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Zoning for people & transit with form-based codes

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This month on Building Better Communities with Transit we’re chatting with Susan Henderson of PlaceMakers about the use and benefits of form-based codes. We talk about the focus of these codes (the public realm where people gather and interact with each other), how they are used to support transit, and how a code can affect the streets around them.

World’s most profitable railway capturing value while addressing housing shortfall

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Hong Kong’s transit operator MTR has long used a classic value capture model to fund greater service and system expansions using profits from land development above its rail stations. But MTR and government officials are considering a partnership that would continue to provide profits to support MTR’s operations and system expansions, while also adding in a mix of affordable housing in the world’s most expensive housing market.

Washington, DC’s “textbook example” of value capture

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This month on Building Better Communities with Transit, our host Jeff Wood talks with Stan Wall of HR&A Advisors about value capture is and the NoMa–Gallaudet U station in Washington, DC. According to Stan, that station is “the most textbook, beautiful example of the possibilities in creating value and leveraging that to extreme positive benefit for a city.”

Codifying equitable TOD for Sound Transit’s surplus land

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Seattle is taking steps to make sure that its new light rail stations will serve people with low- and moderate-incomes—those who stand to benefit most from the new transit access—by combining traditional TOD with a focus on equity (also known as equitable TOD or eTOD).

KC Streetcar: A demonstration of the possible

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This month on Building Better Communities with Transit we’re joined by the Executive Director of the KC Streetcar Authority, Tom Gerend. In 2016, Kansas City, MO opened the first streetcar the city has seen in almost 60 years and transformed the city’s downtown. Former skeptics of the line are now some of the KC Streetcar’s biggest proponents as businesses have boomed and more people are moving to—and spending money in—the center city. The 2.2 mile KC Streetcar, akin to a downtown circulator, is “a demonstration of the possible.”

“The role of a transit agency isn’t just moving people, it’s economic development”

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Value capture, gentrification, and building affordable housing around transit were among the many topics on the agenda at the 2018 LOCUS Leadership Summit: Rebuild America’s Neighborhoods. With value capture in particular, having developers and consultants with relevant experience in the room provided some important insights into how to successfully execute such projects.