Be careful what you plan for.
That may be one of the biggest lessons for the coming explosion of transit-oriented development across the country.
Billed as an environmentally friendly way to revitalize neighborhoods, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been embraced by cities and towns looking to kick-start neighborhood economic development or to create vibrant, pedestrian-friendly communities.
But past transit investments hold lessons for TOD’s potential unintended and often quite stark consequences: displaced residents, rapid gentrification, astounding property tax hikes. Where increased transit access should have aided existing residents, it ended up attracting new, wealthier residents and put enormous economic strain on those looking to stay. As more and more communities explore the tremendous possibilities of TOD, they must take the time to assess the equity implications and they must include policies to ensure that community residents, particularly low-income residents, will benefit.
TOD is one of the most pure forms of public investment – typically leveraging substantial transit spending to encourage private-sector investment in long-forgotten neighborhoods. Often, residents in these neighborhoods have fought for years to get better public transit – subways, light rails or buses – to connect the community to job centers nearby. “If only we had transportation,” they say, “our neighborhood could finally rise up.”
It’s true that transportation is a key to improving the quality of neighborhood life. But the combination of good transportation access and relatively inexpensive housing stock too often equals gentrification. The residents who fought so long for fair transit spending become priced out by the very opportunities that spending brings.
So how do we avoid these pitfalls? PolicyLink believes that equitable development criteria must be applied to TOD development to help mitigate the possibility of TOD-driven gentrification and to ensure that community residents benefit:
With a concerted effort, these TOD projects can secure affordable housing for people in all income ranges, ensure improved environmental quality, and link residents and their neighborhoods to economic growth throughout the region. Equitable TOD can ensure that communities become – and remain – places where residents can live, work, and play.
Cautionary tales abound, however – especially in some of the nation’s hottest markets. Long-ignored communities in places like Seattle, Boston and San Francisco are now being connected to better public transit. Residents who have lived without access to economic opportunities are watching with great hope as their neighborhoods are finally connected to their city’s economic and cultural vitality.
But as redevelopment moves in, housing prices climb. States and cities must plan for success when building transit-oriented development. Planners must acknowledge and mitigate the effects of rising home prices and the demolition of affordable housing stock. This makes social and economic sense.
According to a recent study by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, “by 2030, nearly two-thirds of the potential demand for housing near transit is likely to come from households that have incomes below the area median income -- or roughly $50,000. Thirty percent of households with a potential demand for housing near transit will make less than $20,000 a year.”
The residents who need access to transit the most will increasingly be the ones who can least afford it – unless community leaders and elected officials are adamant about keeping a meaningful part of these new developments affordable.
The nationwide embracing of transit-oriented development has given us plenty of examples to look at – both successes and failures. We must learn from our mistakes and emulate our achievements.
Thankfully, there are groups out there trying to take a big picture approach to TOD. The Great Communities Collaborative is fighting to ensure that neighborhoods in the Bay Area are walkable and “have a mix of jobs, shops, community services, and homes affordable to families of all income levels.” By bringing together environmental, housing, transportation and land use advocates with government and private sector leaders, the collaborative hopes to avoid the missteps that have plagued other TOD projects.
That approach, however, must be spread far and wide. New TOD endeavors are arising all the time. In Denver, the process is just beginning to unfold in the 125-acre community surrounding Invesco Field at Mile High stadium. The neighborhood has long been neglected by both the public and private sector. But that is all set to change.
By 2013, nearly 10,000 people a day will commute through a new light rail station in the heart of the neighborhood – located right in between the Invesco Field parking lot and a rundown 330-unit public housing complex. It’s unclear just how the inevitable development of the neighborhood will impact the 1,500 residents already living there.
Residents are receiving “mixed signals” about demolition of the public housing and redevelopment of city-owned land, according to a Feb. 10 story in the Denver Post. For residents both excited and nervous about the redevelopment, “mixed signals” can be ominous signs.
Too often, redevelopment pushes out the low-income families that are not lucky enough or simply can’t afford to secure one of the set-aside “affordable” units. An equity-based policy approach can help to mitigate some of the greatest challenges of TOD. New developments should be required to set aside a certain percentage of new units as “affordable,” not only to middle-income families, but to low- and very-low-income residents. In many of the targeted communities, local governments already own a significant portion of the vacant land. By banking that land, plans can be developed for its future and, government can ensure that the land will still be affordable even after the redevelopment has sparked intense real estate activity.
All over the country, the balancing act between revitalization and gentrification is being hotly contested. TOD projects have the chance to dramatically enrich – or upset – the quality of life for thousands of families and change the very nature of a neighborhood. By hewing to an equity approach, we can make sure that people of all incomes benefit from TOD’s vibrancy, promise and opportunity.
—Judith Bell, President
For information on PolicyLink work, with partners, on transit oriented development and affordable housing in Massachusetts, click here.