Transit oriented development (TOD) combines regional planning, city revitalization and suburban renewal into one program. TOD creates exciting public places that provide greater access to jobs and housing while decreasing automobile usage.
TODs typically involve light or heavy rail transit systems; however, many communities also incorporate TOD concepts into developments served by bus-based public transit.
Community Visioning
Community visioning provides individuals with the ability to express their ideas about the future of their local area through techniques such as charettes, workshops and surveys. By doing this, it helps shape future land-use decisions and regulations within municipalities or regions with greater public ownership and buy-in.
At the core of any successful planning project lies participation from diverse groups and individuals, including demographic, geographic and cultural characteristics from within the community. Community visioning processes should include both those familiar with participating in such discussions in past efforts as well as those newer to them.
TODs typically revolve around transit stations or stops and feature compact, pedestrian-focused development within walking distance of them – often known as transit villages. Such developments typically consist of office, retail and residential uses with new or redeveloped properties available within them.
Transit Station Design
Practice D-1: Design to Reflect Community Character and Values: Integrating transit station areas into their surroundings using distinctive architectural features and artwork helps build community ownership of transit. It fosters an image of permanence rather than simply serving as a convenient amenity.
Practice C-1: Provide Safe Space: Attractive public spaces create the impression of safety and security even if actual crime rates in an area are low. Design your space for visibility and access, encourage active uses on ground floors with windows facing walkways, and promote patrolling by law enforcement or private security firms during off-peak times when crimes tend to happen most frequently.
Practice B-1: Structure for transit-supportive density and activities: Higher population densities around stations lead to greater transit use, so design mixed-use developments that provide opportunities to work, shop, dine, relax and play near them in order to optimize this benefit.
Pedestrian Orientation
Transit-oriented developments (TODs) place great emphasis on people. TODs create communities in which residents can easily walk to shops, restaurants and parks as well as easily access public transit services.
TODs focus on offering a mix of moderate to high density housing options within easy walking distance of a central transit station – these areas are often known as transit villages.
Some communities use TOD strategies to revitalize their downtowns while others employ TOD principles to build new neighborhoods around existing rail stations. TOD doesn’t only apply to trains; it can also include buses, trolleys and even ferries.
TOD can provide easier access to everyday destinations. Practitioners can assist local initiatives to implement pedestrian-oriented infrastructure by:
Parking
TODs provide a compelling opportunity to promote walking, but if an oversupply of parking designed to meet outdated engineering guidelines is created. This wastes valuable land while increasing development costs.
Our recent research indicates that actual parking demand is significantly less than estimated by standard engineering guidelines, with peak parking occupancy being less than half of what was recommended by Institute for Transportation Engineering (ITE).
It can be achieved in part through excellent pedestrian facilities, including well-kept sidewalks separated from cars and wide corridors, as well as by clustering high density uses like offices and apartments near transit stations, including good pedestrian facilities like sidewalks separating pedestrians from cars and wide corridors; additionally, this success can also be attained with good design — such as wrapping parking decks around parking spaces with retail spaces on their first floors — as well as careful planning of building heights to step down from higher density to lower density neighborhoods as you approach the station – this reduces visual impact while making areas more appealing for walkers and makes areas more inviting overall.