Transit-oriented development (TOD) is an exciting trend in community planning that creates vibrant people places around high quality transit systems, helping reduce our reliance on cars while improving health outcomes and economic opportunities.
TODs feature compact and walkable communities offering housing, offices, shops and cultural institutions all within walking distance from public transportation stations.
High-Density Development
High-quality transit systems depend on dense development to maximize accessibility and reap the agglomeration benefits associated with urban density, making high-quality transit services most suitable for communities where people live, work and play without relying on automobile travel for transportation needs.
TOD provides high-quality transit along with dense residential and mixed-use development in a pedestrian friendly environment. TOD goes beyond simply placing buildings near transit stations; rather, it involves creating public spaces that encourage walking and bicycling while supporting local businesses and providing jobs.
TODs also reduce car parking needs, freeing up more space for other uses and saving on costs for vehicle ownership. Furthermore, TODs tend to be located within walking distance from destinations like schools, workplaces, and shopping centers, making travel quicker by non-mechanised means – saving both costs and greenhouse gas emissions; studies indicate that office workers and residents within TODs own fewer cars compared with their counterparts outside this neighborhood.
Mixed-Use Development
Integrating people, services and activities using quality public transportation enables compact city growth that allows more affordable housing options, reduced car dependence and shorter commutes; waste is reduced as is congestion from vehicles as is exposure to their fumes.
One development may feature various land uses – housing, retail stores, office buildings and entertainment venues – that provide residents with everything they need without the use of their car, including going to work and running errands. This provides residents with convenience for everyday tasks such as going grocery shopping.
Mixed-use developments offer investors a more steady source of income. This is because their inherent monetary risks of developing residential and commercial properties are dispersed across multiple markets rather than being focused solely on one market. While this strategy helps reduce risks during development, market analysis is still vital; record keeping ensures compliance with building, zoning and environmental regulations makes navigating this regulatory process simpler when construction commences.
Transit Stations
Transit-oriented development (TOD) refers to the practice of clustering residential and commercial development near high quality transit stations. This helps focus activity into an efficiently compact area while encouraging use of public transit, walking and bicycling as alternatives to driving alone.
TOD (Transit-oriented development) is typically associated with rail transit systems; however, its application to bus-based public transportation can also be utilized. This approach to TOD centers development around bus stations that serve as major hubs or transfer points of a network where people travel between homes and places of employment.
Transit stations include rail or light-rail stations, ferry terminals, bus hubs and transfer stations as well as proposed transit stations that have been planned into a Transportation Improvement Plan. A proposed station may include changes such as signing and pavement markings but does not involve physical construction of dedicated transit lanes (see Project #17 for an example).
Community Visioning
Community visioning is an effective way of aligning local government initiatives with residents’ aspirations. A community vision statement and priorities developed through this process should serve as guides for land use planning, infrastructure investments, economic development initiatives, budget allocation decisions, policy implementation decisions and program execution decisions.
Facilitating Inclusive Workshops and Meetings: Communities can engage in community visioning through workshops and public meetings that allow all voices to be heard. These events may take place during the day or evening, and should include youth as well as seniors as attendees. Multiple methods should be employed to collect input – surveys, focus groups, interviews…
Graphic representations can be particularly effective at helping communities formulate scenarios in the visioning process, using tools like CommunityViz software. Such depictions allow residents to better comprehend potential growth scenarios and decide which they prefer.