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Perhaps!  Since there is no way to test the alternative hypothesis, i.e. midtown Atlanta would have developed anyway, there is no way to know for sure the impact of MARTA on the development.   According to the 2010 census, the Atlanta Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) has a population of approximately 5.3 million.  The Houston SMSA has a population of approximately 6.1 million whilst the San Antonio SMSA has a population of approximately 2.2 million. Both of the aforementioned Texas cities have had dynamic downtown growth over the past decade. Both cities rely on buses for public transit, although Houston has a short light rail line. The impact of public transit in both cities is relatively light.  Approximately five per cent of the SMSA population use it. The percentages are considerably higher for people living near one of the transit lines (commuter rail, light rail, express bus, etc.) According to the Texas Transportation Institute, of the 10 worst traffic cities in the United States, as measured by time wasted in traffic jams, LA is number 1. Atlanta is 3 and Houston is 4. DFW, which has the most extensive light and commuter rail systems in the southwest, is Number 6. Like most surveys of this kind, the methodologies for arriving at the conclusion are suspect, but they suggest that public transit is not the robust solution that many people seem to believe. Commuter rail and light rail are transit solutions.  Whether they are the best solution for an area depends on a number of variables.  Most importantly, however, it depends on framing the problem correctly, examining all of the potential solutions, and implementing the most effective one(s).   The argument that commuter rail and light rail prompt commercial development along their rights-of-way has merit.  However, if the population of a community is growing, people need places to work, live, shop, etc.  Transit shifts some of the development location, but the facilities will be built, ala Houston and San Antonio, irrespective of whether the community opts for rail (commuter or light).
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