing Capitalization of CBD-Oriented Transportation Systems: Evidence from Philadelphia, 1970–1988

This paper presents estimates of how the value of central business district (CBD) accessibility has changed over the period 1970–1988 for the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Using a large data set on suburban Philadelphia house sales, we estimate house value premiums associated with CBD-oriented train service provided by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority for each year in the sample. Additionally, we provide evidence on the changing value of highway access to the CBD. For the Philadelphia metropolitan area, we find strong evidence that accessibility to the CBD is capitalized into suburban house values. The estimated value of CBD accessibility fluctuates with the economic health of the city, indicating that the central city economy is an important factor in the overall wealth of suburban communities. From a policy perspective, these findings suggest that suburban communities may not be able to isolate themselves from the consequences of central city decline, and in fact, that suburban communities may benefit substantially from a growing central city.

The Sources of Sectoral Fluctuations in Metropolitan Areas

Employment growth rates for 25 industries in the Philadelphia metropolitan area are decomposed into national, industry, metropolitan, and idiosyncratic sources which are estimated from a semistructural vector autoregression. The standard shift–share model is shown to be a restricted version of this constructed system and that these restrictions are not, in fact, met. For nearly all industries, the idiosyncratic shock is found to account for most of the variation in growth rates.

Retaining occupational therapists in rehabilitation settings: influential factors.

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors considered by occupational therapists in their decision to leave or to remain at a present job. Fifty-five occupational therapists practicing in freestanding rehabilitation hospitals in the Philadelphia metropolitan area were surveyed regarding general satisfaction, rewarding and stressful aspects of their current job, and personal or professional reasons to consider leaving a job. The responses were grouped by the therapists' years of experience as a framework for drawing conclusions. The results show that years of experience affects what is important to therapists at their jobs; for example, therapists who have been working for 1 year value different aspects of their jobs than therapists who have been working for over 7 years. In general, the most rewarding aspect of an occupational therapist's job was seen to be patient care; the most stressful, paperwork. In deciding to leave a job, the occupational therapists surveyed most frequently rated the following items as highly important: salary, productivity expectations, professional growth opportunities, peer relationships with other occupational therapists, and vacation time.

Discharges against medical advice at regional acute care hospitals.

Data from 67 acute care hospitals in the Philadelphia metropolitan area indicate that there were 7,613 discharges against medical advice (AMA) in fiscal year 1987, or 1.20 percent of all discharges that year. Diagnosis-related group (DRG), type of insurance, and sex had independent effects on the rate of AMA discharges. Urban community hospitals had the highest percent of AMA discharges. Previous studies, done in teaching facilities, may have underestimated the rate of AMA discharges.

Investigation of an Outbreak of Listeriosis: New Hypotheses for the Etiology of Epidemic Listeria monocytogenes Infections

From December 1986 to March 1987 an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infection occurred in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. A patient-control study showed patients were more likely than controls to have had an ill family member and to have used antidiarrheal medication during the month before their illness. Diet histories showed patients were significantly more likely to have eaten ice cream or salami than were controls, and to have shopped at one grocery store chain. Subtyping of L. monocytogenes isolates of patients showed no predominant strain, and cultures of food products eaten by patients were negative except for Brie cheese eaten by one patient. With no predominant strain of L. monocytogenes in the patients, a common source for this outbreak is unlikely. Thus, the identified risk factors may have been associated with carriage of L. monocytogenes and a coinfecting organism may have precipitated disseminated disease. Possible cofactors should be considered in investigations of future outbreaks of listeriosis.

Genetics or Environment? Type A Behavior and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Twin Children

The heritability of Type A behavior and other cardiovascular risk factors was investigated in twin school-age children. The purpose was to differentiate those risk factors that have the potential to respond to environmental and life-style changes. The sample consisted of 71 monozygotic and 34 same-sex, dizygotic twin pairs 6 to 11 years old residing in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triceps skinfold thickness, body mass, and fasting blood specimens for lipid profiles were collected during home visits. Teachers rated the children's Type A behavior and two of its subcomponents, impatience-aggression and competitive achievement-striving, using the Matthews Youth Test for Health. Statistically significant heritability estimates were found for Type A behavior and its subcomponents, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and body mass. Nevertheless, there was substantial environmental influence on these risk factors. The greatest environmental influence was observed for HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein-B and diastolic blood pressure.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Review in this Article: Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics. Volume II: Urban Economics, Edwin S. Mills (ed.).Location Theory, by Jean Jaskold Gabszewicz, Jacques‐François Thisse, Masahisa Fujita, and Urs Schweizer.Modeling in Urban and Regional Economics, by Alex Anas.Spatial Autocorrelation: A Primer, by Daniel A. Griffith.Spatial Autocorrelation, by John Odland.Information Theory: Structural Models for Qualitative Data, by Klaus Krippendorff.Population Change and the Economy: Social Science Theories and Models, by Andrew M. Isserman (ed.).Canada's Resource Industries and Water Export Policy, by John Whalley.The State of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo: A Study of Water Resource Issues Along the Texas/Mexico Border, by David J. Eaton and John Michael Andersen.Economic Development in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, by Anita A. Summers and Thomas F. Luce.Natural Resource Policy and Income Distribution, by Adam Rose, Brandt Stevens, and Greg Davis.The Future of Winter Cities, by Gary Gappert (ed.).Capital, the State and Regional Development, by M. F. Dunford.Regional Impact of Community Policies in Europe by Willem Molle and Riccardo Cappellin (eds.).Informatics and Regional Development by Peter Nijkamp and Maria Giaoutzi (eds.).

LOCAL TAX BURDENS AND THE SUPPLY OF BUSINESS SITES IN SUBURBAN MUNICIPALITIES*

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of local household tax burdens and other community attributes on the supply of business sites made available by local municipalities. A model of community site supply is tested in which municipalities trade off increased fiscal benefits from business location and reductions in environmental quality that accompany industrial and commercial development. This tradeoff is embodied in municipal zoning decisions. Empirical analysis of industrial and commercial zoning in two rapidly growing suburban counties of the Philadelphia metropolitan area provides considerable support for the tenets of community site supply theory.

Race as a Self-Schema Affecting Recall in Black Children

Black six- and seven-year olds, living in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and participating in summer day camp programs sponsored by various public and private agencies, listened to prerecorded stories while attending to accom panying picture books. One third of the subjects were as signed to one of three experimental groups. Subjects in Experimental Group I listened to two stories with Black characters; subjects in Experimental Group II listened to the two stories with White characters; and subjects in Experi mental Group III listened to two stories with animal charac ters. After each story, the children were asked four questions designed to elicit their recall of the story's events and characters. The results are discussed within the theoretical framework of self-schema. Implications for the effects of educational material and media upon the learning behavior of Black children are examined.

EPA's experience with assessment of site-specific environmental problems: a review of IEMD's geographic study of Philadelphia.

EPA’s Integrated Environmental Management Division (IEMD) has completed a study of human exposure to toxic substances through air and drinking water for the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Exposure and health risks were calculated using: environmental data obtained from EPA, Philadelphia, and ambient monitoring programs conducted by IEMD; standard EPA fate and transport models; and pollutant potency estimates. The analysis considered a limited number of organic compounds. For the chemicals considered, the analysis found that chloroform in drinking water contributed over 70% to the total estimated cancer risks from air and drinking water. This was true for both the population and the most exposed individual. For the air toxics risks, which were relatively small, the analysis indicated that area and point sources contributed equally to the problem. For point sources, volatilization of organic compounds from the largest sewage treatment plant accounted for almost half of the air cancer risks to the populatio...

RETROSPECTIVE INFORMATION FROM QUESTIONNAIRES

Medical and dietary consumption histories obtained at two times from cases or controls and their next-of-kin as part of a study of colon cancer in the five Pennsylvania counties of the Philadelphia metropolitan area were compared. The case population was confined to whites aged 45-69 years who had resided in the region for at least two years prior to diagnosis and were diagnosed with colon cancer after July 1, 1976. Controls were selected using an area probability sampling scheme and were frequency-matched to the case group. Questionnaires for randomly selected subsamples of cases and controls were administered by interviewers; questionnaires for next-of-kin were randomly allocated to be self- or interviewer-administered. Agreement when respondents received the interviewer-administered questionnaire at both interviews was greater than when the self-administered questionnaire was used. Medical variables exhibited high agreement, the percentage agreement exceeded 80 for over 80% of the comparisons, the kappa statistic exceeded 0.6 for half of the comparisons. Diet histories were more variable (average agreement ranging from 56% to 67% and average kappa values from 0.16 to 0.40 for the different comparisons).

A Comparison of Private Practice Activities of Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

A survey of 121 clinical and 47 counseling psychologists in the Philadelphia metropolitan area about their private practice activities indicated there were few differences between the two specialties. While clinical psychologists were more experienced and more likely to be diplomates of the American Board of Professional Psychology than their counseling counterparts, the two groups did not differ on other demographic characteristics. Moreover, there were few differences between the two specialties in terms of either professional activities or fees and fee policies. Overall, the results support the conclusion that counseling and clinical are more alike than different in private practice activities.

Spatial Characteristics of Inhalable Particles in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area

Spatial Characteristics of Inhalable Particles in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area

Obtaining hospital and physician participation in a case-control study of colon cancer.

This paper describes efforts to solicit hospital and physician participation for a case-control study of the etiology of colon cancer in the five Pennsylvania counties of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Forty-seven of the 70 hospitals in this region were eligible for inclusion in the study. Thirty-seven (79%) agreed to participate, 27 of them within six months of initial contact. The median time to approval of participation was three months and the median number of separate contacts was nine. At least five participating hospitals submitted the protocol to their lawyers and nine required that special procedures be developed for release of patient information. Two hundred fourteen of 256 listed attending physicians were eligible for participation; 161 (75%) permitted all patients to be contacted 23 (11%) permitted some patients to be contacted; 30 (14%) refused all patient contact. A significant association between type of specialty and type of permission was found (p approximately .005). Concerns about confidentiality and lack of personal advantage were frequently cited by non-participants. The validity of case-control studies relying on hospital or physician ascertainment of cases is seriously challenged by such lengthy delays and lack of participation which can result in a biased pool of potential cases.

A Translog Cost Function for Urban Bus Transit

SEVERAL authors-among them Fisher and Viton [8], Keeler et al. [i2], Pozdena [I 7], and Small [22, 23] have pointed out the apparent superiority of bus transit over other forms of mass transit. The conclusions of these analyses rest on the following framework: in a given transportation market structure, consider the full costs of providing a trip of certain characteristics. 'Full costs' are defined to include out-of-pocket costs of the providers of the service, as well as the time costs incurred by the users of the transit system and the external costs that the users impose on each other and the rest of the economy. That is, 'full cost' is the full resource cost of providing trips. If we compare, for different traffic volumes, the minimum full cost of providing trips on different modes, then bus transit is less costly than modern rapid-rail transit; and where travel volumes exceed about I OOO persons per hour, it is less costly than auto travel as well.1 In addition, bus transit has also been the source of one of the more interesting financial developments in the provision of urban transportation services. In New York City there are now some 50 bus routes operated under franchise from the New York City Board of Estimate which are able to set the quality of service offered (including the fare) in such a way as actually to make a profit (see Pignataro and Falcocchio [I6] for a description of the routes and Viton [30] for an analysis of the requisites for profitable service). Although other mass transit modes are sometimes able to cover variable operating costs, as is the case with the Lindenwold Line in the Philadelphia metropolitan area or the commuter rail service offered by the Illinois Central GulfW2 bus transit is the only mode which has shown itself able to cover both variable and capital costs. These developments impart considerable interest to the study of the economic characteristics of bus transit operations. We want to know the marginal cost of bus services, since this is a guide to optimal pricing. There are also several other economic effects of interest: for example, it is observed that the profitable bus operations alluded to are small in scale when compared to those provided by the major transit authorities. One hypothesis

FHA, Racial Discrimination and Urban Mortgages

The empirical validity of two propositions regarding FHA unsubsidized single‐family activity are explored at the neighborhood level in this paper. The propositions are first that FHA serves moderate‐to‐middle‐income families, not low‐income families who live in the inner city nor high‐income families who live in the outer suburbs; and second that all other things being equal, black owner‐occupants are more likely to have an FHA‐insured mortgage than are whitesTwo methods of analysis are performed: mapping and regression. First, 1974 FHA activity in the Philadelphia metropolitan area is mapped by race—black and white—and program—203(b), 221(d)(2), and 223(e)—at the census tract level. Then, the FHA activity by race and by program is regressed on 1970 neighborhood housing and population characteristics, again, using the census tract as the unit of observation. The results of the analysis provide support for both propositions. In Philadelphia in 1974, FHA is to a degree a border program differentially serving blacks.

The Nurse Practitioner

A comprehensive study of nurse practitioners was undertaken by the University of Virginia Schools of Medicine and Nursing in the summer of 1974 to evaluate nurse practitioner training programs of the University of Virginia and to determine the effectiveness and responsibilities of nurse practitioners in various practice settings. Data on nurse practitioners in a number of locations in Virginia and in the Philadelphia metropolitan area were collected and analyzed to determine the way in which the nurse practitioners' time was allocated among various duties and to evaluate nurse practitioner performance by physicians and patients. Nurse practitioners performed a wide variety of clinical and nonclinical tasks. Most physicians were satisfied with the practitioner's performance, although there was some inconsistency between physicians and nurse practitioners regarding actual duties performed. A high percentage of physicians stated they would hire a nurse practitioner to replace one who left their employ. Physicians' reasons for hiring a nurse practitioner, as well as their previous contact with such personnel, were examined. Regarding patient attitudes toward nurse practitioners, data indicated that patients were satisfied with nurse practitioners and felt comfortable being treated by them.

Gene frequency estimates for samples of Black and White twins from the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Maximum likelihood estimates of gene frequencies and their standard errors are presented for 21 blood group and serum protein polymorphisms. The observed frequencies for certain high and low frequency antigens also are reported. The data come from a sample of 399 same-sex twin pairs and two sets of triplets from the Greater Philadelphia urban region encompassing roughly five counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and three counties of southern New Jersey. Analyses are carried out separately for the four subgroups created by subdividing the sample by race and co-twin. Total sample estimates are also calculated within the two socially defined racial groups. The gene frequency estimates generally appear to be consistent with previously reported data for U.S. urban populations. The frequency of the Fy allele in the Duffy system, however, seems to be the highest value thus far published for a white population. The white sample Fy allele very well may be a heterogeneous class in which only a very small fraction is comparable to the Fy allele common in the black sample.

Sex Education for the Handicapped

The handicapped are in need of family living courses even more than the non-handicapped for the following reasons: they often spend less time at home so parents have less opportunity to talk with them; their parents are often less qualified to teach them properly; they need more help in controlling their sexual impulses because they have less opportunity to express themselves in other areas; and because they may want to prevent the birth of children for their own sake or the sake of the child contraceptive information may be necessary. The only two programs revealed in a search of the literature were those of Chaplin and Kratter and Thorne. The paucity of material in the literature led the writer to contact by letter fifty-five individuals and agencies including those mentioned in Maws thesis on sex education. (Maw 1953) The letter stated that the author was doing research in the field of family life courses and sex education for the handicapped and asked for information on any such programs. Included in the letter to those working in the field of mental deficiency was the pamphlet To Protect the Retarded Adolescent published by the Human Betterment Association for Voluntary Sterilization. Forty-four answers were received. Most of these writers expressed a need for more information in this area but were unable to give any data or supply any leads. The letter from a specialists in Education of Exceptional Children of the Department of Health Education and Welfare is typical. We regret that we do not know of any studies specifically on sex education of the retarded aside from the general treatises in this field. While we have reason to believe that a considerable amount of sex education is carried on in the units on family living we find little specific reference in curriculum guides for the retarded. Also the writer made some inquiries in the Philadelphia metropolitan area to determine whether there were any programs in the special classes or in the schools for the handicapped. (excerpt)

Autoroutes et banlieues nouvelles

Some aspects of the suburban growth in Philadelphia Metropolitan Area : Upper Merion. — Upper Merion township is located 16 miles north-west of Philadelphia; since 1958 it is the hub of an outstanding network of expressways. The two main arteries are the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Schuylkill Expressway. The rapid population growth of the township within the last twenty years is similar to those of suburban areas that experienced sudden growth with the widespread ownership of automobiles. Upper Merion labor force (resident and non resident) grew from 1 000 to 23 000 between 1950 and 1970; industrial employment numbers to 10 000 persons and is practically unrelated to the old industry located in nearby Norristown. Wholesale and retail trade and services are experiencing rapid growth too. One of the main man-made feature of the area is the voracious and disorderly consumption of space, initially started through lack of efficient urban planning. The expressways divide the township in several sections. They act as prime determinants for the location of industry as well as shopping centers and office buildings, all of them surrounded by huge parking areas. Beyond this new center, single family dwellings spread endlessly; some apartments buildings have been built lately. Such recent land use developments stand in sharp contrast with those inherited from a still recent past; the former and the latter are only two or three miles apart.