Building and Preserving Affordable Homes Near Transit

Building and Preserving Affordable Homes Near Transit: Affordable TOD as a Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Equity Strategy

The California Housing Partnership Corporation initiated this report in order to assess existing research on the role of preservation and development of affordable housing in transit-­-oriented corridors as a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategy for California. As a result of our extensive review of existing literature, we have found three important trends: 1) Lower income households are less likely to own a car, more likely than other income groups to walk or take transit, especially in transit rich areas, and have lower vehicle miles traveled (VMT); 2) living in transit-­-oriented development (TOD) reduces auto use and resulting GHG emissions while also lowering transportation costs; and 3) housing near transit stations is subject to more rapidly increasing rents and property values, making these areas less affordable to low income households over time.