Transit-Oriented Development is a municipal development strategy that aims to develop compact, walkable, mixed-use communities around public transportation nodes such as rail stations and major bus lines. While “TOD” is a relatively new term, organizing development around transit hubs is a very old concept and was the norm in U.S. cities before World War II.Today, the concept has become increasingly popular as municipalities struggle to reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and encourage more efficient land use patterns.
Capital MetroRail opened a new passenger rail system between the Convention Center in downtown Austin and the City of Leander in 2010. The Red Line is 32 miles long and provides services during peak morning and afternoon commuter hours. Each of the nine stations on the Red line integrates compact, walkable communities with a mix of residences, retailers and offices centered around transit. The system cost $105 million to construct and has averaged 1,600 riders per weekday. Read more about Capital MetroRail Red Line...
Atlanta has long pursued transit-oriented development (TOD) as part of its mass transit rail system development. One of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s (MARTA) four current TOD projects is the Edgewood/Candler Park Station TOD, which is transforming a 6.4 acre underutilized surface parking lot into a mixed-use development that includes 224 apartments (20 percent of which will be affordable), cultural space, street-level commercial units, and a small park. The first phase of the project, the apartment complex, should be complete in early 2018. To support small, minority and women-owned companies, MARTA has a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, which aims to award at least 30 percent of its contracts to DBE firms.