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Where I live (metro philly), I've noticed a change in urban planning, that is attempting to move away from the car oriented sprawl of the 20th century and towards compact "nodes" based on the rail and public transportation infrastructure. I've also noticed a trend towards building multi-story parking garages, to reduce the outward sprawl caused by parking lots, because the reality is that cars aren't going anywhere, even in the so called "green" future.
The inner suburbs appear to be urbanizing, albeit in a new 21st century urban form, while in the inner-city gentrification is turning once blue collar neighborhoods into playgrounds for the rich and trendy.
I know that there is still plenty of auto-centric sprawl going on in the metro's nether regions, but I was wondering if these trends are consistent throughout the nation (which I assume they are). I'm still not sold on whether Transit oriented developement is a good idea, because If we find a way to get our cars off of gasoline in the near future it will render the whole notion of TOD's obsolete. Because the apparent benefit of TODs going forward is the savings in gas expenses. If people didn't have to spend so much on gas, then they could spend it on other things, that will in turn help out our economy greatly (Except for the oil based economy of texas). I can see Houston becoming the next Detroit, after peak oil and the eventual end to the oil age.
Last edited by killakoolaide; 03-30-2010 at 11:00 AM..
IMO, Transit Oriented Development is gaining momentum in most metro areas, and whether we find an alternative to gasoline or not, I dont see that being a factor in their success/failure.
The Washington DC Metro area has done the best job of TOD's I have seen in the country.
Every City or Major town along the Northeast Corridor has taken advantage of the Rail by building some sort of TOD , although we have yet to seen any Major or Large TOD yet. But a few Cities have alot of TOD planned.
Every City or Major town along the Northeast Corridor has taken advantage of the Rail by building some sort of TOD , although we have yet to seen any Major or Large TOD yet. But a few Cities have alot of TOD planned.
Well, most of those towns are themselves TODs already. Many were developed as commuter suburbs in the 1910s and 1920s. The original TODs. Today, new development and redevelopment are the new wave of TOD that are revitalizing these old towns and turning some of them to vibrant cities.
And lots of TOD has happened in them. New Brunswick, for instance, has had a total revitalization around its train station, new condo towers, new restaurants and shops, etc. Rahway has had hundreds of new condo and apartment units spring up around its station, tons of new developments in Morristown, Metuchen, South Orange, Summit, East Orange, Newark, Harrison, Rutherford, Jersey City, and many more towns, all taking advantage of transit accessibility and walkable downtowns.
And it's not just rail transit that spurs TOD. There's a bus-oriented TOD in South Jersey (I think Pleasantville), and Englewood can attribute much of its new development south of downtown to having quick express bus access to Route 4 and NYC. Port Imperial is home to thousands of new housing units, restaurants, etc., accessible to NYC by ferry, and large developments are coupled with ferry proposals in Elizabeth and South Amboy.
I saw a presentation last year about the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. In the 10 years that's been in operation, tens of thousands of housing units have been built within 1/2 mile of light rail stations. IMO, the benefits of transit as an economic development tool are undeniable.
Cincinnati is very close to pushing forward with their streetcar system. Cleveland's light rail system is very efficient. Linking the suburbs, downtown, and airport all together. Columbus is just like most southern, rapidly growing cities and still likes to sprawl.
Philly's transit system is great. It is one of the best in the country, but gets overlooked because of DC and New York.
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