This page provides an overview of transit-oriented development, including useful resources and examples of local TOD plans and ordinances.
Overview
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is designed to increase the number of residents, employees, and potential transit riders that have convenient access to transit. A complementary mix of uses, activities, and services located in close proximity to each other allow TOD residents to commute to work, run errands, recreate, and meet basic needs without needing a car. A variety of moderate and higher density housing options located within easy walking distance from a centrally-located transit station or transit corridor (about 1/4 mile, 10 minutes) are typically a part of the mix. Transit riders generally begin and end their trips by walking. As a result, a network of safe and convenient walkways that connect transit, residences and other uses, and an attractive pedestrian environment are a hallmark of TOD development. A well-designed bicycle system and facilities can increase the radius that people will travel to access transit. Community spaces, plazas, activities and attractive design are also important components in drawing people to TOD development.
RCW 43.21C.420 provides authority for certain cities to adopt optional elements and development regulations for subareas that will be developed in mixed use or transit-oriented development subject to preparation of a nonproject environmental impact statement.
Guides, Studies, and Articles
Guides
- Transit-Supportive Planning Toolkit: Guidance and Resources for Plan and Policy Development, Puget Sound Regional Council (2013) - Brief guide discusses strategies to strengthen the land use transportation connection which are highly applicable in TOD developments. Uses successful Puget Sound area examples to illustrate strategies
- The Mixed Income Transit-Oriented Development Action Guide, The Center for Transit Oriented Development (2008) - An online tool designed to help local jurisdictions and planners develop strategies to create mixed income transit oriented development (a mix of housing choices, affordable to a range of incomes, for people at different stages of life) around planned transit stations
- Station Area Planning: How To Make Great Transit-Oriented Places, Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (2008) - Discussion of TOD typologies and development that fits the TOD type, and planning and design principles, including checklists, to facilitate creation of successful TOD projects
- Transit-Oriented Development Best Practices Handbook, Calgary, Canada (2004) - Brief and useful summary of benefits and best practices
- Transit-Oriented Development Best Practices Manual, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (2007) - Surveys TOD practices from seven successful programs, and applies lessons learned to develop Cleveland guidelines
Articles/Reports
- A Station Area Typology of Economic Opportunity: A Guide to Better Connecting Transit, Jobs and Workforce Development in the Denver Region, Bill Sadler, Reconnecting America (2013) - Report focuses on economic development in station areas. Provides tools for local governments to use for different station types to overcome barriers and to attract, retain and grow more businesses in transit-oriented locations
- Bus Rapid Transit: Projects Improve Transit Service and Can Contribute to Economic Development, U.S. Government Accounting Office (2012) - The GAO reviewed 20 projects and found that bus rapid transit increased ridership, and improved rider experience. Looks at a number of features that project planners incorporated to improve efficiency and service
- From Barriers to Solutions and Best Practices: Urban Centers and TOD in Washington, Charles R. Wolfe and Paul Symington, in publication by the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies for The Quality Growth Alliance, Reconnecting America (2009) - Washington-oriented report has a particularly useful discussion of the difficulty of financing important public improvements and Washington's "TIF-lite" variations on tax increment financing
- Choosing Where We Live: Attracting Residents to Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area; A Briefing Book for City Planners and Managers, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco, CA region) (2010) - Identifies various housing market segments and describes ways to make transit oriented development more attractive in response to each group's specific needs and preferences. It includes specific recommendations for improving walking and cycling conditions, transit service quality, neighborhood livability (quiet, cleanliness and safety), school quality, and accessibility, parking management, and urban housing affordability
- Guidelines for Providing Access to Public Transportation Stations, Report 157, Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board (2012) - Provides guidelines for providing access to rapid transit stations, including pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle access including park and ride lots. Describes an eight-step station access planning process. Also provides guidelines for rapid transit station and boarding access arrangement and design
- Preserving Affordable Housing Near Transit: Case Studies from Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and Washington, D.C., by Enterprise Community Partners, The National Housing Trust and Reconnecting America (2010) - Very useful report identifies strategies and tools communities can use to preserve affordable housing in transit-rich neighborhoods despite the decline of traditional resources in the down economy.
- Transit-Oriented Communities: A Blueprint for Washington State, Futurewise, GGLO and Transportation Choices Coalition (2009) - Particularly good discussion of benefits with supporting evidence and performance measures of success
- Transit-Oriented Communities Design Guidelines: Creating more livable places around transit in Metro Vancouver (BC), TransLink (2012) - This well-considered best practices-based guide focuses on design attributes and strategies that most strongly influence travel behavior and support transit-oriented development. TransLink's webpage also includes other useful resources including:
Studies
- Building Support for Transit-Oriented Development: Do Community-Engagement Toolkits Work? by Erin Machell, Troy Reinhalter, and Karen Chapple, University of California Transportation Center UCTC Research Paper No. 885 (2011) - San Francisco area study uses focus groups to evaluate how well various community education and outreach strategies worked and makes suggestions about how they might be altered to work better
- Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking, and Travel, by Robert Cervero and G. B. Arrington Transportation Research Board (2008) - Provides original data on TOD residential trip generation and parking, the behavior and motivation of TOD residents, employees, and employers in their mode choice. The report also identifies best practices to promote, maintain, and improve TOD-related transit ridership
- Encouraging Transit-Oriented Development: Case Studies of Tools that Work, prepared by Reconnecting America for Local Initiative Support Corporation, Phoenix, AZ (2009) - Summarizes TOD tools that are used by communities around the country and focuses on ten tools, including joint development, right-sizing parking, land assembly and housing trust funds
- Parking Policy for Transit-Oriented Development: Lessons for Cities, Transit Agencies, and Developers, Richard Willson, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 8, No. 5 (2005) - Nicely organized report with policy recommendations for improving parking policy for TODs that are still useful
- San Mateo Transit-Oriented Development Opportunity Study, Final Report, San Mateo County, CA (2007) - This study contains very useful insights about addressing factors that can facilitate both small scale infill parcel development for parcels near stations and land assembly for larger infill development near TODs
- Vehicle Trip Reduction Impacts of Transit-Oriented Housing, by Robert Cervero and G. B. Arrington, Journal of Public Transportation, Vol. 11, No. 3 (2008) - A survey of 17 transit-oriented developments (TOD) in five U.S. metropolitan areas showed that vehicle trips per dwelling unit were substantially below what the Institute of Transportation Engineer's Trip Generation manual estimates
Market Forces
- Capturing the Value of Transit, prepared for United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (2008) - Harnessing a portion of the value that transit confers to surrounding properties to fund transit infrastructure or related improvements in station areas
- An Evaluation of Property Values in New Jersey Transit Villages, Alan M. Voorhees Transit Center, Rutgers Univiersity (2011) - Findings on residential property values suggest an association between designation of transit villages and increased property values. Municipalities that support and invest around transit stations are more likely to see increased property values
- The New Real Estate Mantra: Location Near Public Transportation, Center for Neighborhood Technology, American Public Transportation Association, and National Association of Realtors (2013) - Residential properties located in proximity to fixed-guideway transit have maintained their property value during recessionary times to a greater degree residential properties without transit access. Residents of these properties also had better access to jobs and lower transportation costs
Plans and Programs
Washington
- Bellevue Bel-Red Area Look Back - Describes subarea plan to transform existing commercial corridor into multimodal, mixed-use transit-oriented center with the addition of a light rail station
- Everett Evergreen Way Revitalization Plan (2012) - Mixed-use, transit-oriented development served by Swift Bus Rapid Transit Station
- King County Transit-Oriented Development Program - Good descriptions of a number of TOD projects
- Shoreline Light Rail Subarea Station Area Planning - Very informative webpage about the station area planning. Includes planning documents, timeline, public and stakeholder involvement plan, and walking and biking tours of the station area
Out-of-State
- Denver, CO Transit-Oriented Development Programs
- Metropolitan Council, MN (Minneapolis - St. Paul region)
- Metro Council Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Policy - Emphasizes the importance of maximizing TOD potential along existing and proposed transit corridors and advances council’s mission toward fostering economic growth and social equity. The region's emerging transitway system is used as a focus for development. Resources include TOD Strategic Action Plan, and recent Guide for Transit Oriented Development
- Corridors of Opportunity - Program to connect people of all incomes and backgrounds to jobs, housing choices, recreation and service, social equity
- Metro Council TOD Guide - Includes guidance for compact development and the Council's Land Use Densities Rules of Thumb for urban and suburban centers. Also see TOD Guide overview,
- Oakland, CA Neighborhood and Citywide Plans - Oakland has actively promoted TOD development as reflected in the transit station and TOD plans on this page. The Harrison Street plan applies TOD design to a bus corridor. Each plan page includes many background materials including participation process and presentation materials, market assessment and retail enhancement studies.
- Central Petaluma (CA) Specific Plan - See Petaluma Smart Rail Station Areas TOD Master Plan (2013) - Another good station area plan including development and design guidelines, thoroughfare standards, and historic conservation
- Portland, OR Metro Transit-Oriented Development Program - Another very rich site with links to TOD strategic plan, featured projects. The Community Investment Toolkit page also links to other useful toolkits such as the financial incentives toolkit,innovative design and development codes toolkit, nature-friendly development toolkit, and tools for designing streets
- Portland Metro Transit Oriented Development Strategic Plan (2011) - Among its many virtues, the plan focuses on proving investment direction for limited resources, and catalyzing private development projects. The plan is also concerned with place-making improvements to enhance TODs
- Sacramento (CA) Regional Transit: A Guide to Transit-Oriented Development, Draft Final (2009) - Well-regarded plan is a roadmap for transforming suburban land use patterns into walkable urban TOD centers, with center management programs and affordability measures
Ordinances
- Bellevue Land Use Code Part 20.25D, and Ordinance No. 5874 - Implements Bel-Red subarea plan to transform existing commercial corridor into multimodal, mixed-use transit-oriented center with the addition of a light rail station. F.A.R. Incentive system developed with help from an Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel
- Everett Municipal Code Ch. 19.31B E-1 (Evergreen Way) and MUO (Mixed Use Overlays) Zones - Overlay zones with development and design standards to support pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented development in proximity to the Swift Bus Rapid Transit stations
- Redmond
- Redmond Zoning Code Ch. 21.28 - High Capacity Transit Corridor Preservation - Supports extension of light rail and prevents encroachment of structures into future transit corridor
- Redmond Zoning Code Sec. 21.12.070 - OV Zone 4 (in Overlake Village) - Provides for compact, mixed use, transit-supportive development
- Redmond Zoning Code Sec. 21.12.170 - OV Incentive Program provides incentives for TOD development located near a light rail, bus rapid or high capacity transit station
- Seatac Municipal Code Ch. 15.530 - High Capacity Transit Facilities Design Standards
- Vancouver, WA Zoning Code Ch. 20.550 - Transit Overlay District - Includes incentives; maximum parking allowances
Financing
- Infrastructure Financing Options for Transit-Oriented Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2013) - Helpful discussion of concepts and comprehensive information about a variety of traditional and innovative funding and financing resources including structures funds. Also includes case studies to illustrate application of financing
- Filling the Financing Gap for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Lessons from Atlanta, Denver, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Twin Cities, Enterprise Community Partners and the Low Income Investment Fund (2013) - This report by reviews existing equitable TOD financing tools, using four regions as examples. The paper then identifies systemic financing gaps and recommends potential capital and/or policy solutions to make equitable TOD a reality
- Financing Transit-Oriented Development: Policy Options and Strategies in the San Francisco Bay Area, prepared for Metropolitan Transportation Commission, by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (2008) - Recommendations for a flexible TOD financing program that responds to different market conditions within the region and provides funding for a range of uses that help achieve regional goals for livability, efficient transportation, and improved environmental quality
- Great Streets Neighborhood Business District program: Real Estate Development Gap Financing, Minneapolis, MN - City program offers gap financing resources for real estate development and development acquisition for transformative commercial development projects located on designated commercial corridors, nodes, and LRT station area
- Living Cities The Catalyst Funds: Our Impact Investing - A collaboration of foundations and financial institutions which supports communities seeking to reshape how they meet the needs of low-income residents
Other Recommended Resources