ABSTRACT
This chapter examines three TIF-funded public transportation projects. They are: Contra Costa Centre Transit Village, Contra Costa County, CA; Wilson Yard Station, Chicago, IL; and Portland Streetcar, Portland, OR. These projects were chosen on the basis of the following criteria: First, TIF must be used specifically to fund transit projects, such as stations or transit infrastructure, as opposed to funding only TODs. Second, the West and Midwest, especially California and Illinois, are the regions with the most TIF use. Therefore, deliberate efforts were made to include cases from these regions. Third, the TIF districts must have already been formed, and, finally, data must be available. The extant literature notes that transportation infrastructure accrue significant benefits at the local level. Many of these benefits are capitalized into property values. The TIF-affected rise in property values has a downside. Rising rents and property taxes could financially burden low-income residents who are often minorities in the US.
