Transit-oriented development

A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership. A TOD neighborhood typically has a center with a train station, metro station, tram stop, or bus station, surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower-density development spreading outwards from the center. TODs generally have a diameter of one-quarter to one-half mile (0.4 to 0.8 km), as this is considered to be an appropriate scale for pedestrians.

Many of the new towns created after World War II in Japan, Sweden, and France have many of the characteristics of TOD communities. In a sense, nearly all communities built on reclaimed land in the Netherlands or as exurban developments in Denmark have had the local equivalent of TOD principles integrated in their planning.

Transit-oriented development is sometimes distinguished by some planning officials from "transit-proximate development" (see, e.g http://edf.org/documents/2698_Testimony03_03.pdf) because it contains specific features that are designed to encourage transit use and differentiate the development from sprawl. Examples of these features include mixed-use development that will use transit at all times of day, excellent pedestrian facilities such as crosswalks, narrow streets, and tapering of buildings as they become more distant from the transit node. Another key feature of transit-oriented development that differentiates if from "transit-proximate development" is reduced amounts of parking for personal vehicles.

See also