TOD integrates land use and transportation planning to create vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods around public transit stations, which foster economic development while simultaneously reducing congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. When implemented effectively, TOD fosters economic development while simultaneously decreasing congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
TOD is typically associated with light rail transit systems; however, communities may use TOD to improve bus service as well. TOD offers many benefits:
Concentration of jobs and housing around transit stations
TODs offer commuters time savings by shortening travel distances, while simultaneously helping increase urban productivity. Yet there remain challenges involved with creating equitable and sustainable TOD developments.
TOD relies on providing all households with affordable homes and jobs within walkable neighborhoods with plenty of amenities and activities. Planners must consider not just the number of households moving in but their characteristics too, including income levels and ethnic backgrounds.
To better assess how rail transit can provide this commuting-enhancing role, we examine Wuhan’s railway station areas using smart card data on residential locations and workplaces. A normalized location-weighted landscape index is proposed to objectively evaluate jobs vs housing balance in areas surrounding transit stations; our results reveal that those adjacent rail transit stations tend to experience faster growth compared to overall city areas with high income households settling there more rapidly.
Increased productivity and a smaller carbon footprint
Investment in transit-oriented development not only benefits the environment but can also increase productivity. When public transportation is available, employees don’t need to worry about traffic delays or their car breaking down as much.
Employees living nearby transit are less likely to drive and therefore rack up less miles on their vehicle every year, which reduces carbon emissions and air pollution, thus mitigating climate change.
TODs can be implemented in new suburban neighborhoods built around transit stations or existing urban areas with transit services, with their central core consisting of high-density commercial and residential development (such as two to four story apartments or townhouses with quarter-acre lots). As described by Cervero and Arrington (2008), TODs usually generate less automobile traffic compared with current cities, although additional public expenditure may be necessary in terms of nonmotorized infrastructure costs comparable with automobile-related expenditures.
Enhanced resilience to disasters
TOD strategies can assist cities in becoming more resilient to disaster. By clustering jobs, housing, and businesses near transit stations, TOD helps cities lessen their vulnerability to natural and man-made hazards while supporting an array of land uses and activities which helps build community resilience to natural and man-made hazards.
Development of TOD strategies must take into account the urban character, urban context and TOD potential of an area before developing them. According to a World Bank study, it’s also crucial that consideration be given simultaneously to three values of a neighborhood–transit connectivity, quality of urban environment and market potential–for better understanding which neighborhoods may be suitable candidates for TOD development.
Equitable transit-oriented development (eTOD) involves planning processes involving local residents and community-based organizations, with strategies involving maintaining affordable housing stock, access to jobs and economic opportunities, protecting tenants from displacement caused by new developments, as well as safeguarding against displacement due to new projects. Such an eTOD approach creates equitable communities more resistant to natural disasters.
Stronger community ties
Communities reliant on cars may face increased costs and greenhouse gas emissions that have financial and social ramifications, limiting walkability. Transit-oriented development seeks to return cities back to their walkable roots by prioritizing micromobility and public transit access over infrastructure for cars.
TODs create high-quality walking environments that foster residents’ health, by clustering residential, commercial, entertainment and civic space around public transit stations. Their mutually beneficial relationship increases housing density while improving accessibility to community services; reduces traffic emissions; and stimulates local economic activity.
TOD can also foster community cohesion by offering access to events and activities that promote social engagement and cultural expression, but policies promoting TOD may inadvertently lead to gentrification and displacement of low-income communities. To mitigate such concerns, equitable TOD (eTOD) includes strategies designed to ensure low-income households benefit from new developments that are close to transit.