Crafting equitable communities through transit-oriented development

Project owners can maximize transit investments by emphasizing development focused on collaborative planning, community co-creation and equity-oriented land-use policies

By Kevin R. Collins | HNTB

Transit projects have unique potential to support growth and development within a corridor. When transit owners approach a new transit line with the communities’ needs in focus, they can maximize their investments by facilitating thoughtful development that enhances economic vitality without diminishing affordability for existing residents.

Transit-oriented development (TOD) emphasizes equitable urban growth by creating compact, walkable communities around public transportation. It can be a key strategy for increasing the stock of affordable housing, as well as giving community members improved accessibility, reduced reliance on cars and shorter commutes. Residents of thoughtfully developed TODs increase their access to affordable housing by 25% and can reduce their transportation costs by up to 40%. TOD also cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 30%, enhancing sustainability.

Benefits of TOD

For decades, New York City has grappled with an escalating scarcity of affordable housing. Fifty-five percent of New York City residents are cost-burdened — that is, they spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

TOD, on the other hand, supports community-relevant economic development by integrating transit as part of overall community development. Done well, TOD integrates land use to provide communities with combined residential, commercial and recreational resources and amenities that fit their unique needs. They are anchored by station areas where residents can access an extensive transportation network that efficiently gets them to work, school, doctors’ appointments and recreation without a personal vehicle.

Reliable public transit connects people to employment opportunities and essential services, which supports economic mobility, or the chance for lower-income people to access educational opportunities and higher-paying jobs and to move up the economic scale. Investments in new transit lines in New York, for example, could expand outer boroughs’ connections to one another, improve connectivity to the existing transit system, reduce road congestion and travel times and open new alternatives for jobs and affordable housing. For low-income residents, increased access to public transit has been linked to a 15% increase in employment rates.

Having transit stations near their living spaces expands mobility options for people who don’t own cars — and, by encouraging public transportation over personal vehicles, could eliminate the need for residents to own personal vehicles at all. Relying on transit dramatically reduces residents’ monthly expenses, saving households up to $10,000 annually on transportation costs and making cities more livable and equitable.

Amplifying transit investment value

Maximizing the value of transit investments depends not only on moving people from point to point, but also on early planning that ensures the policies, zoning and land uses around stations support the development of long-term affordable housing and access to multiple transportation modes. Transit agencies will succeed by:

Implementing inclusive planning processes

Bottom-up TOD planning considers the unique needs of individual communities, leading to purposeful avoidance of gentrification that would displace lower-income residents. To leverage transit projects in tackling the housing affordability crisis, community stakeholders should be actively engaged in co-creating alongside policymakers, urban planners, developers and transportation officials.

Undertaking this unified planning process ensures that transit solutions result in accessible and inclusive communities that meet the needs of the people they are designed to serve. Incorporating community co-creation in the early project development stages allows transit agencies to gain the full benefit of that engagement while effectively managing costs associated with unique community needs. Further, acting on community input leads to more accepted and successful projects.

Understanding and working with local development policies

To enable the development communities need requires that project owners work with developers and zoning authorities to affect policy changes. For example, when a community’s need is affordable housing in a station-adjacent area zoned for manufacturing, planning the project’s transportation elements alongside supportive land use/zoning allows both transit agencies and developers to maximize their investments.

These efforts may include bringing to the table what the transit agency has learned through the co-creation process, as well as discussions around making agency-owned land or air rights available to support the city’s future development plans. In Seattle, for instance, building underground rendered the land above them available for high-rise development.

Incentivize developers to maintain affordability long term

Tax incentives and subsidies commonly encourage affordable housing construction near transit hubs. Proper policies and incentives for developers to keep existing units affordable after initial covenants have expired can ensure long-term affordability. Transit project owners can further safeguard lasting affordability by making sure developers’ proposals commit not only to meeting or exceeding the equity housing needs in each location, but also to abiding by policies that maintain the affordability gains achieved.

Designing thoughtfully

Transit-oriented development will naturally involve decisions around existing infrastructure, corridors, rights-of-way and rail alignment. TOD planning and design that consider both the positive and potential negative impacts of those decisions result in urban neighborhoods that flourish around transit corridors. Often, small considerations, such as designing for zero lot line setback, can effectively advance the vision toward creating equitable, transit-oriented urban neighborhoods.

Focusing on long-term solutions

Working alongside local leaders can help transit agencies achieve equitable outcomes. Early in the planning process, meaningfully engaging community leaders – who could include local councilmembers and leaders of community-based organizations, churches and businesses – demonstrates a commitment to delivering TOD that aligns with community goals. These leaders’ voices can most accurately communicate each neighborhood’s needs, ensuring residents benefit from new development.

Incorporating feedback mechanisms

When transit project owners collect and act on feedback from residents at every stage of a transit project, they improve services and ensure equity. Projects with strong community involvement are 30% more likely to be completed on time and within budget, with higher resident satisfaction.

Communities along a transit corridor may have very different needs. Those needs often, but do not always, involve affordable housing. They also may include mixed-use retail, office space, commercial and other residential offerings and amenities. The most vulnerable populations may need incentives to utilize transit, as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has provided with its income-eligible reduced fare program.

A collaborative, tailored community feedback approach encourages each audience to consider its role in shaping policies and strategies that promote housing equity, integrate with transportation systems and support the development each community wants and needs.

Extensive community engagement around the development of New York City’s High Line, for example, resulted in transforming an abandoned railway into an urban park that significantly increased pedestrian traffic and local business activity. The planning and expansion of Los Angeles’ Metro Gold Line addressed the specific needs of diverse neighborhoods, leading to increased ridership and improved resident satisfaction.