Activity Center
Medical Center
The following section provides the results of the regional center analysis and measures how a center performs relative to the future vision for its category.
The South Texas Medical Center is a major cluster of 45 healthcare and medical-related facilities, including 12 hospitals and five specialty institutions. Healthcare employment reached 27,500 jobs in 2011 and accounts for nearly 30% of all healthcare employment in the city. The Medical Center is also home to USAA, one of the city’s largest employers. This area will continue to be the primary hub of medical-related activities in San Antonio with potential to evolve into a vibrant mixed-use center.
Tasks Ahead: Transit use to and within the medical center can be increased and the pedestrian environment can be improved to make it more walkable.
Chestnut Hill Square in Boston is a lifestyle and retail destination with a mix of shops and restaurants anchored by medical office and clinical spaces.
How to use the Regional Center Profiles
This study uses data from the Comprehensive Plan Initial Studies, the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), VIA Metropolitan Agency, WalkScore.com and the U.S. Census, including the Location Affordability Index (LAI). The analysis utilizes nine indicators of existing conditions that illustrate differences between the centers. The indicators are grouped by type:
- Social: Job diversity, Housing and Transportation (H&T) Index, Per Capita Income
- Connectivity: Transit Utilization, Walkability, Median Commute Distance
- Mix of Uses Ratio of Workers to Residents, Residential Density, Employment Density
An analysis of potential for land development complements the regional center profiles. It includes indicators for population and employment per developed acre and the percent of acres developed in each center.
The city and stakeholders developed aspirational scores and ideal measures of success for each of the indicators, tailored to the three regional center types. Comparing the existing conditions scores in each center to the aspirational scores shows how each center is performing well and where it needs improvement to reach its potential.
Aspirational scores vary based on the urban form, land use mix and anticipated specialization of each of the three regional center types. For example, Activity Centers have high aspirational scores for transit use and residential density, while these criteria are less relevant for Logistics/Service Centers and Special Purpose Centers based on the descriptions of the regional center types on page 5.2
How well a center is currently meeting its aspirational score is demonstrated by bar graphs. The profiles on the following pages tell the story of each regional center’s analysis. Each one provides:
| Strengths | A |
|---|---|
| Introductory Text | B |
| Locator Map | C |
| Key Economic and Demographic Facts | D |
| Existing Conditions and Aspirational Scores | E |
| Tasks Ahead | F |
| Precedent Photo | G |
