Op-Ed: Denver: Make transit-oriented living possible for everyone

The Denver region has an unprecedented opportunity to lead the country in shaping a more sustainable, livable and affordable metropolis. The public elected to invest over $6 billion into one of the largest rapid transit systems in the country, including 122 miles of light rail and 18 miles of bus rapid transit (1). The return on this investment will be measured not just by how many riders the system attracts, but by the social and economic backgrounds of those riders. Public transit cannot become luxury good only available to those who can afford to live near it. We need to demand smart and aggressive public policy to ensure housing around transit stations remains affordable to a wide range of people. Otherwise, we will continue to compound the inequities that stifle the social mobility of so many of our citizens.

Does the MAX increase property values?

There have been many inquiries into how proximity to a light rail or rapid rail station affects values of nearby properties.  

Crossrail Shapes the Future of Transit Oriented Development in London

London seemed to take stock of itself in 2000 and 2001 regarding growth and planning with the creation of the Transport for London and the production of the Urban White Paper. The former is the governmental agency in charge of all transportation aspects of Greater London. The later is the document or report calling for, “better design in cities and the provision of affordable homes”. Both serve as guides for dealing with the projected growth London will encounter in the future.

Danwei: Smart Growth Before it Was Cool?

Land Use Characteristics in Beijing

Land use patterns in Beijing differ from most Western urban patterns and their characteristic central business districts (CBDs) of high employment density surrounded by rings of residential and mixed-use zones.*  Instead of this bulls-eye pattern, Beijing’s land use is more uniformly mixed-use in an array that seems the very epitome of Smart Growth planning that we struggle to re-create in America today.  So the city should be a walkable, low-car utopia - right?

Mexico City: Land Use and TODs

Mexico City will have 12 million more inhabitants within the urban city by 2030. This intense growth projection has made transit oriented development a desired form of land use planning. Unfortunately, the capital city has unique and difficult land use laws that make TOD type policies difficult to implement. Since 2009, NGOs have been working with regional and local governments to begin the discussion and potential implementation of “Desarrollo Orientado al Transporte Sustentable (DOTS)”

The outer edges of Mexico City