Box 3.14 Transit-Oriented Development

BOX 3.14

Transit-Oriented Development

Transit-oriented development is characterized by • Proximity to and a functional relationship with transit stations and terminals and service provision by high-quality public transportation (BRT systems, underground trains, and so on) • Compact, mixed use buildings and infrastructure that, because of their design, encourage walking, cycling, and transit use by residents, employees, shoppers, and visitors

The ingredients of successful transit-oriented development include strategic (macro-) and design (micro-) elements such as • A strong development climate • Master plans for multiuse, high-intensity developments supported by implementation plans

The ingredients also include transportation investments that promote the following: • Easy and direct pedestrian, bicycle, and public transportation access (as pictured in the eco-block example in the fi gure) • Good signage and a pleasant environment to attract substantial pedestrian fl ows • Signifi cant regional accessibility to major job and activity centers • Short, direct connections between transportation modes and transit facilities • Bicycle lanes and parking facilities that feed stations • Attractive facilities that are well integrated with the surroundings (public spaces, street furniture, and so on) • Safe and secure designs, including adequate lighting • Effective parking management around stations • Environment-friendly technology options, such as shared fl eets of alternative (electric) vehicles located in neighborhoods

Urban Land Pooling and Land Readjustment

This is an innovative technique for managing and fi nancing urban land development. Local and central governments are undertaking such projects to assemble and convert rural land parcels in selected urban-fringe areas into planned layouts of roads, public utility lines, public open spaces, and serviced building plots. Some of the plots are sold for cost recovery and the other plots are distributed to the landowners in exchange for their rural land parcels. To be viable, the values of urban plots distributed to landowners after subdivision need to be signifi cantly higher than before the project begins.

In a typical project, the authorized land pooling and readjustment agency selects and designates the urban-fringe area to be deSource: Fraker and Wurster (2009). veloped, and identifi es the land parcels and owners to be included. Note: The eco-block concept is illustrated using a location in China. A draft scheme is then prepared to plan, defi ne, and explain the project, and to demonstrate its fi nancial viability. Research shows that the impacts of transit-oriented development are realized in the long term and depend on the quality of related Majority landowner support for each proposed project is a key microdesigns and the rate of an area’s demographic and economic requirement for the successful application of the technique, and is growth. therefore an important consideration in selecting projects sites. Al• Research by Lund, Cervero, and Willson (2004) on residential and though the emphasis is on landowner agreement and support for commercial sites in major cities of California shows that factors relateach proposed project, the land pooling and readjustment agency ed to transit-oriented development, particularly proximity to urban also has to be able and willing to use the government power of and commuter rail stations, increase ridership on rail and buses by as compulsory purchase against any minority holdout landowners in much as a factor of three to four relative to control sites. the designated project area, if this becomes necessary. • Cervero and Day (2008a, 2008b) have surveyed households relocating to suburban transit-oriented development sites and nontransit-oriented development sites in Beijing and Shanghai, China to assess the impacts on travel behavior. The latter sites showed signifi cant positive impacts: • Increased public transportation ridership • Improved access to regional jobs (as measured by employment locations within a radius equivalent to one hour in travel time) • Reduced commuter times per household worker

Source: Zimmerman (2008). Note: The photo on the left shows a high-quality public transportation corridor between Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., with an underground metropolitan train (the orange line and M) and a feeder bus system. The corridor exhibits many elements of good macrolevel planning and transit-oriented development, including higher densities around high-quality public transportation (the underground) in an otherwise car-oriented environment. After 20 years of mixed use development around stations (such as Clarendon, pictured on the right), the corridor has become a good example of urban form.