TOD 205: Families And Transit-Oriented Development - Creating Complete Communities For All
June 21, 2012
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Why This Book?
Transit-oriented development can be used as a tool to support family-friendly communities and high-quality education. Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a mix of housing, retail and/or commercial development, and amenities in a walkable neighborhood with high-quality public transportation. Interest in TOD has grown across the country to achieve multiple goals, including:
Reduced automobile trips and greenhouse gas emissions;
Increased transit ridership and transit agency revenues;
The potential for increased and/or sustained property values near transit;
Improved access to jobs for households of all incomes;
Reduced infrastructure costs, compared to what is required to support sprawling growth;
Reduced transportation costs for residents;
Improved public health due to increased walking and biking;
Creation of a sense of community and place.
Recent TOD projects have often catered more to young professionals, empty nesters or other households without children, as these…
A Decision-Support Framework For Using Value Capture to Fund Public Transit: Lessons From Project-Specific Analyses
May 8, 2012|Mineta Transportation Institute
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Executive Summary
The federal government, through various transportation acts, such as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), and, more recently, the Safe, Affordable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), has reinforced the need for integration of land use and transportation and the provision of public transit. Other federal programs, such as the Livable Communities Program and the New Starts Program, have provided additional impetus to public transit. At the state and regional level, the past three decades have seen increased provision of public transit. However, the public transit systems typically require significant operating and capital subsidies—75 percent of transit funding is provided by local and state governments.1 With all levels of government under significant fiscal stress, new transit funding mechanisms are welcome. Value capture (VC) is once…
Restructuring the Commercial Strip
January 1, 2010|EPA Development, Community and Environment Division
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Smart Growth Program commissioned this document to provide communities with guidance on how they can revitalize these commercial corridors to accommodate economic growth, reuse land already serviced by existing infrastructure, and reflect the unique character of the town or city where they are located.
Bus Rapid Transit and Development: Policies and Practices that Affect Development Around Transit
December 1, 2009|National Bus Rapid Transit Institute, Center for Urban Transportation Research
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Foreword
The development of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems is relatively recent in the United States, but several systems are in operation and more are advancing. There is a need for a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between land use and BRT system development, particularly in comparison to other fixed-guideway modes such as heavy and light rail. While recognizing that existing land uses have an important and complex influence on the development costs and benefits of fixed-guideway projects, this research focuses primarily on the impact such projects have had on existing and future land uses and economic development, as well as the policies and practices that have been used by local governments that have the potential to affect development. Finally, additional note has been taken as to whether the benefits and incentives offered along transit corridors between Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) are equitable in cities where both modes…
Preserving Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized Housing Opportunities Near Transit and the 50+ Population
September 30, 2009
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Executive Summary
INTRODUCTION
A livable community has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive features and services, and adequate mobility options for people, regardless of age or ability. As communities address the general shortage of affordable housing, preserving affordable housing in transit-oriented developments (TODs) is one of the challenges that communities can address to increase their livability.
TODs are compact, walkable, mixed-use communities that are developed around high-quality public transportation. Residents often prize these places for the advantages created by the proximity to transportation and other amenities. One consequence of this desirability is that it can increase land and property values, exacerbating housing affordability challenges.
As policymakers try to extend the benefits of TODs to affordable housing locations, they must ensure that those benefits are available to people of low and moderate incomes and to those with different mobility…
2005 Development-Related Ridership Survey Final Report
March 22, 2006|Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
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S.1 Study Purpose
The purpose of the 2005 Development Related Ridership Survey was to update a 16-year old study conducted by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) that surveyed the travel behavior of persons traveling to and from office, residential, hotel and retail sites near Metrorail stations. The 2005 effort sought to determine if modal splits for these land uses have changed over time and whether certain physical site characteristics still impact transit ridership. In 2005, 49 sites of the land uses listed above plus entertainment venues near 13 Metrorail stations participated in the study, which was designed to mimic the earlier efforts as a way to provide some context for comparison.
S.2 Background
In the 16 years since WMATA last surveyed development around its rail stations to determine how much transit ridership certain land uses generate when placed near rail stations, much has changed in the Washington metropolitan region in terms of population…
Parking Spaces / Community Places: Finding the Balance through Smart Growth Solutions
January 1, 2006|U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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When you shop, you may visit a mall, or go to your town’s main street. At the mall, you probably cruise past rows and rows of empty parking, the spaces filled only one day a year. Maybe you head downtown, but can only find vacant storefronts. And where things are bustling, you can’t find convenient parking near the stores you want to visit. All three of these scenarios represent a “parking problem” that has a negative impact on other community goals. At the mall, overbuilt parking consumes land and wastes money. Downtown, storefronts may sit empty because new businesses that would like to move in can’t meet high parking requirements – and too little parking makes good businesses less viable.
Request for Expressions of Development Interest for Transit Oriented Development at State Center
April 4, 2005|Maryland Department of General Services
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The Maryland Department of General Services (DGS) in association with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP), and in collaboration with the City of Baltimore, seek expressions of interest from experienced developers of mixed-use projects for the redevelopment into a mixed-use, transit oriented development (TOD) of Parcels E and F, adjacent to the State Office Building complex at “State Center,” in the heart of Baltimore’s Cultural District.
The Returning City: Historic Preservation and Transit in the Age of Civic Revival
January 1, 2003|FTA, National Trust for Historic Preservation
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The study that resulted in this book was initiated in September 2001 to examine how decisions about public transportation, land development and redevelopment, and historic preservation have complemented one another in dozens of communities nationwide. The goal of the study was to demonstrate how transit and historic preservation act as compatible forces to revitalize communities. We set out to illuminate the many ways in which communities of all sizes have restored their urban or suburban cores and made full use of those centers’ capacities to help metropolitan areas grow sustainably. We wanted to find out how historic preservation values are informing community planning for public transit, and how these values are being used in development decisions intended to promote transit use.
Delineating an Integrated, Multifaceted Light Rail Corridor for Northeast Baltimore City
January 1, 2003|Transportation Research Circular E-C058: 9th National Light Rail Transit Conference
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This paper will present the findings of a 2-year research project that defined community-based criteria for decision-making for the provision of light rail into underserved areas of Baltimore, Maryland, and delineated key areas along the light rail corridor to promote economic development opportunities, increase visual character, and strengthen community linkages. The research defined the guiding principles and strategies, hence, the framework in which a light rail line that is a clean, quiet, fast, and efficient mode of urban transportation, and that is likely to attract a diverse ridership, can be developed in Baltimore.
