Transit Oriented Development Links

To learn more about Transit Oriented Development (TOD) visit the following websites:

Reconnecting America, a new national organization located in Oakland, CA, is focused on linking transportation networks and the communities they serve. It grew out of the work of the Great American Station Foundation, which was formed in 1995 to assist communities with the revitalization of historic rail stations as a way to both improve transportation services and bring life back to downtowns. They found these station projects have tremendous power to link transportation to community revitalization, and are often the first step toward building transit-oriented towns. More information is available at www.reconnectingamerica.org.


The Center for Transit Oriented Development, a division of Reconnecting America, can be joined separately and advocates the same TOD concepts. They note:

1. Housing Preferences Are Changing….. demand is changing dramatically because of profound demographic shifts, including the aging of baby boomers, the number of new immigrants, and the fact that younger adults prefer urban, mixed-use environments;


2. Workers and Firms Prefer "24-Hour Neighborhoods”…….firms are chasing talent, which is choosing to locate in diverse, lively urban regions….. firms now prefer these locations too. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2002 publication, “24-Hour” places are the best real estate investment locations;


3. Rail and Bus Systems Are In A Building Boom…… more regions are developing mass transit and more consumers are choosing mass transit over driving on congested roadways. New rail or rapid bus systems are planned or under construction in all but three of America’s top 30 metropolitan areas.

At the convergence of these three trends is an opportunity to create the armature for a new growth and development strategy that meets the demand for location-efficient mixed-use places, supports regional economic growth strategies, and increases housing affordability. TOD occurs within a quarter mile radius of rail or rapid bus stations, encourages walking and cycling, has a mix of retail, commercial and residential uses, and a diversity of housing types suited to a mix of generations and incomes. It is the one strategy that promises to simultaneously meet these seemingly disparate goals. More information is available at www.transitorienteddevelopment.org.


New Urbanism, an organization based in Alexandria, VA, promotes the creation and restoration of diverse, walkable, compact, vibrant, mixed-use communities composed of the same components as conventional development, but assembled in a more integrated fashion in the form of complete communities. It involves fixing and infilling cities, as well as the creation of compact new towns and villages. These kinds of communities contain housing, work places, shops, entertainment, schools, parks, and civic facilities essential to the daily lives of the residents, all within easy walking distance of each other. New Urbanism promotes the increased use of trains and light rail, instead of more highways and roads. Urban living is rapidly becoming the new hip and modern way to live for people of all ages. Currently, there are over 500 New Urbanist projects planned or under construction in the United States alone, half of which are in historic urban centers. More information is available at www.newurbanism.org.