Downtowns, Greenfields and Places In Between: Promoting Development Near Transit
May 29, 2013
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Introduction
Transit-oriented development (TOD) – typically defined as compact, mixed-use development within walking distance of a transit station – has emerged in recent years as a key strategy for fostering quality neighborhoods and reducing auto dependence. Despite the emphasis on TOD in many policy discussions, however, only limited information is available to help communities understand the likely development impacts of new transit investments. This report builds on a 2010 study by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD), Rails to Real Estate: Development Patterns along Three Recently Constructed Rail Lines, to examine the opportunities and challenges involved in promoting TOD in different types of neighborhoods, and the strategies that may be appropriate to catalyze TOD depending on the neighborhood context. By examining development patterns and public investment strategies through the lens of “development context” or “neighborhood type,” this report…
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…
Rails to Real Estate: Development Patterns Along Three New Transit Lines
March 21, 2011|Center for Transit-Oriented Development
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Executive Summary
This report documents real estate development patterns along three recently constructed light rail transit lines in the United States. This topic is important for local planning practitioners, transit agencies, community members and other stakeholders in their efforts to plan for new transit investments and foster transit-oriented development (TOD). Setting realistic expectations about the scale, timing and location of private investment along new transit lines is especially critical where new development is expected to help pay for needed transit improvements, neighborhood amenities, or other community benefits.
The three transit lines examined in this report are the Hiawatha Line in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, the Southeast Corridor in the Denver region, and the Blue Line in the Charlotte region. The report examines residential and commercial development that occurred within a half-mile of stations along the three lines. Development is evaluated in the…
Parking Strategies in Transit Oriented Development The Charlotte Parking Collaborative
July 1, 2010|James D. Kimbler
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The Charlotte Parking Collaborative is currently being implemented with a real time Parking and Wayfinding System that overcomes the perception that parking is not readily available in Charlotte’s CBD. The project conveys the feeling of a parking “system”, helps visitors find venues and parking more easily, and will facilitate balancing the parking supply with growing transit service while providing congestion mitigation and air quality benefits.
The Effect of Light Rail Transit on Body Mass Index and Physical Activity
June 29, 2010|American Journal of Preventative Medicine 2010;39(2):105–112
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Background: The built environment can constrain or facilitate physical activity. Most studies of the health consequences of the built environment face problems of selection bias associated with confounding effects of residential choice and transportation decisions.
Uri Avin and Daniel A. Rodriguez discuss “The Role of Employment Subcenters in Residential Location Decisions”
April 4, 2010|Journal of Transport and Land Use
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The paper by Eun Joo Cho, Daniel A. Rodriguez, and Yan Song in the Fall 2008 issue of the Journal of Transport and Land Use (the role of employment subcenters in residential location decisions, JTLU vol. 1 no. 2) was of great interest to me both because of its intrinsic subject matter and because I spent four years working in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County on a variety of projects, starting with the 1998 integrated transit/land use plan that preceded the bond referendum. I was moved to respond to the paper from the perspective of someone familiar with the place and its peculiar and unique evolution which, I believe, needs to be factored into any evaluation of its job accessibility/housing relationships.
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…
Charlotte Streetcar Economic Development Study
April 1, 2009|City of Charlotte
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This Study presents an economic evaluation of the proposed Charlotte Streetcar, which would run on an approximately 10 mile corridor along Beatties Ford Road from Interstate-85 through Downtown and out along Elizabeth Avenue and Central Avenue to Eastland Mall. The central question addressed by this Study is how much funding could be anticipated from property-value based mechanisms, and what does this amount of potential funding mean for the feasibility of the proposed Charlotte Streetcar. The Study was prepared by BAE, a national urban economics and development advisory firm with expertise in transit-oriented development, in collaboration with Charlotte-based real estate firms Warren & Associates and Integra Realty Resources.
Estimated Development Potential Around Five Proposed LRT Transit Stations
March 31, 2009
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In March of 2009 University City Partners engaged Noell Consulting Group to identify development potential around five proposed area transit stations and estimate the potential incremental value of that development and the tax revenue it generates over the coming 27 years. The five stations examined include:
National Award For Smart Growth Achievement
January 1, 2009|EPA Development, Community and Environment Division
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Honorees represent the best in smart growth development in 2009
