Dense, walkable neighborhoods located near public transit can create vibrant communities while simultaneously decreasing traffic and pollution levels while offering affordable housing solutions for low-income residents. TOD can also significantly lower traffic speeds.
Experience has shown that TOD benefits require both a healthy real estate market and public policies to leverage them, along with patience for premiums to accumulate.
Economic Development
Transit oriented development (TOD), an increasingly popular trend, involves creating people-friendly environments centered on high quality public transit systems that reduce driving by up to 85% – providing economic, environmental, and social benefits at once.
TOD enhances housing affordability, improves access to jobs and services, enhances Basic Mobility for households without cars, and bolsters local economies. Furthermore, TOD lowers per capita transport costs, lowers traffic fatalities and pollution levels, decreases land dedicated to roads and parking space, creates vibrant walkable neighborhoods and generates local economies.
TOD can maximize the value of transit investments by increasing ridership and making service more cost-efficient. TOD becomes even more effective when its uses – such as offices, residences, shops, entertainment venues and schools – are distributed evenly along corridors; this enables trip origins and destinations to be evenly distributed for smoother bi-directional flows with reduced reliance on peak hour capacity. Furthermore, TOD brings temporal benefits; with offices producing trips during off-peak hours while residential areas creating demand for frequent service during evenings and weekends.
Commuter Benefits
Transit-oriented development (TOD) centers around housing and business activities located near public transportation services. TOD neighborhoods typically consist of a central bus, light rail or subway station surrounded by mixed-use, higher density development with offices, retail shops, cultural institutions and residential homes – these mixed-use areas produce various trip patterns – peak hours for offices and stores while off-peak times for residential areas; when these trip patterns align along transit corridors efficiencies can be achieved through increased rail service capacity utilization.
TOD can reduce per capita motor vehicle travel. Studies have demonstrated that residents living within walking distance of transit are likely to use it for commutes; incentives like reduced fares, community UPass programs and targeted marketing may help increase ridership. Other TDM strategies like Commute Trip Reduction, Parking Solutions and Access Management also contribute to TOD’s success.
Environmental Benefits
TOD allows residents to reach their destinations without needing private vehicles by clustering jobs, housing and services near transit stations in an integrated community plan. Furthermore, TOD helps reduce transportation emissions while simultaneously supporting economic development. Finally, this concept improves public transport system operations while simultaneously decreasing emissions emissions and emissions-related pollution levels.
TODs tend to feature lower auto ownership rates, enabling households to save money on vehicle expenses. Studies indicate that residents and office workers in TODs generate significantly less travel than counterparts elsewhere in their region (Cervero et al, 2003).
TOD neighborhoods generally tend to offer greater accessibility than non-TOD areas due to land use clustering, walking and cycling facilities, parking management to minimize car trips, as well as higher density, infill development regulations, street design measures with traffic calming measures and parking requirements. Furthermore, TOD communities can reflect lower transportation costs through property taxes, development fees or utility rates that reflect this reality.
Community Benefits
TOD neighborhoods offer residents proximity to transit that makes them ideal for living, working and playing in. Residents of these communities benefit from reduced stress levels while having more productive and livable lifestyles.
TOD can be part of a regional plan to promote urban growth and development, city revitalization, suburban renewal and the creation of walkable neighborhoods. It can also form part of neighborhood-level planning efforts aimed at improving walking and biking conditions near existing public transportation stops or stations.
TOD can reduce per household vehicle ownership, travel and expenditures by clustering activities near transit. Furthermore, when mixed-use TOD is situated along transit corridors (like pearls on a necklace), residential and commercial spaces produce trips during off peak hours which helps to increase rail service efficiency. To make TOD equitable for residents and organizations involved throughout its planning process; check out CNT, Enterprise or How Housing Matters as resources on equitable TOD processes.