Transit-oriented development (TOD) refers to urban neighborhoods built around quality public transportation service. TOD can reduce sprawl by decreasing dependence on cars and noxious fumes, making walking easier, and offering more affordable housing solutions.
TOD communities, also referred to as Transit-Oriented Developments (TOD), are typically dense, mixed-use areas located within 1/4 to 1/2 miles of public transit stations such as Rosslyn-Ballston, Clarendon and Court House in Arlington County, VA as examples of TOD communities.
Walkable Communities
No matter your lifestyle or transportation costs, walkable neighborhoods could be just what’s needed for improved connections within local communities. Here, day-to-day necessities like food and recreation are located close by without having to depend on automobiles for transport – unlike traditional neighborhoods that rely heavily on automobiles; walkable communities prioritize pedestrian safety with safe public transit access for more convenience and less pollution.
TODs (Transit-oriented Developments) consist of high-density residential and commercial developments arranged around a bus or light rail stop, with lower density areas branching off from this transit hub. TODs may range from being just one block to being multiblock districts.
Building a walkable community requires engaging all relevant stakeholders from its inception. Engaging them early on through strategic partnerships will ensure your walkability project gets support, leverage resources efficiently and ensure cooperation among different stakeholder interests – while at the same time reflecting your community’s vision of walkability in its final form.
Jobs
TODs provide multiple advantages to people, cities and economies alike: sustainable urban growth; diverse housing options; increased business revenues; decreased reliance on personal vehicles; job creation. Retail businesses located nearby TODs benefit from an increase in foot traffic that attracts more customers resulting in greater sales & higher profits for those businesses located there.
Transit works best and most efficiently when serving multiple destinations, making transit-oriented development (TOD) an ideal strategy to maximize its value. Unfortunately, however, government policy often interferes with such development projects. Governments tend to resist changing zoning and land use policy concurrently when investing in transit infrastructure; development often does not follow suit. Communities seeking to develop TOD should not let this opportunity pass them by; there are steps available to overcome these barriers, however. A new report from the Mineta Transportation Institute details these impediments to TOD construction as well as solutions.
Affordable Housing
Developers can create affordable housing by building near transit. One key resource available to them for creating such units is the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), a federal program offering nonrefundable, transferable tax credits designed to encourage them to build affordable units in transit-proximate communities.
Other local government initiatives can offer rental, condominium and homeownership opportunities to households earning 80-100% of the area median income. Such options could include community land trusts, limited equity cooperatives or efforts that assist lower income homebuyers acquire existing properties.
Arlington County, Virginia for instance has focused much of its new development within 1/4 to 1/2 miles from Metro rapid transit stations in urban villages that combine walkable residential and commercial spaces into walkable communities that make life easier for its residents – but these communities also face affordability constraints.
Sustainability
At the turn of the 20th century, American society became entranced with the promise of speedy travel that an automobile offered. Unfortunately, cities soon discovered that high-speed highways led to their own set of problems – traffic congestion and air pollution being just two examples.
Sustainable communities rely on an intimate partnership between land use planning and transit infrastructure. TOD maximizes housing density close to transit stops, increasing ridership while simultaneously stimulating economic activity in local areas.
TODs also reduce car usage, which reduces traffic congestion and pollution while improving access to jobs and amenities for residents. They can also free up money for low-income households so they can purchase homes near public transit instead.
TOD can be achieved by creating a dense mixed use center near a bus or rail station, with lower density areas radiating out from it. TOD may also be achieved through zoning for dense mixed use development or by redeveloping existing sites to include affordable housing along with transit improvements.