TOD

Will New Mayor Seize the Opportunity to Build a 'Truly Urban' L.A.?
The new mayor of Los Angeles is young, charismatic, and a champion of urbanism and smart growth. He should start using all these assets immediately to transform Los Angeles into the vibrant, transit-oriented city it can become, says Bill Fulton.
Could L.A. Mayoral Candidate's Smart Growth Advocacy Cost Him the Election?
As L.A.'s mayor race enters its final week, polls suggest the two candidates are essentially tied. While there isn't much space between them philosophically, Eric Garcetti has supported density around transit, a position many find objectionable.
Dream of Suburban D.C. Light Rail a Nightmare to Local Residents
At an open house organized to update the public on plans to build a 16-mile light rail line linking spurs of D.C.'s subway system in suburban Maryland, planners' visions of smart growth where seen as a developer-driven nightmare by local residents.
10 Principles for Smart Growth in Existing Communities
Frustrated by what's passing as "smart growth" and "transit oriented development," Bill Adams postulates ten refinements (or less subtly stated clarifications) of the principles of smart growth and new urbanism.

Massive Development Fulfills 30-Year Promise of Buffalo's 'Train to Nowhere'
The development of the $750M Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, which will soon be home to 17,500 employees, is being seen as a catalyst for a culture change in the city towards urban lifestyles oriented around its heretofore underutilized rail system.
Denver Densifies as Developers Anticipate Transit Expansion
Before the first line of the multi-billion dollar FasTracks regional transit expansion opens to the public, developers are clamoring to build near Denver area stations. In a city that was beset by sprawl for a half-century, the shift is good news.
The Rise of Municipal Urban Design Departments
San Antonio City Design Center's Executive Manager Mark Brodeur describes his observations of the nationwide trend in cities establishing independent urban design departments.
“Reinvent Phoenix” Seeks to Cultivate Change Along the City's Light Rail Corridor
A multi-agency planning effort is hoping to boost Phoenix's sustainability by creating a new model for urban development around the city's emerging transit corridor.

Mayor Creates Cabinet to Develop a More Transit-Oriented Los Angeles
Damien Newton reports on L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's creation of a Transit Corridors Cabinet (TCC) to coordinate the work of all City departments and agencies with the goal of producing a "more transit-oriented Los Angeles."
How TODs Fared Through the Housing Crash
Transit-oriented developments multiplied and held their values comparatively well in the housing crisis. In this article, Josh Stephens explores whether the trend will continue post-recession, or if sprawl is poised for a comeback.
A Housing Plan to Keep Young Professionals in Massachusetts
Young professionals are choosing to live in "smaller, more transit-oriented developments." To keep them in-state, Gov. Deval Patrick plans to incentivize the building of 10,000 multifamily housing units each year through 2020 in Mass.
What Happens When Transit Doesn't Bring Expected Development
Just outside of D.C., the Capitol Heights Metro station sits among empty parcels with brown grass and tall weeds, as the economic development that was to accompany the station never materialized. Will a proposed Wall-Mart come to the area's rescue?
Could Tax Reform Prevent Gentrifying Effects of TOD?
Jeff Jamawat looks at the promise of a nuanced approach to tax reform being tested in 17 local jurisdictions in Pennsylvania to head off the spiral of rising prices and displacement instigated by the construction of transit infrastructure.
New Report Taps TOD to Provide L.A.'s Workforce Housing
UCLA's Paul Habibi believes that L.A.'s lack of affordable workforce housing, the "donut hole" between subsidized housing and high-end housing preferred by developers, is harming the city's competitiveness. In a new report he outlines a solution.
Is L.A. TOD Purposely Pushing out Low-Income Residents and Local Businesses?
A protest last week through downtown Los Angeles was meant to raise awareness of local activists' concerns that Los Angeles County Metro is displacing working class people and small businesses as it develops land adjacent to its stations.
TOD Landmark Still Can't Get People Out of Their Cars
Ten years ago, Orenco Station outside Portland, Oregon was the model New Urbanist, transit-oriented development community. And while the project has had great success in creating community, it still hasn't lured commuters out of their cars.
Westside Mayors to California: Leave Redevelopment Alone!
The Mayors of West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Culver City, and the Vice Mayor of Beverly Hills discuss local redevelopment and planning in the face of state intervention. The conversation centers on politics, projects, transportation, and parking.
Are TODs Really PODs?
For a while now, I've wondered if we have been mislabeling the development around well functioning transit stops as transit-oriented developments (TODs). This may seem odd, because numerous studies have shown that property values can increase by 20% to 40% percent around transit stops, particularly rail stations (although the increases are uneven).
Transforming Parking into TOD at a Long Island Train Station
This NYT editorial endorses the effort of a Long Island town supervisor to transform the Ronkonkoma LIRR station, one of the busiest stations on the nation's busiest commuter line from a sea of parking into a vibrant TOD with a convention center.
More In My Back Yard
MIMBYs? Seattle plans to build a one-story light-rail station in the Roosevelt neighborhood's commercial district, but locals are fighting for greater density and reducing zoning restrictions on the site.
Pagination
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