Transit Oriented Development
Discussion
Transit oriented urban development involves clustering a mixture of land uses around a public transport node. The public transport node (train station or bus or tram stop) and the area immediately around it becomes an urban centre, with shops, workplaces, community facilities, and pleasant public spaces where people can meet and relax. Onsite housing ensures that the centre feels lived in and watched over, even in quiet periods, thus increasing personal safety.
Transit oriented development aims to reduce car dependence and boost public transport use, by increasing the connectivity between public transport and other functions.
The opposite of transit oriented development is a large shopping centre or "big box store", consisting entirely of shops, surrounded by car parks, located apart from other urban uses such as housing, and beyond the public transport network, with poor pedestrian and cycling links to surrounding areas.
Library
Builders Create Suburbs with Downtown Appeal. Haya El Nassar. USA Today. 2007.6
City of Austin Transit Oriented Development Guidebook (PDF). Reconnecting America
PATREC Conference - Transit Oriented Development
Transit Cities Victoria - Transit Oriented Development
Transit Oriented Sustainable Development (PDF). Dale Gilbert and Simon Ginn. Public Works*. Queensland. 2001
Urban Management Queensland - Transit Oriented Development
What Can Houston Learn from LA's Transit Oriented Development Failure? Houston Strategies. 2007.7 -- Transit oriented development needs good transit to be effective.
Links
California Transit Oriented Development Searchable Database. Transport. California
Planning and Transport Research Centre. Western Australia
Reconnecting America / Center for Transit Oriented Development. United States
2007.10.14