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downtown ‘brain gain’ chronicled by alliance News

| 21 Sep 2015 | 02:29
    New transit options in lower Manhattan, like the Fulton center pictured here, have helped draw workers into the neighborhood.
    New transit options in lower Manhattan, like the Fulton center pictured here, have helped draw workers into the neighborhood.

The Downtown Alliance released an updated research report that demonstrates continued growth in the number of professionals living within a 30-minute commute of Lower Manhattan.

“The Brain Gain,” as the report is called, shows how shifting demographics have continued to favor the Lower Manhattan Central Business District over the past five years. More than 750,000 college-educated adults now live within a 30-minute commute, the report states. Creative and professional workers have experienced significant growth, with more than half a million people working in these industries now living within a 30-minute commute, an 18 percent increase since 2000.

College educated adults and creative and professional workers have continued to flock to areas near Lower Manhattan, demonstrating steady and accelerated growth. A quarter of the region’s college educated adults now live within 30 minutes of Lower Manhattan, an increase of more than 43,000 from 2010 to 2013. Nearly a quarter of the region’s creative and professional workers live within 30 minutes of Lower Manhattan, an increase of more than 23,000 for the same time period. Comparatively, these populations have remained stagnant or declined in many other parts of the region.

A major driving force of this growth is Lower Manhattan’s access to a wealth of transportation options. Serving 127 million annual riders, Lower Manhattan transit network includes 12 subway lines, 30 bus routes and 1 SBS route, 20 ferry routes, 2 PATH routes, 7 Downtown Connection buses and 28 CitiBike stations. Nearly 40 percent of the region’s college educated adults and more than one-third of the region’s creative and professional workers are within a one-seat ride to the district.

“The Brain Gain” analyzes 2000 U.S. Census and 2010 and 2013 American Community Survey data. The study area includes 30 counties in New York City’s five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, Southern Connecticut, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey. The full report can be accessed at www.downtownny.com/newsroom/research