URBAN PLANNING

Urban Planning

Urban Planning

Introduction

On average, Americans spend 52 percent of their incomes on housing and transportation. The average American household spends approximately 18 percent of its annual income on transportation - and lower-income families spend as much as 3333 percent. For lower-income families, rising transportation costs present a particular burden, with oil prices surpassing $100 per barrel and gasoline prices exceeding $4 per gallon. In some metropolitan areas, households spend nearly as much on transportation as on housing. One approach to reducing the blended cost of lodgings and transport is to elaborate lodgings opportunities adjacent to transit. TOD presents unique opportunities to create housing in proximity to public transportation, and to address zoning, land use and financing issues that affordable housing developers typically encounter when developing mixed-income housing projects.

Transportation and Housing

A 2004 study commissioned by FTA estimates that the demand for housing near transit will increase to 14.6 million households by the year 2030, more than double the six million households that currently reside within a half mile of transit. There are several examples of linkages between housing and transit aimed at capturing this demand. An early example is the BART Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California, where a HUD-funded older lodgings task anchored the entire development. San Francisco's Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Housing Incentive Program provides additional funds to transit agencies as an incentive to build housing within a quarter of a mile from the transit station, using Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program funds. California includes points for TOD in its allocation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits. In addition, cities that are developing new fixed guideway (rail and bus rapid transit) systems or extensions, such as Denver, Colorado, Portland, Oregon, and Phoenix, Arizona, encourage development around their new stations. Particular emphasis is placed on providing a broad mix of commercial, residential and retail uses, pedestrian-scale approaches to stations, and station-area development plans coordinated with existing neighborhoods. Also, Atlanta's Livable Communities Initiative is an innovative example of regional action to stimulate housing development adjacent to transit (Crewe, 2001, 245-264).

Although not as easy to accomplish as with a fixed guideway rail or bus system, joint development can also jumpstart TOD along non-fixed guideway bus routes. The Linden Transit Center in Columbus, Ohio, is an example of a partnership between the Central Ohio Transit Authority and community development groups to establish a multi-purpose transit center that serves as the catalyst for the revitalization of the South Linden neighborhood. This neighborhood redevelopment project, in addition to providing affordable housing, has helped retain a local factory, thereby preserving jobs within the community as well.

Previous Interagency Efforts

Over the past five years, HUD and FTA have explored opportunities to coordinate housing and transportation planning and investment decision-making. A June 2003roundtable hosted by the National Academy of Sciences focused on possible data sharing and development of geographical information systems (GIS) by the two agencies. Following the roundtable, HUD and FTA entered into a June 2005 Interagency affirmation (IAA) to help communities recognize the ...