Best Practices

Linking Transit Agencies and Land Use Decision Making: Guidebook for Transit Agencies

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This guidebook was developed to help transit agencies better address the connections among transit, land use planning, and development decision making. The guidebook promotes improved transit and land use decision making by providing transit agencies with the tools to be more effective at the decision-making table. The tools, which build on successful transit and land … Continued

Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century

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This richly illustrated book is about streetcars and the tremendous private investment they help generate. There are case studies of the most robust new systems and the ways they’ve been used to leverage ambitious public goals like affordability and high-quality public space, and chapters on planning, financing and the more technical aspects of building a … Continued

Transit and Urban Form – Volume 2, Part III A Guidebook for Practitioners

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A Guidebook for Practitioners offers guidance to communities on patterns of development that encourage alternatives to the automobile for work and nonwork travel. It summarizes the key relationships between transit and urban form, outlines the role of transit in regional and corridor planning, and discusses the principles and tools for station-area planning and development.

Transit and Urban Form – Volume 2PART IV Public Policy and Transit-Oriented Development: Six International Case Studies

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Public Policy and TOD uses case studies to determine the public policies and institutions necessary for transit-supportive development to occur. The case studies include three cities with rail systems and three with high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes or exclusive busways. The six case study cities are Houston, Texas; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; … Continued

Why Design Matters for Transit

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This Recommended Practice promotes the importance of design in the success of a transit project, including transit facilities and transit systems. Key principles of design are summarized, and specific tools to achieve design excellence are described, including design guidelines. Design and the design process are promoted for establishing an agency vision and sense of purpose, … Continued

Transit-Oriented Development Tools for Metropolitan Planning Organizations

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Metropolitan Planning Organizations play a very important role in the planning and implementation of TOD. As regional planning bodies, MPOs are in a unique position to support stakeholders within their jurisdiction to take actions or adopt policies that support transit-oriented development and provide funding for planning and transit supportive infrastructure. In long-standing federal law for … Continued

Forming Partnerships to Promote Transit-Oriented Development and Joint Development

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Numerous transit agencies have worked since the 1970s to encourage transit-oriented development and to pursue joint development programs or individual joint development projects. Generally, these projects refer to the same type of transit-supportive development; the distinction lies in who is sponsoring and who is involved in the project. The guidance provided in this document draws … Continued

The Innovative DOT: A Handbook of Policy and Practice (Third Edition)

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This handbook collects the innovative approaches that state transportation leaders are already using to make systems more efficient and effective in today’s challenging economy. Smarter transportation investments are both possible and popular; the challenge is determining where to begin and to whom to reach out for support and guidance. Every state is different, from the … Continued