New neighborhoods designed with TOD principles can offer long-term benefits. They help people live healthier lifestyles and reduce the cost of living by providing more options for sustainable transportation.
TOD can also create opportunity for low and moderate income communities. When executed with equity in mind TOD can address regional affordable housing shortages and foster economic growth.
Integrated Land Use and Transportation Planning
The location and growth of land development directly impacts transportation infrastructure needs, and the way people access those services. Consequently, integrated land use and transportation planning is an integral part of ensuring that transportation system investments support local land development decisions, rather than the other way around.
In the short term, land-use transportation interaction models (depicted in Figure 3.3) generally focus on activities and travel demand. In the long run, however, these models can also help planners understand how changes in land development will impact the resulting travel demands on the transportation network.
Transit-oriented development is the intentional construction of homes, shops, and community spaces around public transportation stations. These high-density neighborhoods reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote affordable housing options, limit displacement, and strengthen our communities. In addition, TOD can improve access to jobs and city services, activate underutilized station areas, and boost local economic activity. TOD is a key strategy in our region’s plan to create a modern, sustainable, and healthy future.
High-Density Development
Residents of high density areas typically live within walking distance to local shops, restaurants and recreational facilities. This allows them to reduce their dependence on cars for transportation. It also helps avoid the environmental destruction of urban sprawl and increases property value.
Communities often support TOD through policies and incentives that encourage higher-density housing near transit stations. This can include refining zoning to allow for mixed-use developments, reducing parking requirements and offering development incentives.
TOD can also include ground floor uses, such as grocery stores and community cultural spaces, that benefit low-income community members and people of color. Increasing TOD can also help to increase the availability of affordable homes. By providing housing to rent in communities served by high quality transit, households can lower their expenses on transportation and spend more of their incomes on other needs. This is called “mobility as a right.” It’s part of creating vibrant, livable, sustainable neighborhoods.
High-Quality Transit Service
Creating high-quality transit remains a core focus for TOD. However, it is no longer the sole measure of success. TOD agencies now look to housing production (especially affordable housing), revenue generation, improved station access, walkability, economic development, public space enhancements, safety, and long-term value as indicators of successful projects.
In addition, many TOD programs prioritize and expedite funding for projects that include value capture—a way to recoup some of the new value created by new transit infrastructure from private developers rather than taxpayers. This can help offset the costs of new transit service and even help to pay for the initial investment in TOD land.
For example, the Lake Street Transit Village in Minneapolis includes a new county human services center and more than 500 units of housing immediately adjacent to the MetroTransit Blue Line/Midtown Station. This new development supports local jobs and community amenities while generating revenue that will continue to support the region’s investment in transit.
Mixed-Use Development
The most vibrant and successful neighborhoods are dense, walkable, mixed-use communities that provide people with local shops, restaurants, jobs and homes close to the transit they rely on to travel to work, school and other destinations. FTA has programs that can help foster partnerships for mixed-use, affordable development near transit.
Aerial view of Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in Arlington County, Virginia, where high density TOD is centered within 1/4 to 1/2 mile (400 to 800 m) of the Rosslyn, Ballston, Clarendon and Court House Washington Metro stations with lower density development further out.
TOD promotes compact city growth, reduces sprawl and provides a more sustainable alternative to the use of private vehicles for transporting people and goods in cities. TOD also offers residents the opportunity to live, shop and work without the need for a car and reduces their exposure to noxious fumes and traffic congestion. When designed with equity in mind, TOD is also an important component of a comprehensive affordable housing strategy. Across the country, low income households spend 32% of their income on housing and 19% on transportation costs.