Report finds job growth near public transit options

CHICAGO — An NPR report takes a look at how more and more businesses want to be located close to rail and bus stations, including Amazon and McDonald’s.

NPR also discusses a report by Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), which shows that since 2005, 60% of all the new jobs created in the Chicago region are in areas with high quality transit service, and about one-half of all newly created jobs are within a half mile of a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) or Metra rail station. Within a quarter mile of a CTA "L" or Metra station, jobs grew at a rate of 20%, which is more than twice the growth rate in the region as a whole.

MPC's research also finds that in 2017, 85% of all new business construction in the Chicago area occurred within one-half mile of a transit station. The data also shows that transit fosters economic resiliency, with jobs actually being gained a quarter mile of transit stations during the recession in 2008 and 2009 when 150,000 jobs were lost in the region. For the full story, click here.