Transit-Oriented Development

As developers across the country increasingly recognize the market advantages of redevelopment oriented around transit, and property values rise in response, hundreds of thousands of units of affordable housing are at risk.

Architect Peter Calthorpe lays out a forceful argument for the lower costs and higher benefits of constructing high speed rail versus expanded highways to serve the state's growing population and economic development.

A new Community Plan for Hollywood is making its way through the Los Angeles City Council, to the delight of the Mayor and the Planning Commission, and to the consternation of some community groups.

Carter Rubin at LA Metro’s The Source reports on ULI’s vision for Union Station, which Metro bought for a song earlier this year.

At a recent conference, spokespeople for Burlington Coat Factory and other big retailers explained that they are having great success at locations on subway stops and major bus lines.

In Maryland, the Washingtonian Tower has been the tallest skyscraper in Montgomery County. Developers in White Flint are proposing an even taller building that will incorporate mixed-use, transit-oriented, and retail/office development in one plan.

A waterfront development in Hercules, California which includes a multimodal bus/train/ferry facility, will be built, say city officials and the developer. This despite the fact that where half the cash is coming from has yet to be determined.

A new land use study based on the 2008 "comp plans" data reveals a significant shift toward mixed-use and transit-oriented developments (TODs) in the Twin Cities seven-county metro area.

Florida Hospital has planned their new facility around the commuter rail project, which they hope will reduce their need for parking for patients and staff.

Saqib Rahim asks, "If Denver is committed to transit, how much parking should it build?"

New York City's Dept. of City Planning says that it is committed to fostering transit-oriented development. But in neighborhood after neighborhood, the city is downzoning around the corner from the subway, argues Noah Kazis.

L.A.'s newest light-rail station, at the current end-of-the-line off La Cienega, has attracted one new office building so far. The developer saw the future transit station as an amenity. Will others join him?

D.C.'s Office of Planning is launching a pilot program to do just that.

Planners have embraced "1/4th of a mile" as the official distance that people are willing to walk to take transit. But why is that the measure, and is it accurate?

A House bill in Maryland that would have created overlay districts around train stations failed to pass, but N.J. Slabbert writes that the ideas were solid and should find new life in a different form.

Two transit-oriented developments in Salt Lake City have struggled to attract tenants. Critics say this is evidence that the whole idea of TOD is wrong, while supporters say they're just getting started.

Rockville Town Square in Rockville, Maryland is a 12.5 acre mixed-use development that, despite being built in 2007 right as the housing crisis happened, is a raging success. Simmons Buntin looks at what developers did right.

Built around a BART station in 1999, Oakland, California's Fruitvale Village has had a tough time keeping its retail space alive (as have many TODs). The property managers have learned some lessons over the years about how to overcome the challenges.

A new report from the American Public Transit Association shows how transit riders are saving a bundle in comparison with car commuters, particularly when you factor in the rising cost of gasoline.

Peter Calthorpe, author of "Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change," speaks about his new book and the role of landscape architecture and new urbanism in the twenty-first century.