urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of
urban development
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
that maximizes the amount of
residential
A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...
,
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
and
leisure
Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...
space within
walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...
distance of
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
. It promotes a symbiotic relationship between dense, compact urban form and public transport use. In doing so, TOD aims to increase
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
ridership by reducing the use of private cars and by promoting sustainable urban growth.
TOD typically includes a central transit stop (such as a
train station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...
, or light rail or bus stop) surrounded by a high-densitymixed-use area, with lower-density areas spreading out from this center. TOD is also typically designed to be more
walkable
Walkability is a term for planning concepts best understood by the mixed-use of amenities in high-density neighborhoods where people can access said amenities by foot. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport ...
automobiles
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
.
The densest areas of TOD are normally located within a radius of to mile (400 to 800 m) around the central transit stop, as this is considered to be an appropriate scale for
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
new town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
s created after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
have many of the characteristics of TOD communities. In a sense, nearly all communities built on reclaimed land in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
or as
exurban
An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It sh ...
developments in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
have had the local equivalent of TOD principles integrated in their planning, including the promotion of
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
s for local use.
In the United States, a half-mile-radius circle has become the de facto standard for rail-transit catchment areas for TODs. A half mile (800 m) corresponds to the distance someone can walk in 10 minutes at and is a common estimate for the distance people will walk to get to a rail station. The half-mile ring is a little more than in size.
Transit-oriented development is sometimes distinguished by some planning officials from "
transit-proximate development
{{Short description, Urban planning prioritising automobiles and transit
Transit-proximate development is a term used by some planning officials to describe (potentially dense) development that is physically near a public transport node (e.g. a bus ...
" (see, e.g., comments made during a Congressional hearing) because it contains specific features that are designed to encourage public transport use and differentiate the development from
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
. A few examples of these features include mixed-use development that will use transit at all times of day, excellent
pedestrian facilities
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with t ...
such as high quality
pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
s, narrow streets, and tapering of buildings as they become more distant from the public transport node. Another key feature of transit-oriented development that differentiates it from "transit-proximate development" is reduced amounts of
parking
Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' ...
for personal vehicles.
Transit-oriented development has many benefits including but not limited to:
- Easy access to transit, making it easy to get around without a car.
- Dense, due to TODs being made for getting around transportation, other than private vehicles, allowing access to stores and private business.
- Improved access to jobs and city services.
- Increased population near transit stops, such as a commuter rail stop, which ultimately increases transit ridership across the board.
Opponents of compact, or transit oriented development typically argue that Americans, and persons throughout the world, prefer low-density living, and that any policies that encourage compact development will result in substantial
utility
As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...
decreases and hence large social welfare costs. Proponents of compact development argue that there are large, often unmeasured benefits of compact development or that the American preference for low-density living is a misinterpretation made possible in part by substantial local government interference in the land market.
TOD in cities
Many cities throughout the world are developing TOD policy.
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
among many other cities have developed, and continue to write policies and strategic plans, which aim to reduce
automobile dependency
Car dependency is the concept that some city layouts cause cars to be favoured over alternate forms of transportation, such as bicycles, public transit, and walking.
Overview
In many modern cities, automobiles are convenient and sometimes nec ...
and increase the use of public transit.
Latin America
Curitiba, Brazil
One of the earliest and most successful examples of TOD is
Curitiba
Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Curitiba was organized into transport corridors very early on in its history. Over the years, it has integrated its zoning laws and transportation planning to place high-density development adjacent to high-capacity transportation systems, particularly its BRT corridors. Since the failure of its first rather grandiose city plan due to lack of funding, Curitiba has focused on working with economical forms of infrastructure, so it has arranged unique adaptations, such as bus routes (inexpensive infrastructure) with routing systems, limited access and speeds similar to subway systems. The source of innovation in Curitiba has been a unique form of participatory city planning that emphasizes public education, discussion and agreement.
Guatemala City, Guatemala
In an attempt to control the rapid growth of
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
, the long-time mayor,
Álvaro Arzú
Álvaro Enrique Arzú Yrigoyen (; 14 March 1946 – 27 April 2018) was a Guatemalan politician and businessman who served as the 32nd President of Guatemala from 14 January 1996 until 14 January 2000. He was elected Mayor of Guatemala City on ...
, implemented a plan to control growth based on transects along important arterial roads and exhibiting transit-oriented development (TOD) characteristics. The plan adopted POT (Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial) aims to allow the construction of taller mixed-use building structures right by large arterial roads. The buildings would gradually decrease in height and density as distance would increase from arterial roads. That is being implemented simultaneously with a
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
(BRT) system, called
Transmetro
Transmetro is a bus rapid transit system in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The first line opened on February 3, 2007. The fleet consists of modern Volvo buses made by Ciferal in Brazil. The buses have fixed stops and partly run on dedicated lanes, avo ...
.
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City has battled pollution for years. Many attempts have been made to orient citizens towards public transportation. Expansion of metro line, both subway and bus, have been instrumental. Following the example of Curtiba, many bus-lines were created on many of Mexico City's most important streets. The bus-line has taken two lanes from cars to be used only by the bus-line, increasing the flow for bus transit.
The city has also made great attempts at increasing the number of bike lanes, including shutting down entire roads on certain days to be used only by bikers.
Car regulations have also increased in the city. New regulations prevent old cars from driving in the city, other cars from driving on certain days. Electric cars are allowed to be driven everyday and have free parking. Decreasing the public space allocated to cars and increasing regulations have become a great annoyance among daily car users. The city hopes to push people to use more public transport.
North America
Canada
=Calgary, Alberta
=
Calgary's Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has been evolving largely around stations along Calgary's Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, also known as the CTrain network. Although Calgary's CTrain system has been around since 1981, TOD activity has been fairly recent, with much of development taking place since 2010. Most of the transit oriented development has taken place along the LRT system's Red Line especially around stations of the northwest leg with areas around stations at Brentwood, Dalhousie, and Banff Trail having seen the most development. Brentwood Station for example, with multi-building developments such as University City, has seen almost 900 residential units built in the last eight years within the 600m radius of Brentwood station, as well as proposed developments that are in the works. On the south leg of the Red Line the massive Midtown Station proposal is a reversal from previous TOD builds where development is built around existing stations. In the case of Midtown Station, the proposal is along the CTrain line, but includes building a new station solely for the purpose of serving the development.
For The City of Calgary, TOD's are an ongoing process, but the city has published policy guidelines and implementation strategies for Transit Oriented Development.
=Edmonton, Alberta
=
Most of the suburban high rises were not along major rail lines like other cities until recently, when there has been incentive to do so. Century Park is a growing condo community in southern Edmonton at the south end of Edmonton's LRT. It will include low to high rise condos, recreational services, shops, restaurants, and a fitness centre. Edmonton has also had a transit-proximate development for some time in the northeastern suburbs at Clareview which includes a large park and ride, and low rise apartments among big box stores and associated power center parking. Edmonton is also looking into some new TODs in various parts of the city. In the northeast, there are plans to redevelop underutilized land at two sites around existing LRT, Fort Road and Stadium station. In the west, there is plans to have some medium density condos in the Glenora neighbourhood along a future LRT route as well as a TOD in the southeast in the Strathearn neighbourhood along the same future LRT on existing low rise apartments.
=Montreal, Quebec
=
According to the Metropolitan Development and Planning Regulation as of late 2011, 40% of new households will be built as TOD neighbourhoods.
=Ottawa, Ontario
=
Ottawa's City Council has established transit-oriented development (TOD) priority areas in proximity to Ottawa's Light Rail Transit. These priority areas are a mix of moderate to high-density transit-supportive developments within a 600-metre walking distance of rapid transit stations.
=Toronto, Ontario
=
Toronto has a longstanding policy of encouraging new construction along the route of its primary Yonge Street subway line. Most notable are the development of the
Yonge and Eglinton Yonge is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Charles Duke Yonge (1812–1891), English historian and translator of Philo of Alexandria
* Charles Maurice Yonge (1899–1986), British marine biologist
* Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823 ...
area in the 1960s and 1970s; and the present development of the 2 km of the Yonge Street corridor north of Sheppard Avenue, which began in the late 1980s. In the period since 1997 alone the latter stretch has seen the appearance of a major new
shopping centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
and the building and occupation of over twenty thousand new units of
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
housing. Since the opening of the
Sheppard subway line
Line 4 Sheppard is the newest and shortest subway line of the Toronto subway system, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It opened on November 22, 2002, and has five stations along of track, which is built without any open sectio ...
in 2002, there is a
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
construction boom along the route on Sheppard Avenue East between Yonge Street and Don Mills Road.
=Vancouver, British Columbia
=
Vancouver has a strong history of creating new development around its SkyTrain lines and building regional town centres at major stations and transit corridors. Of note is the Metrotown area of the suburb of
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
near the Metrotown SkyTrain Station. The areas around stations have spurred the development of billions of dollars of high-density real estate, with multiple high-rises near the many stations, prompting concerns about rapid gentrification.
=Winnipeg, Manitoba
=
There is currently one TOD being built in Winnipeg beside the rapid transit corridor. It is known as The Yards at Fort Rouge, and was spearheaded by the developer Gem Equities. In phase two of the southwest rapid transit corridor, there will be four more TODs. This phase is an interesting example of the use of fine arts in parallel with transit planning, making several of the stations sites for public art related to the social history of the area.
United States
=Arlington County, Virginia
=
For over 30 years, the government has pursued a development strategy of concentrating much of its new development within from the county's
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview ...
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
Courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
,
Pentagon City
Pentagon City is an unincorporated neighborhood (also called an "urban village") located in the southeast portion of Arlington County, Virginia, near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.
Location
Pentagon City is located less than a mile ...
Shirlington
Shirlington is an unincorporated urban area, officially called an "urban village", in the southern part of Arlington County, Virginia, United States, adjacent to the Fairlington area. The word "Shirlington" is a combination of "Shirley" (from the ...
EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
's National Award for Smart Growth Achievement for "Overall Excellence in
Smart Growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood sch ...
" — the first ever granted by the agency.
In September 2010,
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...
, in partnership with
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, opened
Capital Bikeshare
Capital Bikeshare (also abbreviated CaBi) is a bicycle-sharing system which serves Washington, D.C.; Arlington County, Virginia; the cities of Alexandria, Virginia and Falls Church, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Virg ...
Pentagon City
Pentagon City is an unincorporated neighborhood (also called an "urban village") located in the southeast portion of Arlington County, Virginia, near The Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.
Location
Pentagon City is located less than a mile ...
, Potomac Yard, and Crystal City neighborhoods in Arlington. Arlington County also announced plans to add 30 stations in fall 2011, primarily along the densely populated corridor between the Rosslyn and Ballston neighborhoods, and 30 more in 2012.
= New Jersey
=
New Jersey has become a national leader in promoting transit oriented development. The
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...
established the Transit Village Initiative in 1999, offering multi-agency assistance and grants from the annual $1 million fund to any municipality with a ready-to-go project specifying appropriate mixed land-use strategy, available property, station-area management, and commitment to affordable housing, job growth, and culture. Transit village development must also preserve the architectural integrity of historically significant buildings. Since 1999 the state has numerous Transit Village designations, which are in different stages of development:
Pleasantville (1999), Morristown (1999), Rutherford (1999),
South Amboy
South Amboy is a suburban city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 9,411.South Orange
South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...
(1999),
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
Metuchen
Metuchen ( ) is a suburban borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. The borough, along wit ...
Collingswood
Collingswood is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, located east of Center City Philadelphia. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 13,926,Cranford (2003)
Matawan
Matawan is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A historic community located near the Raritan Bay in the much larger Raritan River, Raritan Valley region, the borough ...
(2003),
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
Somerville
Somerville may refer to:
*Somerville College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford
Places
*Somerville, Victoria, Australia
* Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia
* Somerville, New Zealand, a subur ...
Dunellen
Dunellen () is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,637, reflecting an increase of 410 (+5.4%) from the 7, ...
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
(2021).
=New York City
=
Many neighborhoods in New York City are close to a New York City Subway station, this allows easy transport throughout the cities’ neighborhoods and central business districts. To maximize the usage of the New York City Subway, many subway stations are surrounded by transit-oriented development, with high-density residential and commercial buildings surrounding the subway station. Neighborhoods include, but are not limited to, Downtown Brooklyn,
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
,
Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
regional rail
Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...
station.
=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
=
The East Liberty neighborhood is nearing completion of a $150 million Transit Oriented Development centered around the reconfigured East Liberty Station on the city's
Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway
The Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway is a two-lane bus-only highway serving the city of Pittsburgh and many of its eastern neighborhoods and suburbs. It was named after Martin Luther King Jr. in recognition of the eastern portion of the route ...
. The development included improved access to the station with a new pedestrian bridge and pedestrian walkways that increase the effective walkshed of the station. The East Busway is a fixed guideway route that offers riders an 8-minute ride from East Liberty to Pittsburgh's Downtown.
=Salt Lake City Metro Area, Utah
=
The Salt Lake City Metro Area has seen a strong proliferation of transit-oriented developments due to the construction of new transit lines within the
Utah Transit Authority
The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is a special service district responsible for providing public transportation throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, in the United States, which includes the metropolitan areas of Ogden, Park City, Provo, Salt ...
Murray
Murray may refer to:
Businesses
* Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles
* Murrays, an Australian bus company
* Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust
* D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...
downtown Salt Lake City
Downtown (also called City Center) is the oldest district in Salt Lake City, Utah. The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple.
Location
Downtown Salt Lake City is usually def ...
have seen rapid growth and construction despite the economic downturn. The population along the
Wasatch Front
The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Provo in the south to Logan in the north ...
has reached 2.5 million and is expected to grow 50% over the next two decades. At 29.8%, Utah's population growth more than doubled the population growth of the nation (13.2%), with a vast majority of this growth occurring along the Wasatch Front.
Transportation infrastructure has been vastly upgraded in the past decade as a result of the
2002 Olympic Winter Games
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internationa ...
and the need to support the growth in population. This has created a number of transit-oriented commercial and residential projects to be proposed and completed.
=San Francisco Bay Area, California
=
The
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
includes nine counties and 101 cities, including San Jose,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
and Fremont. Local and regional governments encourage transit-oriented development to decrease traffic congestion, protect natural areas, promote public health and increase housing options. The region has designate Priority Development Areas an Priority Conservation Areas Current population forecasts for the region predict that it will grow by 2 million people by 2035 due to both the natural birth rate and job creation, and estimate that 50% of this growth can be accommodated in Priority Development Areas through transit-oriented development.
Major transit village projects have been developed over the past 20 years at several stations linked to the
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
. MacArthur Station is a relatively new development, with construction beginning in 2011 and scheduled for completion after 2019.
=Chicago
=
Chicago passed its first TOD ordinances in 2013. The city of Chicago started building TODs around rail stations throughout the metropolitan area. There have been concerns that these TODs were excluding minorities since most of the TODs were built in mainly white areas therefore leaving minorities out of the picture when it came to access to transit oriented development neighborhoods. The 2020 eTOD Policy Plan was created to fix the issues from the previous TOD plans, by creating more TOD developments in minority areas.
Asia and Oceania
Hong Kong
Compared to other developed economies, the car ownership rate in Hong Kong is very low, and approximately 90% of all trips are made by public transport.
In the mid-20th century, no railway was built until an area was well developed. However, in recent decades,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
has started to have some TODs, where a railway is built simultaneously with residential development above or nearby, dubbed the "Rail plus Property" (R+P) Model. Examples include:
*
LOHAS Park
LOHAS Park () is a Hong Kong seaside residential development of the MTR Corporation, located in Tseung Kwan O Area 86, New Territories. After its full completion, it will be the largest single residential enclave in the territory.
Name and ...
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
The Rail plus Property model, which captures the value capture of land surrounding new public transport, allows Hong Kong to be the one of the world’s few profitable public transit systems, generating a profit of $1.5 billion in 2014.
Greater Jakarta
The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta–Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regency) ...
metro area such as
Citra Sentul Raya Citra Sentul Raya is a township development at Sentul, Indonesia. It is about south of Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta. The project is being developed by a joint operation between Ciputra Residence with PT Tridaya Semesta and PT Sarana Golf Uta ...
and Dukuh Atas TOD. TOD are also being constructed in cities like
Surabaya
Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...
,
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
, and
Palembang
Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...
.
Melbourne, Victoria
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Victoria is expected to reach a population of 5 million by 2030 with the overwhelming majority of its residents relying on private automobiles. Since the turn of the century, sporadic efforts have been made by various levels of government to implement transit-oriented development principles. However, a lack of commitment to funding public transport infrastructure, resulting to overcrowding and amending zoning laws has dramatically slowed progress toward
sustainable development
Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
for the city.
Milton, Queensland
Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
, an inner suburb of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, has been identified as Queensland's first transit-oriented development under the Queensland Government's
South East Queensland Regional Plan
The South East Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031 (SEQRP 2009) is a statutory plan designed to guide regional growth and development in South East Queensland, Australia. It was established under the ''Integrated Planning Act 1997'', which has now ...
. Milton railway station will undergo a multimillion-dollar revamp as part of the development of
The Milton Residences
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
to promote and encourage residents to embrace rail travel. This will include a new ticketing office, new public amenities, increased visibility across platforms and new and improved access points off Milton Road and Railway Terrace.
Sydney, New South Wales
The
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
state government has actively encouraged developments around stations on the Sydney Trains and
Sydney Metro
The Sydney Metro is a fully automated rapid transit system serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Currently consisting of one line that opened on 26 May 2019, it runs from Tallawong to Chatswood and consists of 13 stations ...
networks through its Priority Precincts plan. Several stations such as Chatswood, Burwood, Parramatta and
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
have large scale apartment developments built within close proximity within the past decade. New apartment and office tower developments along the future Sydney Metro stations are being planned as integrated developments with the stations themselves. Examples of this include Victoria Cross Station and Crows Nest Station whilst existing stations such as Castle Hill and
Epping Epping may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Epping railway station, Sydney
* Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
* Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...
have also had intensified development.
Europe
The term transit-oriented development, as a US-born concept, is rarely used in Europe, although many of the measures advocated in US transit-oriented development are also stressed in Europe. Many European cities have long been built around transit systems and there has thus often been little or no need to differentiate this type of development with a special term as has been the case in the US. An example of this is Copenhagen's
Finger Plan
The Finger Plan ( da, Fingerplanen) is an urban planning, urban plan from 1947 which provides a strategy for the development of the Copenhagen metropolitan area, Denmark. According to the plan, Copenhagen is to develop along five 'fingers', centre ...
from 1947, which embodied many transit-oriented development aspects and is still used as an overall planning framework today. Recently, scholars and technicians have taken interest in the concept, however.
Paris, France
Whereas the city of Paris has a centuries-long history, its main frame dates to the 19th century. The subway network was made to solve both linkage between the five main train stations and local transportation assets for citizens. The whole area of Paris City has metro stations no more than 500 metres apart. Recent bicycle and car rental systems ( Velib and
Autolib
Autolib' was an electric car sharing service which was inaugurated in Paris, France, in December 2011. It closed on 31 July 2018. It was operated by the Bolloré industry and complemented the city's bike sharing system, Velib', which was set u ...
) also ease travel, in the very same way that TOD emphasizes. So do the new trams linking suburbs close to Paris proper, and tramline 3 around the edge of the city of Paris.
The
La Défense
La Défense () is a major business district in France, located west of the city limits of Paris. It is part of the Paris metropolitan area in the Île-de-France region, located in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the communes of Courbevoie, ...
area is an example of a large scale transit-oriented district.
Stedenbaan, Netherlands
In the southern part of the Randstad a neighbourhood according to the principles of TOD will be built.
Various Impacts of TOD
Environmental Impacts
TOD has been shown to reduce multiple types of emissions in Los Angeles during life-cycle assessments; greenhouse gasses, respiratory irritants, and smog forming emissions can be reduced by approximately 30% in TOD when compared to lower density areas. This is attributed to various factors including residents having more travel options, reduced travel distances for everyday activities, and higher density housing reducing energy use per residence. In Dhaka TOD can also aid in reducing travel related emissions on a community level, specifically for work and school trips, due to residents traveling less distance to these locations. And it is suggested that the improvements in public transportation, pedestrian, and bicycle infrastructure that are associated with TOD and related policies may improve these reductions within Dhaka and other developing cities. However, TOD has also been found to be a major contributor to the urban heat island effect in Brisbane both having higher temperature and more rapidly increasing temperatures than non-TOD areas. This difference has been linked to TOD having a larger portion of non-porous land and less natural spaces, which must be considered when planning TOD.
Economic Impacts
TOD, specifically along light rail transit lines, have been seen to increase the amount of new businesses in Phoenix within one mile of a station, with businesses in the knowledge, service, and retail industries experiencing 88%, 40%, and 24% more new starts respectively than non-TOD areas. However, a decrease in manufacturing facilities has also been noted in TOD; similar results are likely to be seen in other U.S. cities. The value of condominiums in San Diego generally increases with decreasing distance from light rail transit stations, increasing walkability of neighborhoods, and increasing available services. This points to TOD as a preferable style of neighborhood to people, showing that market-driven creation of TOD neighborhoods may be possible in U.S. metropolitan areas. Resident expenses in TOD have been shown to be lower in well developed areas in spite of the generally higher rental costs due to lower energy use and travel costs, in Los Angeles the savings are around $3100 per year for one household.
Receptions
One criticism of transit-oriented development is that it has the potential to spur
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
in low-income areas. In some cases, TOD can raise the housing costs of formerly affordable neighborhoods, pushing low- and moderate-income residents farther away from jobs and transit. When this happens, TOD projects can disrupt low-income neighborhoods. This can be very concerning due to the fact that lower income people tend to use (and need) transit more than higher income people.
When executed with equity in mind, however, TOD has the potential to benefit low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities: it can link workers to employment centers, create construction and maintenance jobs, and has the potential to encourage investment in areas that have suffered neglect and economic depression. Moreover, it is well recognized that neighborhood development restrictions, while potentially in the immediate neighborhood's best interest, contribute to regional undersupply of housing and drive up the cost of housing in general across a region. TOD reduces the overall cost of housing in a region by contributing to the housing supply, and therefore generally improves equity in the housing market. TOD also reduces transportation costs, which can have a greater impact on LMI households since they spend a larger share of their income on transportation relative to higher-income households. This frees up household income that can be used on food, education, or other necessary expenses. Low-income people are also less likely to own personal vehicles and therefore more likely to depend exclusively on public transportation to get to and from work, making reliable access to transit a necessity for their economic success.
History
TOD began in 1993 with the publication of
Peter Calthorpe
Peter Calthorpe (born 1949) is a San Francisco-based architect, urban designer and urban planner. He is a founding member of the Congress for New Urbanism, a Chicago-based advocacy group formed in 1992 that promotes sustainable building practice ...
's book ''The Next American Metropolis''. Calthorpe and his colleagues based their theory on the ideals of the Garden city movement.
Integrated ticketing Integrated ticketing allows a person to make a journey that involves transfers within or between different transport modes with a single ticket that is valid for the complete journey, modes being buses, trains, subways, ferries, etc. The purpose o ...
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood sch ...
*
Sustainable transport
Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...
*
Urban consolidation Urban consolidation describes the policy of constraining further development and population growth to within the boundaries of preexisting urban areas rather than expanding outward into suburban areas. Urban consolidation seeks to increase the popu ...
American Planning Association
The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...
Transportation Research Board
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, formerly the National Research Council of the United States, which serves as an independent adviser to the President of the Unite ...
U.S. Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...