In honor of Earth Day this year, we've added a trio of reports to our research archive that delve into the role transit can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Yesterday we released the Portland Metro TOD Strategic Plan.  The value of this plan is to show where investments should be targeted that will actually move the market in the right direction.  The goals of the Metro TOD program include creating market comparables and cultivating developers to build higher density mixed use developments.  A lot of times outside of downtowns, these folks are somewhat rare so the program seeks to develop that skill set as well as influence local markets.

The transit orientation measure in 2D doesn't necessarily convey the significant differences in readiness to support transit-oriented development across the region. Research shows that a few key measures can strongly predict the readiness of an area to support walkable, mixed-use development and help residents live a lifestyle with less reliance on a personal automobile. Metro's Transit-Oriented Development Program’s new transit orientation measure is a composite of these important elements. The five P’s of transit-oriented development Traditionally, true transit-oriented development has been said to possess three D’s – density (residential and/or employment), diversity (e.g. mix of uses, ages, income groups) and design (pedestrian scale and orientation). For the purpose of better capturing "urban character" in a composite measure, a more holistic view of the transit friendliness of station areas and corridors is proposed.
The transit orientation measure in 3D more…

Here at Reconnecting America we talk a lot about streetcars but not a lot about bus circulators.  However many cities see them as a way to move people around downtown without expending lots of capital dollars.  They are generally free and according to the most recent TCRP synthesis report 87 (loaded into the Resource Center), ridership can range between 600 riders on an average weekday to 1,500 riders on sundays.  Additional resources for downtowns looking at circulators include another report in the Resource Center from the National Center for Transit Research at the University of South Florida. 

There is a lot of discussion on the effect of transit on property values and redevelopment in cities around the country. Usually the boosters claim that transit helps and opponents claim that it does nothing. The truth? As with many other questions the answer is “it depends”.

High-speed rail has long been an Obama Administration signature initiative—his Interstate Highway, his Transcontinental Railroad. High-speed rail was meant to be a program that would both transform America, and leave his imprint.