Turning TOD On Its Head: Why You Don't Necessarily Need the T'

Writing in The Urban Edge, Andrew Keats reports on new research from UC-Berkeley professor Daniel Chatman that looks at what makes a successful transit oriented development. Surprisingly, he finds that proximity to transit (specifically light rail stations) has little impact on the success of TOD projects.

The study focused on people living within 0.4 miles of transit and in homes less than 7 years old, "essentially a proxy for those who live in 'transit-oriented development'." What it found was that those people owned fewer cars and were less likely to drive to work. However, the placement of a transit station nearby wasn’t the most influential factor in creating successful TOD development.

Rather, the most important factors were the scarcity of parking and the number of bus stations in the vicinity. Neighborhoods with little parking and lots of bus service cut car ownership by 44 percent.

“When all of these other factors were considered (bus access, parking availability, job and population density, and housing type), rail access had no effect on auto ownership,” Chatman wrote.

…

What really mattered was scarce parking, ample bus service, smaller apartments, more rental apartments, more stuff within walking distance, and being close to downtown jobs.

Chatman writes that cities without those, expensive light rail stations can still have the successful type of neighborhoods that transit oriented development has promised, but changes to policy need to take place. Among Chatman's suggestions, reducing parking requirements for new projects and encouraging density, while planning for amenities such as grocery stores, can achieve many of the goals espoused by TOD advocates.