Transit Oriented Development 101

Infrastructure forms the physical and functional backbone of any city. This is particularly true for transportation infrastructure, generally, and transit infrastructure, specifically. All too often, public transit is analysed and assessed, planned, designed and operated primarily as a system for moving people. This at best underconsiders, or worse, misinterprets a primary benefit of infrastructure, which is to organize regional development patterns, create place value, and structure long-term productive economic development. Hatch Urban Solutions knows how to make the most of transit investments for people, places, planet and profits. We create vibrant, resilient, walkable, valuable mixed-use neighborhoods where transit sets up better patterns of everything within the community.  

What is Transit-Oriented Development? 

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a concept that centres on the creation or retrofit of existing communities into walkable, convenient, more efficient and attractive mixed-use communities within easy access of public transit, usually higher order transit, services. TODs are designed to maximize access to public transportation, encourage walking, cycling, and other convenient forms of transportation not involving predominant car use, encourage sustainable urban growth, and reduce reliance on private vehicles. TOD communities are characterized by reduced vehicle kms by private vehicles, higher proportion of trips by walking, cycling and transit, and usually have a diverse mix of housing, office, retail, and amenities, all achieving a high quality of life relative to cost of provision in infrastructure, vehicles.  The result is greater social value for people and communities, greater land value for owners, and greater net economic contribution to regions, states, and countries.  TOD or Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) work best when they are complete mixed-use sites/communities, where everyday needs are clustered and convenient and generally anchored by higher order transit.  

Key Principles of TOD: 

1. Proximity to transit: TODs are located within walking distance (usually around 0.5 to 1 mile) of transit stations (subways, light rail, bus stops, etc.) 
2. Mixed land uses: TODs combine residential, commercial, and recreational spaces. Think of apartments, offices, shops, parks and public spaces all coexisting 
3. Higher density: TODs are denser than typical suburban developments, allowing more people to live and work in a smaller area with more convenient amenities and less surface space dedicated to the storage and movement of private vehicles. 
4. Pedestrian-friendly design: Streets and public spaces are designed for walking, cycling, social interaction and nature. Sidewalks, bike lanes, trees and open green spaces are essential elements 
5. Reduced reliance on cars: By providing excellent transit options, TODs reduce the need for car use and private car ownership – both the financial cost and the spatial displacement cost. 

Why is TOD important today? 

The relevance of TODs today cannot be overstated. With cities facing pressing challenges such as congestion, housing affordability and availability, infrastructure servicing costs and climate change, TOD offers really the only pathway toward sufficiently sustainable, equitable and viable urban development. It aligns with global efforts to decarbonize urban environments, promote efficient land use, and support economic development that is resilient by creating vibrant, connected, complete mixed-use communities, while establishing connection to/capitalizing on transit. Of all land uses and housing delivery options in many cities, TODs are the most important source of delivering housing at scale. In other words, TODs are fundamental for not only unlocking value from development opportunities, but also for solving housing crisis issues currently common in most, if not all, major cities across the globe. 

Benefits of TOD: 

• Reduced traffic congestion and better access for all: Less reliance on inefficient car access, more efficient movement of people due to attractive transit use and more people choosing walking and cycling for shorter trips, and easy accessible to all because in many communities there is a substantial portion of people who can’t drive. 
• Environmental sustainability: Lower carbon emissions and energy consumption, and better provision of nature, greenspace, and biodiversity, which benefits people when they can experience nature 
• Economic vitality: TODs generally demonstrate higher and more resilient business attraction and retention, which is reflected in generally higher and more resilient property values 
• Improved quality of life: Walkable neighborhoods, green spaces, and community amenities are closer – people spend more time living life instead of moving around in cars 
• Financial benefits: Well-implemented TODs can generate outsized returns for investors, and long-term asset value that is more resilient and holds up better in market downturns.  They also result in less servicing costs by host municipalities than other forms of urban development.  

Hatch Urban Solutions spearheading TOD across the globe 

At Hatch Urban Solutions, our commitment to creating livable, sustainable, and inclusive urban environments that generate returns for investors, both public and private, is evidenced through our remarkable portfolio of TOD/TOC projects around the world. Our approaches are holistic and customized, integrating our expertise in transportation, urban design, planning, economics, and sustainability with the foresight for how projects and programs are actually delivered.  We are spatial leaders and passionate place champions with multidisciplinary understanding, approaches, and capabilities. 

We think globally, and act locally by combining hyper-local expertise with global insights, knowledge, and connections, to help our partners and clients unlock and transform complex places to create positive changes around the world.  

We understand planning, urban design, transportation business and technical aspects – from early visioning through project delivery and implementation. For more information on exemplar Transit Oriented Development projects, please get in touch.  Two exemplary TOD projects are East Harbour in Toronto and Bradfield in Sydney. 

The East Harbour Transit Hub

This project in Toronto exemplifies our capability to ideate, plan, design and deliver complex TOD projects. Foundational and leading one of the largest North American transit and TOD programs, this project illustrates how an innovative and foreward-thinking approach realized commitment and construction of a major transit hub to unlock significant land value and broader city-building.  East Harbour Transit Hub will serve as a key node in Toronto's transit network, an station and interchange on the expanding GO regional rail network, the under-construction Ontario Line subway line, and the expanding streetcar (tram) network for the Port Lands, all surrounded by a mixed-use community that will be a gateway to Toronto’s waterfront – a multi-decades long project of international scale and importance.  Hatch initially worked with First Gulf, a Toronto-based developer-investor to ideate and plan the idea of a station-hub-anchored new development precinct that had not been imagined before.  The station is now under construction and Hatch is part of the alliance consortia designing and constructing the project.

Bradfield City Centre Aerotropolis 

Hatch is leading an international team to design Bradfield: a new city centre for Greater Sydney and the core of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis. The 115-hectares City Centre (equivalent to 284 acres) will be the world's greenest gateway to Sydney from the new Western Sydney International Airport, a vibrant 24/7 metropolis with global, local, and digital connections. At the heart of the city centre is a new Sydney Metro station, surrounded by urban development and a network of parks that achieves circular water system, carbon neutrality, innovation excellence and exceeds global standards for tree canopy, equity, wellness, urbanity, and mobility. The city centre will leverage the opportunities of the Western Sydney International Airport, the existing nearby centres, and the Western Economic Corridor, to attract world-class industries and knowledge-intensive jobs that will boost the trade, logistics, education, science, innovation, and advanced manufacturing sectors. Our work in New South Wales, Australia, demonstrates our skills in using TOD for housing affordability and urban renewal. To address Sydney's housing challenge, we are working with the government to plan and rezone areas around key transit stations, aiming to deliver up to 45,000 new and affordable homes.

Conclusion 

Transit-Oriented Development is more than just an urban planning concept; it’s a comprehensive strategy for realizing deliverable/implementable, sustainable, resilient, and equitable cities and communities of tomorrow. At Hatch, we combine our practice and thought leadership and place-led process and approaches to maximizing Great Places™, Embedded Engagement and Social Value, unlocking Stranded Assets, and delivering value for investors and communities.  Through our global experience, outstanding service, and track record of repeatable success, we shape communities that meet the needs of the present and are ready for the uncertainties of the future.  We have developed tremendous value for our private and public sector clients by helping them realize ideas and visions, seeing these ideas and visions through key milestones and/or transactions and delivery.

 

Interested in learning more about Transit-Oriented Development? Visit our website for more information.