A Snapshot (and Snapshots) of Transit-Oriented Development
Getting around without a car is possible when housing, work and transportation needs are planned and placed together
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Infographic by Manjushree Majhi, AARP Research and Jana Lynott, AARP Public Policy Institute
Stats and Facts
The benefits of transit-oriented development span across the lifespan. TOD residents benefit from enhanced transportation and housing choices, greater access to jobs, cleaner air, healthier lifestyles and increased property values. A study of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods in Northern Virginia found that people ages 75 and older took 20 percent more transit trips per week than their suburban counterparts. More striking was their share of trips by foot: 22 percent compared with 8 percent.
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Photo licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
So Many Options
Light-rail in Portland, Oregon, offers convenient transportation and is a catalyst for housing, retail, recreation and employment opportunities that benefit people of all ages. This image alone shows people getting around by using the light-rail, buses, cars, bicycles and their own two feet.
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Photo by Jana Lynott
The Funding Can Be Complex
In the Twin Cities, MetroTransit's Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Funding Guide lists 24 regional funding sources, 16 state funding sources, 8 existing local programs, 12 potential local funding sources, 7 existing and potential public-private programs, and 4 potential federal opportunities. Three core capital programs of the U.S. Department of Transportation — New Starts/Small Starts, TIGER and TIFIA — are used by many cities to pay for underlying transit infrastructure. Minneapolis (pictured) and Saint Paul tapped a variety of funding programs to build transit-oriented neighborhoods around light-rail lines.
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Photo by Jana Lynott
A Trail That's Going Places
Neighborhoods adjacent to Atlanta's BeltLine walk-bike trail are connected to a 22-mile network of pathways and parks that are convenient to housing, workplaces, restaurants and shopping. Greenways and similar byways tend to attract more users when the trail segments connect green settings and areas that have a greater land-use mixture.
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Photo by Jana Lynott
New Places to Dine — and Enjoy the Sunshine
The Atlanta BeltLine story illustrates the complexity as well as the benefits of building transit-oriented development. Numerous stakeholders — including government (local, regional, state and federal) as well as for-profit and nonprofit entities — are typically involved. As of mid-2017, nearly 100 real estate development projects had been completed or begun in the BeltLine planning area.
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Photo by Jana Lynott
Walk and Talk
City agencies and nonprofit organizations encourage use of the BeltLine trail and parks system by programming arts and fitness activities. One event, the annual Lantern Parade — a glowing procession of light, music and color illuminates the Eastside Trail on the first Saturday after Labor Day each year — drawing participants of all ages outdoors and into the community.
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Photo by Jana Lynott
Catch The Train ...
Historic Union Station and the adjacent RTD (Regional Transportation District) station in Denver have been catalysts for downtown development. The Colorado city's vision and investment in transit-oriented development helped it emerge from the Great Recession positioned for growth.
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Photo by Jana Lynott
... or Catch a Nap
Inside Denver's Union Station waiting Amtrak passangers can grab lunch, play table-top shuffleboard, relax on a comfortable couch, or spend the night in an on-site, luxury hotel.
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Photo courtesy Medici Consulting Group
Affordability Matters
Evans Station Lofts in Denver provides 50 affordable apartments to household's earning up to 60 percent of the area's median income. (Denver's latest AMI is $53,637.) Twelve units are reserved for those earning up to 40 percent AMI and seven units for residents earning up to 30 percent AMI. Due to the inadequate supply of affordable housing in the Denver region, the waiting list is long for an affordable rental unit. Evans Station was fully leased within three days of completing construction. It was fully occupied three weeks later.
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Photo by Alana Romans, Urban Land Conservancy
Who Needs to Stop?
Built by Delwest, a for-profit developer, Park Hill Station opened in 2016, providing 156 one- to three-bedroom affordable housing units in the Denver area. The land had been purchased by the Urban Land Conservancy in anticipation of rising property values near a commuter rail line. ULC works to address displacement and gentrification through what it calls an "in-placement strategy" (using a community land trust model to curb displacement and preserve long-term affordable housing), combined with a collective impact approach that provides a comprehensive, well-aligned multi-sector path toward eventual economic self-sufficiency.
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Courtesy of Koelbel and Company
On a Roll
Also in Denver, Koelbel and Company and Mile High Development worked together to build Yale Station Apartments (pictured) and University Station (seen in the next slide), two affordable, independent-living buildings for older adults.
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Courtesy of Koelbel and Company
Living at the University
The Yale Station and University Station (pictured) apartments are located within a few hundred feet of a regional rail station. The two buildings offer a total of 110 units to residents age 55 and older who have incomes of between 30 and 60 percent of the Denver region's median income.
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Photo by Shannon Guzman
Better Dwelling in D.C.
The District of Columbia is addressing its affordability and housing challenges through strategies including low-income housing tax credits, inclusionary zoning, and funding for services to homeless families. Barrow Residential (pictured) is a new affordable housing development located near a DC Metro station. Rents range from about $1,080 to $1,640 (studio through three-bedroom units), which, though pricey, are significantly more affordable than market rates in and around Washington, D.C.
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Infographic by Manjushree Majhi, AARP Research and Jana Lynott, AARP Public Policy Institute
Communities Benefit
Large and small communities nationwide are taking action to foster transit-oriented development. Many are aided by the support of their metropolitan planning organization, regional transit agency, and even state legislature, as well as the private for-profit and nonprofit sectors. To learn more about the breadth of TOD support in the United States (and download the complete infographic shown in part above) visit AARP.org/TOD. — Author Jana Lynott, AICP, is a transportation planner and senior strategic policy adviser with the AARP Public Policy Institute.
More About Transit-Oriented Development
- Download the infographic A Snapshot of Transit-Oriented Development
- Read the article Transit-Oriented Housing Helps Older Adults Live Independent Lives
- Learn more from the report Communities Are Embracing Development Near Transit: A Snapshot of Transit-Oriented Development Support Across the United States
- Find out why Threats to Infrastructure Funding Could Undermine Successful Local Development
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