How Federal Policy Can Encourage TOD

New research from the Urban Institute’s Yonah Freemark reveals that only a small percentage of housing development in the United States is located near transit. As Freemark explains, “I found that, in urban areas, tracts with transit stations added about 2 million housing units between 2000 and 2019. But those without stations added 17.6 million units. Too many new housing units are being added far from stations, increasing transportation costs for millions of Americans.”

Freemark adds, “One explanation for inadequate housing near transit is that transit agencies do not prioritize transit-adjacent housing development and lack a dedicated source of funding to acquire land for such projects. To help enable transit-oriented development, a federal land acquisition program that supplements transportation infrastructure grants could help transit agencies and local governments in acquiring properties to encourage housing development.”

Freemark recommends tying transit and land acquisition grants together via a “dedicated land acquisition program. This program’s funds could be used specifically to buy vacant or underused land, such as surface parking lots or one-story strip malls primed for redevelopment.” Cities and transit agencies could then use public-private partnerships with developers or social housing programs to build more affordable housing near transportation options.