What's up with Transit Oriented Development?

Transit Oriented Development seems to be the darling of urban policy makers worldwide. Not a large scale project can be found without someone at some point mentioning the need to make it a TOD. But what are TODs anyway? are they really that great? In this blog, The Friendly Urbanist explains what's great and not so great about Transit Oriented development. So I invite you to read on and share your thoughts.

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Transit Oriented Development 101

King's Cross Terminal, London UK. Photo: Andrei Ianovskii on Unsplash

You’ve certainly heard the term “Transit-Oriented-Development” being used, misused and overused over the last 2 decades or so. Often abbreviated as TOD, this practice has become a popular way to improve the viability of transit projects, increase public revenue, densify neighbourhoods and reduce peoples’ dependence on private vehicles. In this short article, I’d like to explain what TOD is, what are its benefits, some drawbacks as well as its all around desirability.

Transit Oriented Development is a planning strategy that focuses on creating vibrant, livable communities centered around public transportation hubs. These hubs can include train stations, bus terminals, subway stations and other forms of public transit. The core idea is to promote dense, mixed-use development within walking distance of these transit nodes, encouraging people to rely less on private vehicles and more on public transportation. You can often see TOD’s pop up around existing, but underused, stations as well as ahead of planned extensions or new transit lines, especially high traffic metropolitan rail. 

Why is TOD so great?

TODs can produce many remarkable benefits and can fundamentally change how cities and residents interact with transportation. Being placed within a short distance from transit nodes, sometimes even right on top of them, Transit Oriented Developments are a key part to any strategy aimed at reducing traffic congestion. Residents, as well as more transient travellers, can find the proximity and all weather access often offered by TODs to be more convenient than the use of private vehicles for their commute, especially to and from well connected areas.

Reduced dependency on private vehicles is of course a big contributor to the reduction of carbon emissions and contributes to a cleaner environment. Therefore, any city with an ambitious emissions reduction and climate action plan would do well in encouraging the development of mixed-use, transit connected neighbourhoods.

These types of neighbourhoods are also perhaps the most cost effective. If you factor in middle densities, such as 4-6 story buildings, their relatively small footprints and appropriate transit infrastructure, the costs relating to service infrastructure for cities, as well as medium and long term living costs of residents are greatly reduced.

TOD can be unpleasant too

Speaking of costs, while long term and service costs are reduced due to higher densities and lower transportation costs, the initial price tag can be prohibitively expensive especially in the case of infill development, that is to say development in an existing built space. According to research by John D. Landis in 2022, the Songdo Business Development District, in Incheon, Korea, will cost over $50 billion when it’s done, almost a decade later than expected. These types of upfront costs tend to limit the scope and intentions of developers and cities, and question the viability of TOD projects.

Songdo Business Development District, Incheon Korea. Photo: Daesun Kim on Unsplash

We also cannot avoid talking about the impact these developments can have on the neighbourhoods they pop up in. For developers, the most profitable route is to target areas with deflated real estate prices, especially in big cities, so as to maximize the return on their initial investment. A not-so-hidden consequence of this strategy is the almost immediate rise of speculative real estate values. Although gentrification, as it is commonly called, is not in itself evil or undesirable, without proper regulation and oversight, it almost invariably prices out residents from their neighbourhood, people who have often lived there for generations. Griffintown in Montreal and Liberty Village in Toronto are examples of TOD style developments that rapidly made the neighbourhood unaffordable for long-time residents.

Finally, it is important to realize that TODs cannot just be planted anywhere without due consideration. Without taking into account existing transit networks, and harmonizing the proposed project to the existing infrastructure, the TOD can easily exacerbate existing transportation and housing problems or even produce the opposite effect of what was intended. The rather superficial and poorly studied design of Milton Keynes, England, for example, produced much worse outcomes than planned, according to research conducted by M. Edwards in 2022. Such errors were avoidable had there been better research and more rigorous application.

Central Milton Keynes, UK. Photo courtesy of Milton Keynes Council via planetizen.com

But do we want some of TOD?

While TODs offers numerous benefits such as reduced congestion, environmental sustainability, and vibrant communities, it also comes with challenges like cost considerations, gentrification risks, and infrastructure issues. Ultimately, the desirability of TOD depends on various factors, including the specific context of the community, its existing infrastructure, and the priorities of residents and policymakers. In many cases, a balanced approach that integrates elements of TOD with careful consideration of community needs and concerns may be the most favorable path forward.

Transit Oriented Development presents a compelling vision for creating more sustainable, accessible, and vibrant urban environments. However, it's essential to address the challenges and limitations associated with TOD to ensure that its benefits are equitably shared among all members of the community. You simply cannot expect to copy paste a pattern or development method that may have worked somewhere and plop it in the middle of a completely different context and expect everything to work out well in the end. Just like most anything in cities, in the absence of outright innovation, all development policies, no matter how trendy, have to be adapted to local considerations, as well as respond to the unique socio economic needs of the existing and target populations.