Transit-Oriented Job Centers: Recentralizing Regional Job Sprawl Through Strategic Transportation and Land Use Coordination
May 2, 2011|University of California Berkeley Masters Client Report
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This paper has several purposes. First, it seeks to further the argument that TOD job centers are a viable and important means to combat and reverse job sprawl. Doing so will require advancing a more comprehensive definition of TOD that considers both where people live and where people work. Second, it will look at best practices (both plans and policies) to implement TOD job centers. Because of the scope of the problem (i.e. job sprawl is occurring at a regional and even megaregional level), the most effective solutions likely require regional intervention. However, the policies available to implement these plans are at a different scale (either at a local level or the state/federal government). Therefore, the most effective plans and policies will have to address this discrepancy and identify creative ways to entice or require local jurisdictions to make land use decisions that benefit regions. Finally, suggestions will be made for how the Bay Area can regionally address job sprawl…
TCRP Synthesis 87: Practices in the Development and Deployment of Downtown Circulators
April 24, 2011|Transit Cooperative Research Program
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The purpose of this synthesis was to document the state of the practice for transit agencies in terms of development, deployment, and sustainability of downtown circulator systems. It was accomplished through a literature review, transportation/transit agency survey, and case studies. Seven case studies across a geographic range of locations offer additional details on innovative and successful practices, as well as other related issues. These circulator locations include downtowns in Baltimore, Maryland; Hartford, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles, California; and Austin, Texas.
Smart Growth and Transit- Oriented Development at the State Level: Lessons from California, New Jersey, and Western Australia
March 21, 2011|Journal of Public Transportation Vol 11, No 3
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The states of California, New Jersey, and Western Australia encourage smart growth through the employment of transit-oriented development (TOD). This article documents each state’s approach and highlights the importance of interagency cooperation at the state-level and intergovernmental cooperation between state and local governments. This article discusses the importance of state government participation in the planning and creation of policy to facilitate TOD and recommends elements for a model state TOD program.
Planning Transit-Oriented Development Around High-Speed Rail Stations in Fresno and Bakers
December 18, 2010|San José State University Department of Urban and Regional Planning
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This research first seeks to gain an understanding of TOD attributes that encourage economic development at HSR station areas, with a focus on mid-sized cities located between two or more large metropolitan areas. Then, this research aims to apply the information gathered to two midsized California cities with planned HSR stations – Fresno and Bakersfield – by assessing how effectively those cities are planning for TOD in areas around their planned HSR stations. Finally, this research aims to produce a set of recommendations for policymakers in Fresno and Bakersfield to assist them in planning for TOD around HSR stations that maximizes economic development.
Cautionary Lessons in Planning Transit-Oriented Development: Avoiding Gentrification and Displacement
November 8, 2010
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A recent report from the Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy at Northeastern University provides new insight into the debate over whether transit-oriented development (TOD) leads to gentrification and displacement. The report (available in PDF format here) has generated significant media interest because one of its primary findings is that the opening of a new transit station often leads to higher rents, increased home values, and increased rates of auto ownership, and thus primarily benefits wealthier households who are not as reliant on transit and do not utilize it as frequently. The authors note that this is a troubling trend, but caution that there is no cause-and-effect relationship between TOD and…
Streetcars And The Built Environment
September 23, 2010
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The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies has released a new report exploring the impact of streetcars on the built environment.
Weaving Together Vibrant Communities Through Transit-Oriented Development
August 27, 2010
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Allison Brooks, Reconnecting America's chief of staff, has an article on transit-oriented development in the summer issue of San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank's online publication, Community Investments.
Getting to Work: Improving Job Accessibility for Disabled Workers
August 12, 2010
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Providing accessible, convenient transportation options for people with disabilities can be challenging, especially when they limit employment opportunities. The Center for Workers with Disabilities has prepared a report, Getting to Work: A Case Study Report on Accessible Transportation Projects, profiling the efforts of four states to improve job accessibility for disabled workers. The states of Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey have used funding from Medicare Infrastructure Grants to identify service needs and gaps and bring together various transportation agencies to discuss how to improve job accessibility. In Illinois, the grant funded employer summits around the state, and local Chambers of Commerce are now establishing best practices for attracting and assisting disabled workers. In New Jersey,…
Bus Rapid Transit: The Incremental Answer
June 29, 2010
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The Mineta Transportation Institute has released a study of bus rapid tranist as practiced in California, Oregon and Ontario. The prime element identified in "From Buses to BRT: Case Studies of Incremental BRT Projects in North America" is the flexible nature of the beast.
Framing The Gas Tax Question
May 21, 2010
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Traditionally, America's transportation system has been paid for by gasoline taxes, but those taxes have not kept pace with increases in costs or the growth of vehicle miles traveled. The result the national Highway Trust Fund, which gets 90 percent of its funds from gasoline taxes, faces a deficit of as much as $2.3 trillion in the next 25 years.
