There are many cities where the fastest, most convenient way of getting around is by transit. Cities are planned and built over time, so no two cities are the same, and each one is planned based on identified needs or goals. A transit system built to meet an existing need may be effective in the short-term, but once a community is already built it can be complicated and costly to keep up with population growth by adding new transit infrastructure. To meet the long-term goal of an attractive destination to live, work, and play, transit systems need to be built beforehand to shape future development.
If they’re planned well, transit systems can be built with the ability to expand along with demand – for example from Bus Rapid Transit to Light Rail Transit. Building a transit system that will shape the community is the mindset, and the term we use for this is Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD.
TOD is a relatively new term but in one form or another, cities have been planned around transit for centuries. In historic Europe, roads, bridges and rail lines were built for wars, religious pilgrimages, and shipping goods, and where these roads met, communities grew. In Toronto, streetcar suburbs were created in the early 1900s as streetcar lines extended to new city limits with annexation to the north, west and east.
Currently, TOD is springing up all around the world on different landscapes and in different climates – Brisbane, Guatemala City, Hong Kong, and London to name a few. In North America, cities such as Vancouver, San Francisco and Arlington have a strong history of planning communities around transit, paving the way for similar developments in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal. Closer to home, TOD is taking root in several communities such as Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham.
We’ve seen the sprawl that results when development happens without transit systems, and we can see worldwide examples of development springing up around transit routes and stations. Transit-Oriented Development is the urban planning of the future, but it’s strongly rooted in history – the traditional idea of a community with everything within walking distance or a short (fast!) ride away.
If you lived in a transit-oriented community, what amenities would you like to have nearby?