Bank Lending Habits Hurting TOD

By emphasizing the relatively high return on investment for developments with included parking, banks and lenders are slow to transition towards newer development models like TOD and New Urbanism, according to this article.

"Transit-oriented development isn't stymied by outdated zoning, unwilling developers or a lack of space. It turns out, banks, wedded to old-fashioned lending standards that stress parking, may pose the biggest blockade by denying financing.

The reason: Lenders operate from a tried-and-true principle that maintains more parking means less risk and a higher return on their investment. But ditching cars is the whole point of urban developers looking to create 24-hour live, work and play environments that hug light-rail hubs."