Transit Oriented Development

Information by State  Print version   What's New Mixed-Income TOD This on-line MITOD Action Guide is designed to help local jurisdictions, planners and other stakeholders develop strategies to encourage mixed-income transit-oriented development (TOD) around planned transit stations. more... Related Information   Sustainable Communities This initiative outlines six new guiding "livability principles" that will be used to coordinate federal housing, transportation, and environmental protection investments. HUD, DOT, and EPA plan to make planning grants available to metropolitan areas, and create mechanisms to ensure those plans are carried out through localities. more...   Transportation Planning Capacity Building This website is a one-stop clearinghouse for state-of-the-practice transportation planning information and resources. It includes an explanation of the transportation planning process and information on transit oriented development. more...   Fostering Equitable and Sustainable Transit-Oriented Development Briefing papers presented address sustainable TOD and the barriers to achieving it. They were written for a meeting convened by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD), Living Cities and the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment, hosted at the Ford Foundation in February 2009. more...   Fruitvale Transit Village This model project developed by the Unity Council, a Fruitvale-based CDC, served as a catalyst for community economic development. The project resulted from a broad-based partnership among public, private, and nonprofit organizations, a $185,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the city of Oakland, a HUD Enhanced Enterprise Community economic development initiative grant of $3.3 million, and a $3.3 million HUD Section 108 loan. more... Helpful Tools   Toolkit for Integrating Land Use and Transportation This website offers web-based source of methods, strategies, case studies, and procedures for integrating land use and transportation planning, decision-making, and project implementation. more...   Allocation of Transit Funding This website provides information on projects included in the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts and Small Starts programs that are part of the Major Capital Investment Grant Program, the Federal government’s primary financial resource for supporting locally planned, implemented, and operated major transit capital projects. more…   Community Wealth Best Practices This website offers information on state-of-the-art strategies for transit oriented development and other democratic, community-based economic development. more...   Puget Sound TOD Workbook Focuses on how local jurisdictions and transit agencies support local land use changes that promote transit-oriented development. more...   MPO Database This site provides links to metropolitan planning agencies that are responsible for transportation planning throughout the United States. more...   Case Studies for TOD A short summary of ten Transit Oriented Development (TOD) tools that are used by communities all across the country. Each tool is featured in a 2-page case study that illustrates how the tools are used and what the expected results were. more...   Tools for Mixed-Income TOD Describes zoning and planning, financing, and joint development and partnership tools, and the application of these tools in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, and Texas. more...   TOD Best Practices Guide This guide has links to resources on the best practices in transit oriented development. more...   Policy Link TOD Toolkit This tool focuses on how to implement TOD in a way that achieves equity goals. more...   Twin Cities TOD Toolkit The TOD Toolkit provides assistance and information to those interested in learning about transit-oriented development and how it can be encouraged in the Twin Cities region. more...   Mixed Income Housing TOD Action Guide This action guide, designed as a tool to help community advocates, practitioners, intermediaries, and jurisdictions, outlines three key steps to comprehensive understanding of the housing needs in a specific transit district and of the range of tools that can be employed to achieve the goals of mixed-income transit oriented development. more...   NGA Growth Toolkit Includes examples of how state, regional, and local governments and planning groups can work with citizens to facilitate joint planning that integrates land use and transportation and encourages transit oriented development. more...

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is compact, mixed-use development near transit facilities that promotes sustainable communities by providing people of all ages and incomes with improved access to transportation and housing choices, reduced transportation costs that reduce the negative impacts of automobile travel on the environment and the economy. The following examples illustrate how some jurisdictions are using transit oriented development to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods.

Preservation of Affordable Housing Near Transit

This report is designed to help community leaders, community development corporations (CDCs) and nonprofit affordable housing developers engage in preserving affordable housing near transit. The report describes the strategies and tools that Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and Washington, D.C. used to preserve affordable housing near transit.
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Economic Impact of LIHTC Along Transit Corridors in Denver

This study explores the impact of building new LIHTC apartments in a 10-county Denver Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and primarily along transit corridors. During the first year, direct and indirect, local economic impacts included $57.6 million in local income, $5.0 million in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and 732 local jobs.
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Preserving Affordable Housing Near Transit

This report analyses potential loss of affordable housing near transit in 20 metropolitan areas during the next five years and contains policy recommendations for federal, state, and local policy makers. Geo-coded data that was used in the report is being made available to assist practitioners interested in identifying projects that may be at risk due to the expiration of existing section 8 contracts.
Report | Data

Better Coordination of Housing and Transportation

This report outlines strategies developed by FTA and HUD to continue and expand coordination in the area of mixed-income and affordable housing near transit.
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Realizing the Potential: Expanding Housing Near Transit

FTA and HUD funded study examines five case study regions - Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Minneapolis, and Portland to better understand the proactive strategies being undertaken to create and preserve affordable housing near transit.
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Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit Oriented Development

The report outlines the benefits of mixed-income transit-oriented developments and the challenges to seizing the mixed-income TOD opportunity, and makes a set of practical recommendations to create more mixed-income, mixed-race housing in transit zones.
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Financing Transit-Oriented Development

This report prepared for the Bay Area Metropolitan Transit Commission outlines financial and regulatory barriers that impede transit-oriented development, the role of redevelopment agencies, market and private developers, and the role of county and regional agencies, and several case studies.
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Housing Incentive Program

Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Housing Incentive Program (HIP) provides grants of up to $2,500 per bedroom for housing within 1/3 mile of major transit stations.
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Maximizing Investment Around Transit

Provides examples of how transit-oriented development in Boston, Denver, Portland, and the Bay Area has the potential to catalyze community revitalization and private investment.
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Invest Prince George’s

This 58-page resource highlights the opportunities for development around each of Prince George’s County, Maryland’s 15 Metro stations and provides detailed about parking spaces, train use and zoning plans for the area. Prince George’s County’s Metrorail stations enjoy short commutes to downtown Washington, D.C., an Amtrak station on the Northeast Corridor, 30 minute rail access to National Airport, and bus and rail connections to Baltimore-Washington Airport.
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Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit

New Jersey initiative designed to encourage investment and job growth around urban transit rail stations in nine urban municipalities – Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, and Trenton. The Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program provides tax credits equal to 80 percent to 100 percent of the qualified capital investments made within an eight-year period.
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Summary of TOD Incentive Programs

Provides a summary of incentive programs in the regions of Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; and Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, and San Mateo, California.
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Livable Centers Initiative

The Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative program connects homes, shops and offices, enhances streetscapes and sidewalks, emphasizes pedestrians, improves access to transit options and expands housing choices.
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Austin TOD

Explains how Austin has made a direct commitment towards focusing growth around transit facilities by supporting Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). The TOD Guidebook and other documents outline the Station Area Planning process and lists several TOD resources.
TOD HOME | Guidebook

California Blueprint Planning

The California Blueprint Planning Grant program contributes to the vision of improved quality of life by addressing future growth through the integration of transportation, housing, land use, environmental resources, other infrastructure, and services. This integration addresses the need for integrated planning requirements included in Regional Transportation Guidelines and the Regional Housing Needs Allocation Process.
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Denver Coordination of Housing and Transportation Planning

Denver's 2008-2012 Consolidated Plan indicates city agencies whose funds are not covered by the Consolidated Plan continue to be a part of the development and implementation of the Consolidated Plan and Action Plan. The city's Office of Economic Development and Department of Community Planning and Department work in partnership on a Transit Oriented Development Initiative to create workforce housing near current and future transit locations. Objective 1.4 in the plan targets TOD funding for renter households with incomes at or below 30 percent of the area median. The City of Denver is establishing a $15 million TOD Fund that will provide financing to preserve affordable housing within one half mile of existing and new rail service and a quarter mile of frequent bus routes.
Consolidated Plan | TOD Fund

Evanston, IL

This plan includes a description of how the City of Evanston consults with adjacent jurisdictions on regional planning issues. City staff work with Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the Metropolitan Planning Council, on long-term transportation projects such as the Yellow Line Station infill project and the Purple Line Visioning that is currently being conducted by the Chicago Transit Authority. The plan also describes Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas submitted as part of this Consolidated Plan to further target resources to the neighborhoods of Southeast Evanston and West Evanston that were severely impacted by the mortgage foreclosure crisis.
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Hennepin County, MN

Since 2003, Hennepin County has provided $9.9 million in Transit Oriented Development funding for 50 projects that links housing and economic development with transit corridors, increased density near transit corridors, increased ridership of transit services and leveraged other public and private resources.
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Indianapolis/Marion County, IN

The Indianapolis/Marion County consolidated plan prepared by the city Department of Metropolitan Development includes a sections dealing with transportation planning and strategies for investing over $29 million of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding. The grantee reported 100% of HUD funded housing projects funded are within a 10-minute walk of public transportation. In the Indianapolis region, the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development is the designated MPO. The MPO staff is comprised of the planners from the Transportation Section of the Division of Planning with the Department of Metropolitan Development.
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San José, CA

The Consolidated Plan for the City of San José, CA describes how long commutes to work effectively makes housing more expensive when both housing and transportation costs are considered. As part of its Envision 2040 General Plan Update, San José is planning for connections between jobs, housing, and transportation so residents can live and work in the same community. The Land Use and Transportation chapter of the draft plan recommends better local coordination between the city Department of Housing and other city departments -- modeled after the federal Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities (HUD-DOT-EPA). This will help ensure housing is provided in key transit and employment areas and facilitate the creation of smart growth communities.
Consolidated Plan | Land Use and Transportation

State of Maryland

The State of Maryland is in the process of preparing and determining the parameters of a State Development Plan that includes a State Housing Plan and State Transportation Plan and how these plans work together with local land use plans. The draft Parameters of the State Housing Plan point out that focusing investments in housing and related neighborhood development in areas close to job centers and transit is critical for achieving State goals for Smart Growth. (Appendix J2)
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State of Illinois

The State of Illinois established a Housing and Transportation and Employment Working Group that is examining the jobs/transportation/housing mismatch in the State of Illinois. State Agencies involved with the working group developed a list of proposed actions that focus on 1) uniform state sustainability philosophy that promotes the coordination of investments in housing transportation, economic development and the environment, 2) increased exchange of information and coordination of program opportunities and investments between state agencies, 3) enhanced regional capacity and coordination to promote investments on a regional basis, and 4) maximize access to resources to further sustainabilty initiatives.
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King County TOD Projects

Provides examples of transit oriented development projects, including Overlake Park-and-Ride TOD project in Redmond, WA, a joint development of King County, the King County Housing Authority, and a private developer using tax-exempt financing and federal housing tax credits.
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Federal Transit Administration

Provides overview of transit oriented development, links to FTA programs, and reports.
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Transit Oriented Development and Jobs

Identifies 25 examples of how community groups, CDCs, and developers helped provide working families with affordable housing and employment opportunities through transit oriented development.
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Saving Affordable Housing Near Transit

This report identifies strategies for preservation of federally assisted affordable housing near existing or proposed public transportation in 8 cities.
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TOD in St. Clair County

In St. Clair County, IL, near St. Louis, a transit oriented development project is underway to create a transit oriented village around Emerson Park station. All the completed units are already leased, over 400 units of affordable housing are for sale. A new park has opened in the area and a small commercial area is beginning to develop around the station The project is helping to revitalize East St. Louis, an area that has been economically depressed for years.
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