Cities that rely on the use of private cars experience a variety of problems- long commutes to and from work, endless traffic jams, and an increase in pollution. While it seems like cars are the most reliable option to take us from place to place, city planners are frequently promoting the benefits of public transit, and the development of communities that are centered around many forms of public transportation. Many cities are growing faster than they were initially planned. As a result, roadways have expanded, land is being transformed into massive parking lots, and connections between communities are growing farther apart.
Transit Oriented Development, also called TOD, is becoming increasingly popular in discussions about how we design urban areas. For people who can’t, or choose not to live in an urban core, TODs help connect suburbs to cities while maintaining a different lifestyle. TODs are defined as a development located within a certain distance, usually a half-mile or a ten-minute walk, from a public transportation center. Many developers find TODs attractive due to their financial incentives, ability to construct projects at higher densities, and proven demand for new supply of residential units in a desirable location. When well-executed, it leads to cities with strong neighborhood connections, less pollution, and efficient methods of moving people from place to place. Spatially, it creates new ways to co-locate residential, commercial, educational and amenity programs around transit hubs. As these areas continue to grow, they are anchored by bus stops and train stations that provide connections to other parts of cities, allowing for diversity in populations and land use. Creating a TOD is one of the best ways to improve the urban vitality of a city, especially when paired with downtown revitalization strategies.
Washington D.C. is a great example of a region that has successfully implemented a modern TOD strategy. In 2004, the city built a new transit station on an existing metro line, costing just north of 100 million dollars. The subsequent development that occurred in the area afterward included 7,000,000 square feet of commercial office space, new residential towers, hotels, and retail spaces. This generated more than 3 billion dollars of economic growth. Washington D.C., similar to other cities, has been facing a rapid expansion of suburban sprawl, forcing TODs to grow as well. The Northern Virginia suburb of Arlington County went from a low-density neighborhood to a thriving, mixed-use, walkable neighborhood. After the Metro rail began service in the 1970s, the area saw the development of 24.4 million square feet of office space, 24,000 residential units, and 6,000 hotel rooms. Most recently, Amazon’s new headquarters, featuring a spiral-shaped building, was planned for this area.
Cleveland, Ohio is another example of a city that experienced success due to the implementation of TODs. The Greater Cleveland area is one of the few cities that has had a declining population since the 1950s. From 2000 to 2012, the area lost nearly 100,000 residents. But Cleveland’s TOD isn’t designed around a train line but a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line through the city’s health corridor. The HealthLine BRT was completed in 2008 and in the first few years of opening, saw nearly 6 billion dollars in development. Given that the BRT line only cost 200 million to implement, it became the biggest dollar-for-dollar impact of a BRT line in the United States, proving that other cities that can’t implement a rail line may find success with other forms of public transportation.
Transit Oriented Developments have the ability to transform dormant communities into vibrant neighborhoods. Rethinking the way that public transportation can be integrated into existing and future developments will allow for creative opportunities to design new spaces that can respond ti urban needs and expand for years to come.
