TODs can be an effective tool for agencies looking to encourage sustainable transit ridership, revitalize neighborhoods and strengthen regional economic competitiveness while offering quality of life benefits for residents. Unfortunately, however, these schemes also can pose potential disadvantages such as affordability issues for residents or gentrification issues.
TOD encompasses key characteristics such as density, diversity, walkable streets and development in proximity to public transit stations – elements which increase sustainable ridership as well as providing improved accessibility for people without cars.
Benefits
Benefits of transit-oriented development (TOD) can include improved public transportation, greater access to jobs and services, stronger community resilience and overall a better quality of life. Furthermore, providing affordable housing in TOD areas may help local governments reduce the costs associated with providing social service programs to low-income residents.
TODs provide mixed land use, higher density and walkability; this enables people to reach jobs, services, amenities and community activities without the need for personal vehicle transport. Their greater population density also reduces infrastructure costs as more people share resources more evenly.
TOD can reduce air pollution and energy consumption, thus helping the environment. Furthermore, TOD increases return on public transit investments while creating economic activity by decreasing automobile usage. Furthermore, TOD increases economic viability of local businesses by making sure customers are close by; finally it promotes community among residents while supporting non-market models of ownership and governance for greater social equity.
Location
As people increasingly demand walkable communities with convenient access to high-quality public transit, new and revitalized neighborhoods are often designed around train stations – this development type is known as Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
TODs aim to develop dense, mixed-use neighborhoods around transit stations with various housing types and prices available, shops, community services, schools and workplaces – designed for walking and cycling with good road connectivity, traffic calming measures and parking management practices designed to reduce vehicle speeds.
People living in TODs typically own fewer cars and drive less, opting to use public transport and car sharing more for work and leisure trips instead. This helps reduce traffic congestion and emissions, and reduce total household energy consumption; TODs typically increase property values 5-15% due to access to public transport providing direct benefits such as automobile, fuel and parking cost savings (CNT 2013). Urban TODs tend to be located near city centers that offer frequent, high-quality transit service while neighborhood TODs tend to be located along feeder transit lines or bus routes further afield from urban areas.
Pedestrian Access
Transit Oriented Development’s main aim is to create walkable neighborhoods. To do so, this requires providing quality pedestrian infrastructure like sidewalks and making the neighborhood pleasant (Cervero et al 2004; Mudigonda et al 2014).
Residents in TOD neighborhoods drive 45% less than residents living in automobile-dependent neighborhoods, saving approximately 512 gallons and $1,400 in annual fuel costs (Bailey 2007). Furthermore, this approach reduces public costs related to vehicle travel – such as road maintenance costs and pollution issues – while expanding transport choices for non-drivers such as walking, bicycling, public transit or car sharing services.
Cities seeking to optimize the benefits of TOD should ensure their zoning laws support dense urban forms and design standards that encourage walking. This may involve encouraging denser urban forms like four-story apartments, townhouses or small single-family homes on narrow lots and streets specifically intended to facilitate this mode of travel. Equitable TOD strategies (eTOD) may also be implemented so low-income communities and people of color have equal access to opportunities offered in TODs without being dislocated by them.
Gentrification
Transit-oriented development (TOD) not only attracts new residents but also gentrifies existing neighborhoods. Working-class areas become vibrant communities filled with plush apartments and condos, new cafes and restaurants, as well as various forms of entertainment options. TOD neighborhoods tend to attract young families which create jobs for local businesses.
As a result, neighborhood amenities and property values increase, providing businesses with opportunities to invest in infrastructure upgrades and develop high-end retail options. Local governments collect higher taxes from higher-income residents which they can then use to help lower-income residents manage the rising cost of housing in their region.
But gentrification can have dire repercussions for original residents who cannot afford rising rents. According to one study, 22 percent of gentrifying tracts showed evidence of significant minority residential displacement; it examined tracts which met criteria for being considered “gentrified”, such as having median household income increases or home value gains – and discovered it most commonly happens in larger cities.