Conventional wisdom asserts that rail does a better job of spurring transit-oriented development than a bus rapid transit line, but until now no one has quantified the return on investment with a BRT line. A new study released by ITDP this week attempts to quantify the TOD potential of these transit options and find that, “Per dollar of transit investment, and under similar conditions, Bus Rapid Transit leverages more transit-oriented development investment than Light Rail Transit or streetcars.”
density
Land Use Impacts on Transport: How Land Use Factors Affect Travel Behavior (Victoria Transportation Policy Institute, 2012)
This paper examines how various land use factors such as density, regional accessibility, mix and roadway connectivity affect travel behavior, including per capita vehicle travel, mode split and nonmotorized travel. This information is useful for …
AZ DOT report finds compact development reduces VMT without increasing localized congestion
A first-ever analysis of land-use and transportation demand in Arizona contradicts fears that compact, “smart growth” development, while beneficial in moderating demand, will increase localized congestion. The report, produced for Arizona DOT in March, also suggests that traditional travel demand modeling is outmoded, unable to reflect land use effects on demand, and it disputes notions that compact development is inequitable and costly.
Exurban development continues to decline, while cities return to pre-recession growth
Growth in urban-fringe suburbs, once the fastest-growing parts of metropolitan areas, has stalled, new Census data shows. Central cities and inner suburbs have long lagged the growth rate of fringe counties, but now they are growing faster.
Is declining car use a long-term trend or just a short-term reaction to the recession?
In ‘Peak Car Use’: Understanding the Demise of Automobile Dependence, published last month in World Transport Policy and Practice, Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy, of the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute in Australia, summarize …
Have TOD promoters been putting the cart before the horse?
Building on its previous publication, Transit and Employment (2008), the Center for Transit-Oriented Development recently released a new report, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and Employment. The report challenges the assumption that employment dispersal outside of central …