This report investigates ways that public transportation affects human health, and ways to incorporate these impacts into transport policy and planning decisions. This research indicates that public transit improvements and more transit oriented development can provide large but often overlooked health benefits. People who live or work in communities with high quality public transport tend … Continued
This guide was developed to ensure TOD planning processes result in neighborhoods that include households of all income levels. The guide “walks” users through a three-step analysis to determine the most effective strategies and tools. The first step involves collecting data on the community’s demographics and economic and physical conditions (an inventory of the housing … Continued
In an effort to bring the American dream of homeownership to more people, our society has enabled and encouraged growth in places where low land costs deliver relatively inexpensive housing but where sprawling, single-use development adds significantly to the cost of carrying out the daily tasks of getting to work or school, running errands and … Continued
In the next five years as many as 160,000 renters in 20 metro areas could lose their affordable apartments near transit because the contracts on their privately-owned HUD-subsidized rental units are due to expire. The renewed popularity of urban living means that properties in walkable neighborhoods near transit have increased in value, and that property … Continued
This national study funded by the Federal Transit Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that location matters a great deal when it comes to reducing household costs. While families who live in auto-dependent neighborhoods spend an average of 25 percent of their household budget on transportation, families who live in … Continued
Increasing Affordability With Location Efficiency This report discusses how providing for a mix of incomes in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods near transit improves the already considerable benefits of having mixed-income neighborhoods by significantly reducing transportation costs. Creating mixed-income TOD deepens the affordability of housing because families can get by with one less car or no cars … Continued
This report documents real estate development patterns along three recently constructed light rail transit lines in the United States: 1) Hiawatha Line (Minneapolis-St. Paul), 2) Southeast Corridor (Denver), 3) Blue Line (Charlotte). This topic is important for local planning practitioners, transit agencies, community members and other stakeholders in their efforts to plan for new transit … Continued
In this report we focus on the overlooked “middle” of America’s cities: those that are too small to be among the top tier, but too big to qualify as small towns. These cities can range in size from 50,000 to 250,000 in population. They are not merely smaller versions of large metropolises, nor are they … Continued
This book discusses the commute trip and its impact on communities, and strategies that can be used to increase transit’s share of the commute trip. A great deal of practical and academic activity in the past several decades has been devoted to understanding how land use can support robust transit ridership and realize transit’s potential … Continued
The report discusses the relationship between transit and job concentrations and explains the importance of the destination side of the trip for both transit operations and land-use planning in station areas. It examines Atlanta, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona; and the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul), Minnesota, to illustrate the patterns of employment concentrations and show … Continued