Header
COVER
T R A N S I T O R I E N T E D D E V E L O P M E N T
Lessons
TOD
Learned
Results of FTA’s Listening Sessions With Developers, Bankers,
and Transit Agencies on Transit Oriented Development
U.S. Department of Transportation
With Thanks To:
Federal Transit Administration
Portland, Oregon
December 2005
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Phoenix, Arizona
Charlotte, North Carolina
TOD and the American Dream
I
n the popular imagination, the American Dream brings
visions of a suburban home with a big back yard and a
car in the garage to carry “Dad” into and out of the city
for his job each day. This image recalls the postwar baby boom
that went hand in hand with the suburban boom. In 1954, an
estimated 9 million people had moved to the suburbs since
the end of World War II, lured by affordable, massproduced,
single-family homes on the peripheries of cities.
But, if demography is destiny, the prospects look
bright for a new, twenty-rst century version of the American
Dream — one shaped by transit, the development it attracts,
and a growing appetite for affordable housing in urban areas.
Population groups that covet housing very close to transit are
precisely the populations that will grow exponentially in the next
decades. They include older Americans who will comprise 35
percent of our population by 2025; immigrant families who will
account for almost one-third of population growth in the next
two decades; and the nearly 70 percent of households without
children. The Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) alone are
on pace to add 930,000 residents in the next 25 years, and many
of the new residents will seek out housing near transit. Between
them, the cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, Oregon,
Phoenix, and Charlotte could add over 445,000 households in
transit zones by 2025.
Skeptics will say that suburban developments that
depend on cars get built because that is how people want to
live. But communities across the nation, from Charlotte to
Portland to Washington D.C., have proven that there are many
variations on the American Dream. These communities have
demonstrated that transit-oriented development supports the
timeless essence of the American Dream: the dream of owning
a home; of living in an attractive, thriving neighborhood; of
setting down roots and feeling part of a community; of enjoying
the walk to a neighborhood coffee shop or a short train ride
to see a movie. Transit-oriented development promises to let
Americans hang a gurative sign on suburban sprawl that says,
“The American Dream: Visit Us At Our New Location.”
This booklet summarizes the results of listening sessions
that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has undertaken
with several cities in which new transit investments either have
taken place, or are about to be built. We hoped that by listening
to the planners, developers, and bankers in these communities,
we could learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what
facilitates the kind of community that we believe exemplies
the American Dream.
What do we mean by “TOD”?
• “TOD” is transit-oriented development
• To begin with, it is a neighborhood or community centered on a transit
station.
• It has enough density of people and activities to use the transit station to
access a variety of daily activities.
• It includes a mix of uses, including residential, retail, and commercial,
within easy walking distance of the transit station.
• The station and its neighborhood have to have good service, including
good connections with other transportation such as neighborhood buses
and bicycle trails.
• The streets around the station are easy to walk, and attractive to pedes-
trians and bicyclists.
...and what are its benets?
• A better t of the transit service into the neighborhood.
• More people using the transit system for every day activities.
• A more pedestrian-friendly, human-scale community that is safe,
relaxing, and attractive.
• A healthier, cleaner environment as more people walk and bicycle
and take public transportation.
• Preservation of farmland and green space as people use less land
to live, work and play.
Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN
Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN
...and what are its benets?
FTA Listening Sessions
F
TA held listening sessions around the country to learn
about what has worked and what has not worked in start-
ing up transit-oriented developments.
We visited Portland, where the region has embraced land use and
transportation planning for many years, and where the light rail
system is large and growing. We visited Minneapolis, an older,
larger city where the rst light rail segment had just gone into rev
-
enue service. And we visited Phoenix and Charlotte, places where
the light rail systems are still under construction.
Our goal was to discover whether there are basic lessons we could
learn and pass on about fostering new, transit-supportive develop-
ment around new public transportation systems. What follows are
those basic ideas, as told to us by municipal, banking, and develop-
ment leaders in each city.
In addition to these success stories, the ideas are organized in
three broad categories: Overcoming Barriers; Promoting TOD;
and Identifying Research Opportunities. This booklet concludes
with some highlights of what FTA is doing right in TOD now and
our next steps.
Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN
Overcoming Barriers
TOD makes inherent sense in our dispersed, congested, and hectic lives. We want to
live near many activities, including work, shopping, medical care, and entertainment.
However, most developers and bankers have been reluctant to build and invest in
such communities. For example:
• Few rms that nance development are familiar with TOD, as
such with fewer bankers, nancing is more expensive and harder
to come by.
• TOD is design-intensive, often requiring land assembly, land-
scaping, and plans for supportive infrastructure such as roads or
bike trails. These factors raise startup costs.
• Structured parking, and the amount of parking required per resi-
dence or per ofce, often raise the cost of TOD or delay imple-
mentation.
• TOD often requires holding developed property for longer terms
than single-use development – that is, for seven or ten years, as
opposed to ve, making it harder to turn a quick prot.
• Because the attractiveness of riding on and living near tran-
sit depends on the number and variety of destinations that are
reachable by transit, a limited transit network limits the appeal of
TOD.
“Creating walkable neighborhoods with attractive
transit options requires innovation and determi-
nation by developers, nancial partners, local ju-
risdictions and the transit agency. In the Portland
metro area, consumer demand for transit oriented
development is strong and growing.”
- Fred Hansen, General Manager, Tri-Met
• Some question transit’s ability to generate new economic activ-
ity, rather than simply relocate economic growth that would occur
elsewhere. This makes it difcult for elected ofcials to maintain
the long-term perspective necessary to support a transit invest-
ment that takes ten years or more to complete.
• Neighbors often oppose high-density development near their
community and it may be difcult to convince neighbors to re
-
zone nearby land for the densities needed to support high quality
development projects.
With many challenges to overcome, are any
Success Stories
TOD’s being built? Of course there are!
• The image on the right is from the Pearl District, which has become
a new 24-hour community in downtown Portland, Oregon. Loft apart
-
ments, restaurants, shops, and services have been revitalized since the
Portland Streetcar service began in July 2001.
• Down the coast, in Santa Clara County, California, the Ohlone Chyn-
oweth station was redesigned as a mixed-use community, including a
pedestrian village center, apartments, and retail space. Part of the land
used for the development provides a revenue stream to the Valley Tran
-
sit Authority.
• On the opposite coast, in Baltimore, Maryland, the metro station at
Center Square has provided the opportunity for the City to offer 30
acres for redevelopment as TOD. It will link the metro station with a
light rail station surrounded by many existing city and county ofces and
cultural attractions. The Maryland Department of Transportation held a
public design charrette to help dene the project.
• Further south, in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, Southern Bell Corpora-
tion has consolidated several of its ofces into a single TOD develop-
ment around the Lindbergh Metro station. This development includes
commercial ofces, retail, and residential space, all centered on the metro
station.
These are only a few of the projects we are working on with our part-
ners to emulate across the country.
Portland Streetcar, Portland, OR
So what do these success stories all have in
Promoting TOD
common? What does it take to promote TOD?
Proactive Planning – Local and regional entities must in-
vest in community outreach and a master plan - a signal to
the development community that the public is eager for
TOD. Participants stressed the need to take time to do the
planning process right.
Focus on Mixed-Use Development – Building commer-
cial, employment, and entertainment centers near transit
stops provides an opportunity to increase the number and
quality of destinations reachable by the transit network.
Land Assembly – Preserve and assemble parcels around
transit stations to facilitate eventual development.
Public Funding – TOD projects may be encouraged if site
preparation and related startup costs are partially nanced
with Federal, State and local funds as part of a transit project
as allowed by Federal Transit laws (Section 5302).
One Size Doesn’t Fit All – Each station’s development re-
quirements may be different, as each town or each neighbor-
hood is different.
Above, Boulder, CO.
Left, Scaleybark Road
Station, Charlotte, NC.
Promoting TOD
“Pro-active implementation. Go out, gure out what the devel-
SEPTA Trolley, Media, PA
Prepare For What You Need – Conduct a market analysis, then
request the zoning changes to meet the market.
Timing is Key – Current property values may be based on a low-
er capacity, non-transit use – make sure the property is ready for
TOD.
Placemaking Matters – Many are willing to pay a higher mar-
ket rate if improvements are visible in the environment and
streetscape, such as with trees, sidewalks, lighting, etc.
opers need in order to make the transportation there more com-
petitive and try to respond. The mayor mentioned the zoning.
Try to go out and pre-zone land for that type of development.
And most importantly, outreach education and partnerships, be-
cause without you as our partners this isn’t going to be a vision
that we accomplish… I mean, honestly, how many of you 5, 10,
20 years ago would ever think that Charlotte would get to this
point?”
- Debra Campbell, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission
Portland Streetcar, Portland, OR
Identifying Research Opportunities
Additional Market Research – Participants want more information on the market for TOD
and what type of product is most attractive.
Documenting the economic benets of transit - Respondents believe that economic mod
-
eling from the FTA would provide an independent source of information that could break
political bottlenecks over transportation investments.
Interagency Coordination - FTA could partner with other Federal agencies to coordinate
transit, housing, and environmental policy.
Research on Land Assembly and Joint Development - Participants want more information
on how to best make land available and assemble and clean up parcels that have good potential
for TOD.
What we’re doing now...
FTA has initiated a joint project with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment to study how public transportation works with affordable housing.
The University Transportation Center at the University of California, Berkeley, is research-
ing performance measures to use in evaluating the success of TODs for FTA.
FTA is revising its joint development policy to clarify requirements and implement new
authority provided by the recent surface transportation authorization.
FTA is preparing a joint development web site, that will include guidance for joint devel-
opment, a listing of existing joint development projects, and contact information for cur-
rent TOD and joint development practitioners.
Header
Credits
Credits
Cover:
Top Left: Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN
Top Right: Portland Streetcar, Portland, OR/Paul Marx, 2004
Bottom Left, Clockwise from Top Left:
Phoenix, AZ; Scarleybark Road Station, Charlotte, NC; Redmond Downtown Project, King County, WA; Boulder, CO.
1. What do we mean by TOD?/Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN/Paul Marx, 2004
2. ...and what do we get from it?/Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN/Paul Marx, 2004
3. FTA held listening sessions/Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN/Metro Transit/Illustration by Tony Cho
4. Success Stories/Portland Streetcar, Portland, OR/Paul Marx, 2004
5. Promoting TOD/Boulder, CO.
6. Promoting TOD/Scaleybark Road Station, Charlotte, NC.
7. Promoting TOD/SEPTA Trolley, Media, PA/Tony Cho, 2004
8. Promoting TOD/Portland Streetcar, Portland, OR/Paul Marx, 2004
Header
Back Cover
For more information, please contact:
Ofce of Policy and Performance Management
Federal Transit Administration
400 7th St. SW, Room 9310
Washington, DC 20590
Phone: (202) 366-4050
Fax: (202) 366-7989
