• Prosperity Partnership Becomes Regional Partner in the Blueprint for American Prosperity
• JARC and New Freedom Grant Competition
• Larry Blain Forecasts His Final Model Run
• Pro Walk/Pro Bike 08: September 2-5 in Seattle
• Puget Sound Trends: Household Survey Shows Travel Occurring for Different Reasons
• Back Issues

The Blueprint for American Prosperity is a new action agenda developed by the Brookings Institution to help focus economic policy on metropolitan areas and to leverage the economic assets in these regions. The Prosperity Partnership is helping to deliver the message to the nation's leaders that regions play a central role in the nation's economy and global economic competitiveness, and that federal policy should support and nurture the essential role metropolitan areas play in the U.S. economy. The importance of metropolitan areas is also front and center in the debate over federal transportation program reauthorization. Many groups are recognizing that addressing metropolitan congestion and infrastructure needs is critical to the nation's ability to compete in the global economy.

"The premise of the Blueprint Project, that we are a nation composed of vibrant, innovative urban areas, is unassailable," said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. "The Blueprint calls for rethinking the map. Instead of 50 states - a concept born in the 18th century - we should organize ourselves as a network of metros that provide's the vast majority of jobs, ideas and innovations. It is also clear that these same metros are confronting our country's most vexing challenges - challenges that must be met by new ways of working together across all levels of government."

The Brookings Institution has done extensive research on the importance of city regions in the nation's economy, specifically on the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. (measured by 2005 employment levels). The central Puget Sound region is one of these 100 metropolitan areas, which together are responsible for 75 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). These same areas hold the bulk of the primary assets of the nation's economy: human capital, innovation, quality places and infrastructure. Human capital is a talented pool of skilled workers and is measured by the number of college graduates, 74 percent of which live in these 100 metropolitan areas. Innovation is measured by patenting, 78 percent of which are coming out of these same areas. These areas also are responsible for 79 percent of the U.S. air cargo weight and home to 92 percent of the nation's public transit miles.

With the Blueprint, the Brookings Institution has identified three key indicators of economic productivity that are essential to a productive future and that metropolitan areas can further develop with federal assistance to increase national prosperity. These indicators are sustainable growth, inclusive growth, and productive growth. Puget Sound scores in the top third of regions in America in two out of the three. Our region is also the 4th most productive in the world, according to Brookings. However, our productive growth since 2001 has slowed relative to that of our peers.

Sustainable growth is measured by carbon emissions, and Puget Sound is ranked 6th in the nation. Other related policy issues include transit, land use, energy policy and natural areas.

Inclusive growth examines wage distribution levels, specifically the incomes of the top 10 percent of earners compared to the bottom 10 percent. The Puget Sound Metropolitan Area is ranked 32nd out of 100 for this indicator. Policy issues under inclusive growth also include the aging population, baby boomer retirees, immigration policy, education levels for people of color, and workplace diversity.

Productive growth measures GDP per capita. The Puget Sound Metropolitan Area rate of growth is 79th out of the 100 identified areas. Policy issues around productive growth also include innovation and patenting, technology transfer from universities to commercial enterprise, and worker productivity.

"We want our leaders to understand that the metropolitan areas are the engines for the economy," said Amy Liu, Deputy Director of the Brookings Institution. "As they think about the economic agenda for the nation, they should also think about the work our cities do that can help the nation compete and prosper."

For more information, see www.blueprintprosperity.org.

PSRC has released a call for projects for sponsors seeking Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) or New Freedom financial assistance. This competitive selection process will distribute federal funds for human services transportation and JARC projects serving the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Urbanized Area. Program details and selection criteria are available in the respective Program Management Plans. Funds will be awarded to those projects that best implement the strategic objectives and the three goals identified in the Coordinated Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan - the unified and comprehensive regional strategy for special needs transportation service delivery. Copies of the plan are available online at psrc.org. For questions or additional information, contact Mary Pat Lawlor at 206-971-3272 or mlawlor@psrc.org.

Since 1989, Larry Blain has been refining travel demand modeling at the Puget Sound Regional Council. He improved the region's earlier programming models, transitioning the agency first into EMME products and now, the state-of-the-art Urban Sim model that will more accurately show land use and policy effects on travel behavior.

"Larry has overseen epic changes in travel demand modeling tools at the agency. His first programs involved a plotter and a single computer with the RAM of a memory stick," chuckled Maren Outwater, Director of Data Systems and Analysis at PSRC. "Even with the advances and complexities in our modeling tools, he still manages to 'keep the model all in his head'. Without Larry we would not be moving forward on the innovations in land use forecasting and our geodatabase. He built an incredible foundation for this work and guided it through its infancy."

Trained as a mathematician, Larry started out his forecasting career in Alaska as a weather officer for the U.S. Air Force. He soon transitioned into education and taught fundamental math, pre-calculus and computer programming at Sumner High School. He finished his tenure in teaching as the department chair before joining PSRC.

Never straying too far from his love of teaching, Larry has been instructing a graduate course in travel demand forecasting since 2003 at his alma mater, the University of Washington, where he received his most recent Masters degree, focusing on computers and transportation planning. Larry's summer adventures will begin with a trip to Neah Bay on public transit.

Pro Walk/Pro Bike 08: September 2-5 in Seattle

People in the central Puget Sound region left home to engage in various activities as often in 2006 as they did in 1999, and the number of places people stopped at during each of these "tours" also remained about the same. However, the reasons for the tours and in some cases the amount of time needed to complete them have changed since 1999. These are findings from two household travel surveys conducted in 1999 and 2006. These surveys recorded the travel activities and motivations over a two-day period for more than 4,600 households.

For more information about this Trend and household survey data, contact Neil Kilgren at 206-971-3602 or nkilgren@psrc.org.

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