Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) grew popular in the 1980s and 1990s as a response to suburban sprawl and a means of regenerating economic growth in central cities. The development is likely to include housing and/or offices as well as retail stores. A TOD also usually has relatively easy access for people on foot and bikes, while cars and other vehicles are discouraged from parking too close to the station. As a result, TODs are often friendlier to pedestrians and bicyclists than other forms of land development, and they encourage people to ride trains and buses rather than drive. The concept was slow to take off in the United States, but has gained strength in the first decade of the 21st century as fuel costs rise and traffic causes many Americans to rethink where they want to live and work.

Despite evidence that "drive 'til you qualify" sprawl presents an unsustainable drain on financial and natural resources, planners have been reluctant to abandon it. Even in relatively transit-rich metro NYC, TOD has been slow to catch on beyond the realm of private-sector advocacy, though recent remarks indicate the concept is at least on the radar of state-level officials in Connecticut and New York.

Photo: RACTOD/Flickr