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Introduction to Transit Oriented Development and Sustainable Cities: Economics, Community and Methods
... In detail, measuring displacement can be judged from the following aspects: the number of houses being rebuilt, the rate of migration in and out of low-income groups, the investment in infrastructure construction, the changes in housing prices, and the investment of investors. As Garton and Lack discovered when analysing the post-colonial characteristics of Footscray [32], the ownership of houses and the status of immigrants are significant in the process of gentrification and suburban migration. Similarly, factors such as the housing crisis, rising housing prices, and the increase in the number of investors are also referenced indicators for displacement, which has a more obvious impact on the displacement of residents with low incomes [33]. ...
As Melbourne faces exponential population growth, the necessity for resilient urban planning strategies becomes critical. These strategies include mixed land use, density, diversity, and sustainable transportation through transit-oriented development (TOD). While TOD promises to accommodate growing populations and address environmental concerns, it also raises issues regarding its unintended consequences on poverty and inequality, notably through residential displacement and gentrification. This study investigates the impacts of TOD construction on inequality in Footscray, employing spatial analysis techniques like the hedonic price model (HPM), robust regression analysis, and Pearson correlation analysis. It aims to understand how spatial factors influence housing prices and their correlations. Additionally, the study uses observational spatial analysis via Google Street View (GSV) to examine indices such as housing development type, traffic signage, sanitation facilities, and house beautification. This approach seeks to build an evaluation framework to assess the extent of TOD street reconstruction and its impact on gentrification and displacement. The research adapts existing knowledge to create a tool for reviewing past planning decisions and assessing the fairness of TOD planning implementation. By providing assessment and guidance to mitigate the potential adverse impacts of TOD, this study contributes to the advancement of urban-planning practices, offering insights into mixed land use and effective strategies to balance economic development and social equity, thereby enhancing community resilience. Ultimately, this research deepens our understanding of the impacts of TOD on urban inequality and offers practical tools and insights for more equitable and sustainable urban development.
... The paper emphasizes the idea of the importance of transit points, around which it is most profitable to place trade facilities, business centers, and compact housing. Such a planning structure is multifunctional and allows minimizing the load on the transport network due to the presence of everything necessary in one area [26]. ...
This paper examines a method for assessing spatial inequality through access to opportunities and urban services based on modeling an intermodal graph of accessibility of urban areas. The goal is to obtain ratings on the difference in physical access to services and opportunities on public transport by social groups. This is done by collecting data on the city’s residential areas and urban amenities that serve the functions of education, health, sports, and leisure. Calculation of travel time by public transport to the nearest service of each type is carried out using an intermodal graph. The result of the work is an assessment of the accessibility of services in terms of travel time, compared with urban planning standards.
... The paper emphasizes the idea of the importance of transit points, around which it is most profitable to place trade facilities, business centers, and compact housing. Such a planning structure is multifunctional and allows minimizing the load on the transport network due to the presence of everything necessary in one area [26]. ...
This paper examines a method for assessing spatial inequality through access to opportunities and urban services based on modeling an intermodal graph of accessibility of urban areas. The goal is to obtain ratings on the difference in physical access to services and opportunities on public transport by social groups. This is done by collecting data on the city’s residential areas and urban amenities that serve the functions of education, health, sports, and leisure. Calculation of travel time by public transport to the nearest service of each type is carried out using an intermodal graph. The result of the work is an assessment of the accessibility of services in terms of travel time, compared with urban planning standards.KeywordsSpatial InequalityTransport AccessibilitySustainabilitySustainable Mobility
... However, it has also been advised that increasing urban density along main roads would improve the likelihood of commuting by private car (Zhao, 2013) and public transport. Some studies explore the socioeconomic aspects of transit-oriented development (Pendall, Gainsborough et al., 2012) focussing on equity; whereas several studies points attention to social sustainability (Fernandez Milan, 2016); Sustainability aspects have been documented in their entirety towards relation with transit development (Kheyroddin, Taghvaee et al., 2014) and urban quality (Knowles and Ferbrache, 2019). Also, significant influence of transit-oriented development on mobility attitude has been observed in the recent years (Jen and Huang, 2013;Pongprasert, 2020). ...
The world over, increasing automobile trips and the resulting negative consequences, such as traffic congestion, air pollution, and accidents, have been a matter of concern. As a strategy to contain automobile travel by shifting to Transit, a concept called Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has been propagated. This study compares two areas in the city of Naples, Italy, which can be considered a valuable case study. Beginning with the 1997 Transport Plan, the city of Naples has developed a strategy similar to the TOD concept with rail Transit. This study makes a comparative analysis of two urban districts with different urban forms in meeting the characteristics of the TOD concept: 1) the Centro Direzionale, alias central business district, located at the edge of the city centre, and 2) the Municipio area, in the central core of the city. Although different in terms of urban morphology and historical value, these two areas are characterised by high density, mixed land use, and good accessibility to rail transport. The analysis is based on a comprehensive data collection and a comprehensive user response survey, to investigate respectively the features of the analysed districts and travel characteristics of residents and workers. The study analyses socio-economic characteristics along with travel patterns of both areas, to develop meaningful insights regarding the kind of urban form and its level of achieving the benefits of the TOD concept. The paper will conclude with a set of recommendations, on whether to implement high-rise cost-intensive projects in the name of TOD or to preserve the conservative urban form having a glorious urban heritage.
... TOD has mainly been categorized as one kind of sustainable urban transport that creates a high level of human interaction. Bernick and Cervero have strongly focused on the three Ds' (design, diversity, and density) role in TOD [11,12]. During the 1980s, after observing suburban congestion, researchers and urban designers focused on alternatives, such as developments around transit areas, with the main objective of reducing motorized trips. ...
Transit-oriented development (TOD) in Saudi Arabia is becoming a significant priority for the government and developers to create a sustainable and quality living environment. TOD is an integrated transport and urban planning method that aims to reduce car use and urban sprawl, increase the use of public transport, and enhance sustainable mobility. To meet the global goals as per the Paris Accord, Saudi Arabia’s policymakers must prioritize the integration of TOD in urban planning. This study was carried out with the main aim of identifying the environmental, social, and economic benefits of implementing TOD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A mixed-study research method was used, and data were collected using a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 21, and qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo software. The findings of this study show that TOD in Riyadh City would positively impact economic, environmental, and social aspects. TOD would reduce travel time, allow its people to have an active lifestyle, and reduce congestion. TOD would help reduce mental health disorders and improve physical activity. TOD would positively impact the environment of Riyadh City and assist in reducing greenhouse gases. Overall, the study results provide a reliable perspective on the benefits of TOD. Most participants assumed that the implementation of TOD in Riyadh City would increase automobile mobility, provide more employment opportunities, and reduce travel time, positively impacting the environment and economy of Riyadh City.
... Spatial capital is commonly assessed through (i) the access of a person or social group to a number of transportation options (private vehicles; public systems such as trains, buses, and subway systems; or bike lanes and pedestrian networks) allowing convenient travel to shops or to one's workplace; (ii) access to a number of transportation services that are handicap accessible; and (iii) the sum of choices that individuals (or members of a social group) have across all transportation options, enabling them to easily and efficiently navigate within the city's boundaries (see Figure 3) (Knowles and Ferbrache, 2019). ...
In the past decade, the capital city of Doha of the State of Qatar has experienced rapid urban expansion and other changes due to globalization, which has caused (i) the loss of a compact urban pattern, (ii) landscape fragmentation, and (iii) deficiency of green spaces. Therefore, as envisioned by Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV-2030), the State of Qatar plans to invest substantial funds into the urban regeneration of the built environment, along with the development of large areas of public parks as a means of promoting more sustainable urban development and enhancing city residents’ well-being. Accessibility contributes to the usability of public facilities on the part of the neighborhood community, thus enhancing city dwellers’ well-being. Nonetheless, the authors argue, the urban network along Doha’s Corniche promenade, the dominant open public space and the spine of the city, lacks connectivity at various scales of space. Therefore, this research study aimed to assess the existing conditions of Doha’s Corniche and recommend strategies for implementing its integration into the newly emerging city’s urban fabric. The findings, revealed through a network-analysis investigation based on graph theory, allowed us to generate a framework for shaping open public spaces, promoting higher living standards through a green network system planned at the city scale. The proposed framework addresses social-ecological challenges of distinctive open public spaces and helps define an approach for (i) tailoring the accessibility of open public spaces to their surroundings, and (ii) enhancing city dwellers’ well-being.
... In Asian countries, TOD assessment has been introduced as a solution to solve urban issues in terms of economy and population [32]. In the Middle East, TOD has been implemented as a planning method to solve traffic congestion [33]. Recently in Qatar, the Urban Planning Department has introduced TOD to develop the urban centers, reduce traffic congestion, and improve the quality of life for the residents [34]. ...
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) assessment models are commonly used to assess existing and planned metro station catchment areas. Elements like diversity, density, design, destination, distance, and demand management are considered in the 6Ds TOD assessment model. Assessment of these elements in the designing stage depends on the TOD expert’s involvement to ensure the effectiveness of the model. The aim of this research is to develop novel pre-TOD assessment guidelines that consist of Spatial Analysis, Virtual Function of Transit Station (VFTS), and Estimated Spatial Analysis, which can improve the reliability of the assessment conclusion according to the 16 planning elements. The research applies three methodologies: (1) analytical approach to evaluate the TOD concept and its assessment model; (2) development of pre-TOD assessment guidelines using the Delphi technique; and (3) conduct a case study of the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center metro station in Qatar to validate the developed model. The findings are a new concept, called the Dependent Component Area (DCA) of the metro station, and VFTS classifications of the metro station include an urban connector, suburban connector, destination, and destination connector. The newly developed pre-TOD assessment guidelines can enhance TOD assessment methods, especially in emerging cities. Moreover, these assessment guidelines will provide TOD and planning experts with more precise data and information related to the DCA.
The Jordanian government, represented by the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Public Works Housing and the Greater Amman Municipality, are making great efforts to improve the public transport (PT) system in order to improve PT services and improve the movement of commuters and passengers without traffic jams and delays. Started in Amman city the work was initiated on the bus rabid transit (BRT) project on several different stages, which began work on construction infrastructure since 2016 and be in service for some stages during the past two years, which proved great success in mitigating traffic jams on these roads and great comfort for users of this smart transport system. Progress on the initial BRT line, which will operate in Amman, has been stop-start, with construction beginning in 2010 before being suspended in 2011 amid concerns over feasibility and funding. Following a reassessment, the government relaunched the plans in 2013. The project recently received renewed impetus in the form of an additional $152m in funding from the French Development Agency, France's department for promoting sustainable development abroad. The financial cooperation agreement signed in June 2015 paved the way for construction to resume, with work now under way on a 4-km section of Princess Basma Street. Construction is scheduled to take 30 months, with responsibility for infrastructure and buses to be divided between GAM and the private sector, respectively.. Therefore, after this successes and the experience of using the BRT in some roads in the capital Amman, the government began to think about using this solution to the main highway connecting the Amman city with Zarqa city. A decision was made by the Jordanian government to establish the infrastructure and the design project for BRT between Zarqa and Amman cities. In john 2024.This project will be completed and will be supposed to use in experimental for a period of time before use in final and permanent. All Works in this project have been completed without any interruption of traffic on this highway and without any traffic problems and without increasing the accidents rate of traffic during the construction of infrastructures. Amman-Zarqa BRT projects aims to address transportation challenges within and between the two major Jordanian Cities, Amman and Zarqa The high-speed bus service, officially named the Express Bus between Amman and Zarqa, is intended to provide efficient transportation between the two Cities, with Large-Capacity buses operating on dedicated lanes. The project promises high-quality services, with buses running frequently and modern, integrated stations. 2
Over the last two decades, Doha, the capital city of Qatar, has undergone rapid urbanization. The city has capitalized large-scale urban and infrastructural projects resulting in a loss of historical areas of heritage value to people. Recent construction of the Doha Metro is opening avenues for place-making of transit towns through a framework envisioned by the need to shape compact, livable and sustainable neighborhoods and to mitigate the effects of urbanization on valuable historical heritage sites. Due to its historic significance, the Qatar National Museum (QNM)-Souq Waqif corridor is the case study selected for exploring and defining a framework for a contextualized place-making transit-oriented development (TOD) model. The research design is structured by reviewing the literature about TODs and the need for place-making model in Qatar, followed by collecting visual data from municipal authorities, through site visits, and site observations. The data are then analyzed to propose a novel masterplan, rooted in key urban design components of place-making. The insights will contribute to proposals for context-driven design strategies to enhance livability of the site and to extend its application to other potential transit hubs in metropolitan Doha and in the Middle East.
Over the past decade, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been advocated as an applicable urban regeneration planning model to promote the sustainability of cities along with city dwellers’ standards of urban living. On a regional scale, under the directives of the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV-2030), the Qatar National Development Framework (QNDF-2032), and the strategies for planned mega events, such as the FIFA World Cup 2022, the State of Qatar launched the construction of the Doha Metro, which consists of four lines. This transport system, linking the center of Doha to several transit villages around approximately 100 metro stations, aims at reducing the number of vehicles on the road networks while providing an integrated transportation and land use strategy through the urban regeneration of transit-oriented developments (TODs), providing both social and environmental economic benefits. Among the most significant transit sites within the Doha Metro lines is the Souq Waqif station. This station is a historical–heritage spot that represents a potential socio-cultural site for the creation of a distinctive urban environment. This research study investigates an approach suitable for an urban regeneration planning scheme for the Souq Waqif TOD, aiming at (i) preserving and consolidating the deeply rooted cultural heritage of the historical site and (ii) enhancing the city dwellers’ and/or the community’s standards of urban living. This study aims to explore the applicability of a TOD planning scheme for the new metro station through urban regeneration and land infill in the existing built environment of the Souq. This study contends that the efficient integration of land use with transport systems contributes to shaping an environment with enhanced standards of living for users while supporting social, economic, and environmental factors. The present research design comprises qualitative data based on theoretical studies and site-based analysis to assess (i) the principles of TODs and (ii) the extent to which their application can be employed for the Souq Waqif to become a sustainable TOD.
Physical activity (PA) plays a critical role in mitigating the risk of developing a wide range of health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, some types of cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to assess the impact of TADs on physical activity levels for transportation, recreational and the total combined physical activity in Abu Dhabi using survey responses from residents of 14 TADs. Spatial and statistical analysis was conducted using Independent t-tests and binary regression models. Results reveal that the average total weekly physical activity time was 380 minutes for TAD residents, which is approximately 250% higher than the minimum recommended by the WHO. About 78% of the survey participants reported doing more than 150 minutes/week of PA. However, when analyzed for transportation and recreation physical activities, about 29% and 39% of respondents achieved the recommended physical activity (RPA). The effects of determinants on transportation, recreation, and total physical activity were analyzed for individuals who achieved the RPA using binomial regression analysis. Residents of TADs in Abu Dhabi were found to achieve adequate levels of physical activity, higher than the average of all residents of Abu Dhabi, which was reported to be below 150 minutes a week. As a consequence, the replacement of the existing sprawled neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi by more transit-adjacent, compact, diverse, and better-connected neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi City may help to increase the overall physical activity.
Scholarly interest in the relationship between public investments and residential displacement dates back to the 1970s and the aftermath of displacement related to urban renewal. A new wave of scholarship examines the relationship of gentrification and displacement to public investment in transit infrastructure. Scholarship has generally conflated gentrification and displacement; however, this review argues for a clearer analytical distinction between the two. Although the displacement discussion in the United States began with the role of the public sector and now has returned to the same focus, it will be necessary to overcome methodological shortcomings to arrive at more definitive conclusions about the relationship.
During the post-war era in the United States, the low-density suburban sprawl model has been the dominant paradigm of urban growth. In recognition of the significant economic, social and environmental costs of sprawl, a new smart growth paradigm of higher-density, mixed-use and transit-oriented urban centres has emerged in many metropolitan areas. A case study of Denver, Colorado, shows that the smart growth approach has been more effective than previous initiatives to change the development pattern and address the costs of sprawl. With many new urbanist projects and an aggressive transit-oriented development programme, Denver is offering a different urban alternative to its sprawling past. A broader coalition of support, especially including the development community, has characterised smart growth efforts in contrast to previous growth control initiatives. New forms of regional collaboration have contributed to a stronger regional identity, less jurisdictional infighting and greater consensus on issues of regional importance.
Ørestad is Copenhagen’s linear new town being built over a 30 year period around stations on an elevated, driverless mini-metro line. Copenhagen Metro’s construction was to be financed by the sale to developers of publicly-owned land along the route. The Øresund Bridge from Malmö in Sweden also facilitates substantial international commuting by rail and road to Ørestad. This paper briefly assesses Copenhagen’s 60 year record of transit-oriented development since its internationally renowned 1947 Finger Plan. It focuses principally on analysing Ørestad’s progress since the late 1990s in creating transit-oriented development of jobs, housing and retail, education and leisure facilities. The paper finally examines how Ørestad is contributing to Copenhagen’s economic growth and relieving pressure on Copenhagen’s Central Business District.
Making existing cities and new urban development more ecologically based and liveable is an urgent priority in the global push for sustainability. This paper discusses ten critical responses to this issue and summarizes them in a simple conceptual model that places the nexus between transport and urban form at the heart of developing an eco-city. This involves compact, mixed-use urban form, well-defined higher-density, human-oriented centres, priority to the development of superior public transport systems and conditions for non-motorized modes, with minimal road capacity increases, and protection of the city's natural areas and food-producing capacity. These factors form the framework in which everything else is embedded and must operate, and if they are not addressed only marginal changes in urban sustainability can be made. Within this framework, environmental technologies need to be extensively applied. Economic growth needs to emphasize creativity and innovation and to strengthen the environmental, social and cultural amenities of the city. The public realm throughout the city needs to be of a high quality, and sustainable urban design principles need to be applied in all urban development. All these dimensions need to operate within two key processes involving vision-oriented and reformist thinking and a strong, community-oriented, democratic sustainability framework for decision-making.
Debates about the future of urban development in many Western countries have been increasingly influenced by discussions of smart cities. Yet despite numerous examples of this 'urban labelling' phenomenon, we know surprisingly little about so-called smart cities, particularly in terms of what the label ideologically reveals as well as hides. Due to its lack of definitional precision, not to mention an underlying self-congratulatory tendency, the main thrust of this article is to provide a preliminary critical polemic against some of the more rhetorical aspects of smart cities. The primary focus is on the labelling process adopted by some designated smart cities, with a view to problematizing a range of elements that supposedly characterize this new urban form, as well as question some of the underlying assumptions/contradictions hidden within the concept. To aid this critique, the article explores to what extent labelled smart cities can be understood as a high-tech variation of the 'entrepreneurial city', as well as speculates on some general principles which would make them more progressive and inclusive.
The myths about automobile dependence are analysed and dismissed as no longer having the inevitability they once had. The myths relate to wealth, climate, space, age, health and social problems, rural life styles, the road lobby, land developers, traffic engineering and town planning praxis. Only the tenth one seems to continue to have an inevitability due to entrenched practices which should now be updated and replaced.
Transit and transit-oriented developments (TODs) are gaining momentum across the globe to enable transport sustainability. However, most of these TODs are creating neighbourhood gentrification as a result of higher housing prices. Hence, the contribution of TOD policies towards sustainable transportation goals remains unclear. This paper uses Bangalore, India, as a case study to examine the effects of TOD gentrification on transit ridership. In Bangalore, station areas are witnessing the influx of large capital on condominiums, in response to TOD policies and accessibility to transit. These condominiums are expensive and attract the affluent, leading to new build gentrification. The study evaluates the impact of such new build gentrification on transit ridership. Data analysis suggests that, gentrifiers contribute significantly towards metro ridership because of the metro's high level of service (LOS). However, the other sustainable mode shares among gentrifiers are less due to poor implementation of TOD policies and the low LOS of the bus system. The study reveals that metro is attracting TOD residents, especially intermediate public transport, bus and motorbike users, whose destination are locating within walkable distance from the metro stations and the willingness to use metro is high, once the fully integrated metro network is developed. The results indicate that the transit and TOD policies in Bangalore are indeed improving transit mode shares, but to ensure equity and optimize sustainable transport mode shares, more policy interventions are required for the provision of: affordable housing and encouraging diversity in new TODs; improving neighbourhood built environment; and mode integration measures.
Our work exploring preferences of Denver metropolitan area households in deciding where to live provides important insights for regions seeking to leverage investments in transit and promote social equity through transit-oriented communities (TOC). Through a choice-based approach, we find evidence of widespread support for characteristics of TOC, with similar preferences for transit- and pedestrian-accessible environments among low-income and more affluent households. However, despite similar preferences, we find that affluent households moved to station areas after the arrival of light rail in much larger proportions than low-income households, pointing to trends consistent with local and national evidence of increased housing prices (and, likely, gentrification) near transit. If these trends continue without additional supplies of housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households in transit-rich neighbourhoods, those who are most likely to benefit from and use transit are likely to face increasing difficulty in realising preferences for TOC.
As an agent in the production of place, transport plays a key role in shaping cities and their wider urban regions. Light rail transit can contribute to city boosterism - helping to enhance a city's image and quality towards broader development agendas such as economic growth and creation of sustainable and liveable cities. This paper examines the place-making role of light rail (supertrams, light metros and streetcars) through analysis of its material and meaningful impacts in relation to boosting city image and quality. It provides a critical synthesis of empirical ex-post evidence from a literature review of published and unpublished sources on wider economic impacts of light rail. Impacts include a modern image, reinforcement of cultural identity, prestige, social inclusion/exclusion, environmental quality, and physical transformations such as pedestrianisation and ‘greening’ the city. More positive impacts than negative impacts were found, though these vary with geographical location and over time. Some cities deliberately seek to maximise impacts through integrated transport and urban planning strategies. The paper complements existing cultural approaches to transport geography to shed light on the relationship between transit development and city boosterism. The paper makes recommendations for future research.
Problem, research strategy, and findings: There is little consensus about the effects of rail transit on residential development, especially in suburbs, despite high expectations. I revisit this issue by examining a ?best case?: I test the impacts of rail transit on housing development around suburban rail stations in Portland (OR), a region with multiple supportive transit-oriented development policies. I conducted longitudinal analyses of housing development in quarter-mile catchment areas around 57 suburban rail transit stations in suburban Portland from 2004 to 2014, a longer time period than many previous studies, evaluating factors that helped station areas attract residential development. Housing developments, most multifamily, grew much faster in the quarter-mile catchment areas around suburban stations put into service in or before 2004 than the regional average. Areas around stations opened after 2004 have few residential developments. More residential development is associated with higher system ridership, more vacant land zoned for residential and mixed-use purposes, greater shares of nonresidential land, and higher shares of the White population. Faster density increases were associated with more vacant land zoned for high-density and mixed-use purposes.
Takeaway for practice: Rail systems may need to be in operation longer to affect land use than the study periods in some previous research. Rail transit can guide suburban residential development in neighborhoods with enough vacant land, some nonresidential destinations, and appropriate zoning. Multiple supportive public policies and incentives appear to have a major impact, but may not be effective alone unless these preconditions are met.
Few sectors of urban infrastructure have experienced as strong a push to privatize in recent decades as the public transit sector. In the developed world, spiraling operating deficits and falling ridership prompted many public transit agencies to competitively contract out bus- and rail-passenger services to the private sector in the 1980s and 1990s. As protected monopolies, critics charged that public operators failed to rein in escalating costs, innovate in response to changing market preferences, and effectively compete with the increasingly popular private automobile (Estache 1999). In the United States and United Kingdom, privatization of public transit became the centerpiece of urban transportation policy under the Reagan and Thatcher administrations. In less developed countries, international aid agencies openly embraced urban transport privatization, reflected by the following World Bank policy position: “Competition, facilitated by regulatory reform to enable private firms to enter and exit the market more freely, forces transport suppliers to respond to user’s needs at lower costs” (World Bank 1996: 33).
Key Messages
A low‐income corridor follows the SkyTrain rapid transit line through Vancouver and its suburbs, containing subsidized rental housing from long‐terminated federal programs.
The housing is aging and is occupied by poorer groups, notably recently landed refugees and immigrants.
This housing is endangered by gentrification from a regional policy of transit‐oriented development (TOD), a policy where environmental objectives and profitability trump social justice objectives.
Transport plays a critical role in facilitating competitiveness in post-industrial economies. High quality transport services and infrastructure enhance internal and external connectivity. This research examines published and unpublished evidence of economic impacts of modern light rail (tram and light metro) systems in the United Kingdom and globally. Evidence is considered relating outcomes of investment in light rail systems to: unlocking previously hard to reach sites for development; triggering fresh growth through elimination of significant transport constraints; stimulation of inward investment; extension of labour market catchment areas; reorganisation or rationalisation of production, distribution and land use; and land and property value increase and capture. Urban light rail investment can help regenerate Central Business Districts and boost employment and property prices. Similar rail investments in different locations may not however have the same economic impacts - geography matters. Other conditions in addition to transport investment are required for positive externalities.
Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight without Oil sets out the challenges to our growing dependence on transport fuelled by low-priced oil. These challenges include an early peak in world oil production and profound climate change resulting in part from oil use. It proposes responses to ensure effective, secure movement of people and goods in ways that make the best use of renewable sources of energy while minimizing environmental impacts. Transport Revolutions synthesizes engineering, economics, environment, organization, policy and technology, and draws extensively on current data to present important conclusions. The authors argue that land transport in the first half of the 21st century will feature at least two revolutions. One will involve the use of electric drives rather than internal combustion engines. Another will involve powering many of these drives directly from the electric grid - as trains and trolley buses are powered today - rather than from on-board fuel. They go on to discuss marine transport, whose future is less clear, and aviation, which could see the most dramatic breaks from current practice. With its expert analysis of the politics and business of transport, Transport Revolutions is essential reading for professionals and students in transport, energy, town planning and public policy.
Transit-oriented development (TOD) has become a predominant planning model in many cities. However, although access to public transit is often seen as benefiting low-income groups, in some cities community groups have challenged TOD plans on the grounds that they could cause gentrification and displacement. Yet, empirical studies have found little evidence that gentrification actually causes displacement. This article examines the connection between TOD and displacement in urban areas and seeks to make sense of the apparent discrepancy between community opposition to TOD and the empirical findings on displacement. Four explanations are considered: methodological shortcomings in existing studies, insufficient attention to social and psychological forms of displacement, potential transportation cost savings, and use of TOD plans as a policy target. The fourth explanation is illustrated using an example from the San Francisco Bay Area of California. This article aims to synthesize literature on these previously separate topics and to illuminate paths for future research.
The paper analyses the concept of the smart city in critical perspective, focusing on the power/knowledge implications for the contemporary city. On the one hand, smart city policies support new ways of imagining, organising and managing the city and its flows; on the other, they impress a new moral order on the city by introducing specific technical parameters in order to distinguish between the 'good' and 'bad' city. The smart city discourse may therefore be a powerful tool for the production of docile subjects and mechanisms of political legitimisation. The paper is largely based on theoretical reflections and uses smart city politics in Italy as a case study. The paper analyses how the smart city discourse proposed by the European Union has been reclassified to produce new visions of the 'good city' and the role of private actors and citizens in the management of urban development.
Curitiba is the only city in Brazil that has directed its growth by integrating urban transportation, land-use development and environmental preservation. Since the 1970s Curitiba's administrators have constantly achieved innovations with the city's bus-based transit system through performance and capacity improvements. Originally, the bus system evolved from conventional buses in mixed traffic to busways, which were later fitted with at-level boarding, prepayment and articulated buses, creating the first full bus rapid transit system in the world. Later, the city introduced high capacity bi-articulated buses and electronic fare ticketing systems. In 2009 the integrated bus system was upgraded, again, with the introduction of the Green Line, its sixth BRT corridor which includes the operation of 100 per cent bio-diesel articulated buses. In 2010 Curitiba retrofitted one of the existing corridors, improving its performance to levels that are typical of metro systems. System operation will be further enhanced with advanced traffic management and user information systems.
Seventy percent of the oil America uses each year goes to transportation. That means that the national oil addiction and all its consequences, from climate change to disastrous spills to dependence on foreign markets, can be greatly reduced by changing the way we move. In Transport Beyond Oil, leading experts in transportation, planning, development, and policy show how to achieve this fundamental shift.
The authors demonstrate that smarter development and land-use decisions, paired with better transportation systems, can slash energy consumption. John Renne calculates how oil can be saved through a future with more transit-oriented development. Petra Todorovitch examines the promise of high-speed rail. Peter Newman imagines a future without oil for car-dependent cities and regions. Additional topics include funding transit, freight transport, and nonmotorized transportation systems. Each chapter provides policy prescriptions and their measurable results.
Transport Beyond Oil delivers practical solutions, based on quantitative data. This fact-based approach offers a new vision of transportation that is both transformational and achievable.
Transit Oriented Development: Making it Happen brings together the different stakeholders and disciplines that are involved in the conception and implementation of TOD to provide a comprehensive overview of the realization of this concept in Australia, North America, Asia and Europe. The book identifies the challenges facing TOD and through a series of key international case studies demonstrates ways to overcome and avoid them. The insights gleaned from these encompass policy and regulation, urban design solutions, issues for local governance, the need to work with community and the commercial realities of TOD. http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&title_id=8710&edition_id=11109&calcTitle=1
Over the recent past there has been a dramatic increase in travel, mainly driven by the desire to move faster and over ever greater distances. This growth is unsustainable, and the continued growth in levels of mobility needs to be reassessed through substantially reducing the levels of consumption (energy and carbon) in transport. This means that travel activities should be based on shorter distances and slower speeds, with a more flexible interpretation of time constraints. Transport geographers should have a strong and instrumental role to play in this debate. This paper outlines the changing patterns of movement, before concentrating on urban areas where most daily travel takes place, and it examines the trilogy of distance, speed and time. The focus of the paper is on distance, and the role that land use planning and development, and technology can play in encouraging new forms of travel in cities, but there are strong implications on the ways in which speed and time are conceptualised. The conventional transport paradigm is heavily embedded in the belief that travel time needs to be minimised and consequently speeds need to be increased. The resulting impacts on travel distances have not been part of that debate, but reducing travel distances is central to sustainable transport.
An empirical examination of the residential development patterns illustrates that accessibility and the availability of vacant developable land can be used as the basis of a residential land use model. The author presents an operational definition and suggests a method for determining accessibility patterns within metropolitan areas. This is a process of distributing forecasted metropolitan population to small areas within the metropolitan region. Although the model presented is not yet sufficiently well refined for estimating purposes, the concept and the approach may be potentially useful tools for metropolitan planning purposes.
A preface and a bus rider's story: “two-tiered” transit system in the making? Imagine a bus stop in a typical working-class neighbourhood of inner-city Los Angeles, a city with an extraordinary array of peoples and cultures. The bus pulls up with standing room only, filled with a variety of people: Mexican, Salvadoran, Korean, Filipino and African American; men and women going to jobs, some of them janitors, some street vendors. People on the bus include women clutching children and grocery bags, kids going to school, elderly folks off to the Senior Centre. The ride is like always: hot, noisy and desperately crowded. The riders come from decidedly different backgrounds, yet share the same experience daily—jostled against one another, staring blankly out cracked windows, minding their own business, intent on getting where they need to go. And getting it over with as quickly as possible. In another part of town, people of a different income class are riding in a new train. They come from the suburbs, clacking away at laptops and sipping cappuccino on their way to downtown jobs. These are people taking advantage of what Mike Davis (1995, p. 270) calls “the biggest public works project in fin de siecle America”, an ambitious series of commuter rail lines that were budgeted at $183 billion over 30 years (Sterngold, 1999). These train riders choose to leave their cars at home to avoid the maddening freeway jams of Los Angeles. Some ride the train on principle. Trains are, after all, better for the environment. Back on the inner-city bus … someone's handing out leaflets and talking about forming a union—of bus riders? First in English then in Spanish, the organizer tells riders how the train that's always in the newspapers is costing more than planners expected, and that politicians now propose to take money away from buses to keep building the train lines. Then the organizer talks about racial discrimination. Racial discrimination? What do buses have to do with racial discrimination?
This paper draws from the findings of published empirical studies and observations of the impacts of rapid transit systems on urban development. Analysis is based on comparisons of impact findings by different researchers and for different cities. An initial set of key issues is proposed, against which available information is arrayed and compared. It is concluded that rapid transit can have substantial growth-focusing impacts, but only if other supporting factors are present.
Although the tyranny of distance has been reduced by cheaper and faster transport, important geographical differences remain. Transport provision varies enormously. Globalization is uneven. Location remains all-important as time/space relationships collapse differentially. Nodal situations change and the spatial qualities of centrality and intermediacy enhance the importance of strategically located hubs. There is growing recognition of transport’s environmental externalities. Access to transport remains unequal and restricted by income, disability, age and gender as well as by location.This paper re-examines the role of transport in shaping space and considers the differential collapse in time–space resulting from a succession of transport innovations over 200 years. It assesses effects of cheaper and faster transport on spatial development at local, national and international levels, effects of intermodality on land/sea transport systems and impacts of fixed links in removing transport barriers. It considers whether time/space relationships have been encapsulated accurately in abstract models of spatial development. The paper examines how cheaper and faster transport has increased environmental externalities in increasingly mobile societies. It also considers aspects of social exclusion resulting from restricted access to transport.
This paper has two main parts. The first questions two of the underlying principles of conventional transport planning on travel as a derived demand and on travel cost minimisation. It suggests that the existing paradigm ought to be more flexible, particularly if the sustainable mobility agenda is to become a reality. The second part argues that policy measures are available to improve urban sustainability in transport terms but that the main challenges relate to the necessary conditions for change. These conditions are dependent upon high-quality implementation of innovative schemes, and the need to gain public confidence and acceptability to support these measures through active involvement and action. Seven key elements of sustainable mobility are outlined, so that public acceptability can be more effectively promoted.
A review of accessibility measures is presented for assessing the usability of these measures in evaluations of land-use and transport strategies and developments. Accessibility measures are reviewed using a broad range of relevant criteria, including theoretical basis, interpretability and communicability, and data requirements of the measures. Accessibility impacts of land-use and transport strategies are often evaluated using accessibility measures, which researchers and policy makers can easily operationalise and interpret, such as travelling speed, but which generally do not satisfy theoretical criteria. More complex and disaggregated accessibility measures, however, increase complexity and the effort for calculations and the difficulty of interpretation. The current practice can be much improved by operationalising more advanced location-based and utility-based accessibility measures that are still relatively easy to interpret for researchers and policy makers, and can be computed with state-of-the-practice data and/or land-use and transport models. Research directions towards theoretically more advanced accessibility measures point towards the inclusion of individual's spatial–temporal constraints and feedback mechanisms between accessibility, land-use and travel behaviour. Furthermore, there is a need for theoretical and empirical research on relationships between accessibility, option values and non-user benefits, and the measurement of different components of accessibility.
Transit-oriented development (TOD) seeks to maximize access to mass transit and nonmotorized transportation with centrally located rail or bus stations surrounded by relatively high-density commercial and residential development. New Urbanists and smart growth proponents have embraced the concept and interest in TOD is growing, both in the United States and around the world.New Transit Town brings together leading experts in planning, transportation, and sustainable design -- including Scott Bernstein, Peter Calthorpe, Jim Daisa, Sharon Feigon, Ellen Greenberg, David Hoyt, Dennis Leach, and Shelley Poticha -- to examine the first generation of TOD projects and derive lessons for the next generation. It offers topic chapters that provide detailed discussion of key issues along with case studies that present an in-depth look at specific projects. Topics examined include: the history of projects and the appeal of this form of development a taxonomy of TOD projects appropriate for different contexts and scales the planning, policy and regulatory framework of "successful" projects obstacles to financing and strategies for overcoming those obstacles issues surrounding traffic and parking the roles of all the actors involved and the resources available to them performance measures that can be used to evaluate outcomesCase Studies include Arlington, Virginia (Roslyn-Ballston corridor); Dallas (Mockingbird Station and Addison Circle); historic transit-oriented neighborhoods in Chicago; Atlanta (Lindbergh Center and BellSouth); San Jose (Ohlone-Chynoweth); and San Diego (Barrio Logan).New Transit Town explores the key challenges to transit-oriented development, examines the lessons learned from the first generation of projects, and uses a systematic examination and analysis of a broad spectrum of projects to set standards for the next generation. It is a vital new source of information for anyone intersted in urban and regional planning and development, including planners, developers, community groups, transit agency staff, and finance professionals.
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