Identifying Activity Centers: A How-To Guide
PAS Memo 116
By DW Rowlands, Tracy Loh
Not a member but want to buy a copy? You'll need to create a free My APA account to purchase.
Create account
All regions and communities have areas where we go when we are not at home. These are places where economic, social, and civic activity, as well as key infrastructure assets, are concentrated. These clusters of activity, or activity centers, are the building blocks of our economy.
Developing an accurate picture of activity centers requires a quantitative analysis. Historically, however, planners and researchers have used very narrow definitions of activity based solely on the locations of residences and jobs. Researchers at Brookings Metro have developed a new approach to identifying activity centers based on a broader definition of activity that takes into account community, consumption, tourism, and institutional assets, as well as economic assets, in measuring activity.
This PAS Memo explores this new activity centers methodology as a potentially valuable tool for planners seeking to better understand the hierarchy of places in their localities and to focus investment and development where it can have the most regional impact. It offers step-by-step guidance in performing an activity center analysis of a locality or region and action steps for making use of a completed analysis in planning practice. Planners and decision makers can use this information to support and expand their communities' economic productivity, sustainability, and equity.
Details
About the Authors
DW Rowlands
DW Rowlands is a Senior Research Assistant with the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro. She holds a master’s degree in urban geography from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. More of her work can be found at https://dwrowlands.com.
Tracy Loh
Tracy Hadden Loh, PhD, (tloh@brookings.edu) is a Fellow with the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro. She is a graduate of D.C. public schools and holds a PhD in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to her research interest in placemaking, Loh served two years representing Ward 1 on the Mount Rainier City Council in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She is currently a member of the board of directors of Greater Greater Washington and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.