A recent Denver Post story about property values increasing 4 percent along the Southeast Line since 2006 while declining by 7.5 percent elsewhere in Denver’s housing market adds further evidence that property near transit is faring well in the economic downturn. It is generally believed that transit creates value that can be captured and used to pay for public benefits but confusion abounds: Where does the value come from, and when is it created? What’s the best way to measure it? Most importantly, what’s the best way to capture it? And can it be used to fund more TOD and transit? These questions are addressed in this new paper from the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, which summarizes the findings of studies on property values, offers examples of value capture strategies and how they’ve been used to defray capital costs, and provides a framework for deciding on the best strategies.

Former Reconnecting America board member Peter Calthorpe writes in the San Francisco Chronicle that just as federal policy in the 1950s set the stage for sprawl with an enormous investment in freeways, the stimulus package could put a downpayment on a new more sustainable direction by funding transit and walkable communities. So why is it, he asks, that at this critical juncture – when energy, environmental, fiscal and national security challenges are converging – has transit’s funding been cut significantly while funding for highways has not?