Transit-Oriented Development

MODELS & BEST PRACTICES

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station Area Planning
(San Francisco, CA)
www.bart.gov/about/planning/station.asp
The BART system of the San Francisco Bay Area has placed increasing emphasis on transit oriented development both to increase ridership and, as its web site says, “to support and sustain BART operations with revenue from development.” From this web site, you can access many BART station area development plans, including the one for the nationally recognized Fruitvale Transit Village in Alameda County.

Campaign for Sensible Growth (Chicago, IL)
www.growingsensibly.org
The Campaign for Sensible Growth is a coalition of nonprofit, government and business leaders in northeastern Illinois (Chicago and environs) working to promote economic development while preserving open space, minimizing the need for costly new infrastructure and improving the livability of our communities. The group aims to support revitalization of existing communities and make sure new development is more walkable and transit-friendly.

Carrollton, Texas: Transit Oriented Development (Carrollton, TX)
www.ci.carrollton.tx.us/development/planning/tod/tod%20home.asp
Dallas' transit system has made significant use of transit-oriented development principles in its design. In 2010, three stations are scheduled to open in the suburb of Carrollton. In preparation, the city has adopted a master plan and hired a design firm to achieve its “vision for a transit-centered community built around passenger platforms and related mixed-use development.”

Fruitvale Transit Village (Oakland, CA)
www.fruitvalevillage.net
Located in the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland, the Fruitvale Transit Village is an innovative collaboration of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and a local community development corporation (Unity Council) to combine affordable housing, community space, and retail establishments in a transit-oriented development project.

Kenosha Streetcar (Kenosha, WI)
www.heritagetrolley.org/existKenoshaOverview.htm
This site, courtesy of the American Public Transit Association, provides a brief description of one of the nation's smallest cities to use transit-oriented development principles. Open since 2000, the streetcar has helped revitalize the harbor front of this city of under 100,000, located on the shore of Lake Michigan south of Milwaukee.

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (Atlanta, GA)
www.itsmarta.com/newsroom/press_releases/rel.asp?id=144
As this press release indicates, Atlanta has long pursued transit-oriented development as part of its mass transit rail system development. In 2006, MARTA was one of two recipients nationally of the Clean Air Excellence Award in Community Development from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In 2005, MARTA earned $3.1 million in lease revenue from land it leases for transit-oriented development projects.

Metro Transit Oriented Development (Portland, OR)
www.metro-region.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=140
Portland has long been recognized as a national leader in transit oriented development, supported by its unique “Metro” regional government. Metro's TOD implementation program aims to bring about the construction of “transit villages” and projects that concentrate a mix of retail, housing and jobs in areas around regional light-rail systems and other transit lines.

Miami-Dade County Transit Joint Development (Miami, FL)
www.miamidade.gov/transit/joint1.asp
The city of Miami began its transit oriented development program in 1978, six years before the first station of its mass transit system opened. More recently, in 1998, it launched new efforts for requests for proposals at five stations.

Valley Transportation Agency (San Jose, CA)
www.vta.org/projects/tod.html
Santa Clara County's Valley Transportation Agency operates many bus routes and a 3-line, 30.5 mile light rail system, which operates 24 hours a day. The transit system has heavily promoted transit-oriented development, seeking to increase ridership by designing higher-density housing and community services to be located near transit stops. Key projects include the Tamien Child Care Center (which allows commuters to drop off their children at childcare on the way to work), Almaden Lake Village Housing and the Ohlone-Chynoweth Mixed-Use Project.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“Metro”), Joint Development Program (Washington, DC)
www.wmata.com/bus2bus/jd/jointdev.cfm
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which runs the Washington DC bus and rail transit system, has been the nation's leading practitioner of transit-oriented development. Annual lease payments exceed $6 million a year and the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor in nearly Arlington, Virginia is widely seen as one of the most successful transit oriented development projects nationwide.