Transit-Oriented Development Gains Momentum as Housing solution Across US Cities
A nationwide push to build housing near public transportation is offering a lifeline to affordability and sustainability, but faces local hurdles and funding challenges.
After years of housing instability, Quantavia Smith now has a secure studio apartment in Los Angeles – and a crucial advantage: easy access to public transit. The 38-year-old describes a newfound “sense of relief and independence,” enabled by a metro station directly beneath her building, as she searches for work without the burden of a car. Smith’s story exemplifies a growing trend across the United States: transit-oriented development (TOD), where new housing is intentionally built near public transportation hubs.
From Los Angeles and Boston to Washington D.C., cities are increasingly tying housing developments to proximity to buses, trains, and subways. This frequently enough involves streamlining the permitting process for developers and enacting policies that encourage higher-density construction. city officials contend that TOD revitalizes neglected neighborhoods,provides affordable housing options,ensures consistent ridership for transit systems,and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by lessening reliance on automobiles.
“Transit-oriented development shoudl be one of, if not the biggest solution that we’re looking at for housing development,” stated Yonah Freemark, research director at the Urban Institute’s Land Use Lab. “It takes advantage of all of this money we’ve spent on transportation infrastructure. If you build the projects and don’t build anything around the areas near them, then it’s kind of like money thrown down the drain.”
The Santa Monica and Vermont Apartments, where Smith resides, are part of an ambitious plan by the Los Angeles County metropolitan Transportation Authority to construct 10,000 housing units near transit sites by 2031. The agency is incentivizing developers with land discounts in exchange for incorporating affordable housing and other community benefits into their projects.
Washington D.C. has already completed eight TOD projects since 2022, delivering nearly 1,500 apartments and a million square feet of office space. Approximately half of these projects were undertaken in partnership with Amazon, which has committed $3.6 billion in low-cost loans and grants for affordable housing initiatives in Washington, nashville, Tennessee, and the Puget Sound region of Washington state. Nearly all developments are located within a half-mile of public transit.
“Big cities face the greatest challenges when it comes to traffic congestion and high housing costs,” Freemark explained. “Building new homes near transit helps address both problems by encouraging people to take transit while increasing housing supply.”
The benefits extend beyond major metropolitan areas. In Boston, a new state law requires 35 cities and towns to allow for multi-family housing near transit stations. “This is going to become someone’s home.”
Despite the momentum, advocates caution that the ambitious goals of transit housing are being hampered by local resistance and insufficient funding.A 2023 Urban Institute study revealed a troubling trend: nine times more housing units were built far from public transit compared to those built near it over the past two decades. Higher mortgage rates, bureaucratic hurdles, rising construction costs, and limited investment in transit stations are contributing factors.
In massachusetts, 19 communities have yet to create new zones, with some unsuccessfully suing the state to block the law and others rejecting proposed zones.Lexington, facing resident opposition, reduced its zoning area from 227 acres to 90 acres. “If we allow the state to come in and dictate how we zone, what else are they going to come in and dictate?” questioned Anthony Renzoni, a selectman from Holden, which also challenged the state’s law.
However, success stories demonstrate the potential of TOD. The six-story complex in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, where Smith lives, has already welcomed 300 new residents since opening in February. The area is experiencing revitalization, with a Filipino grocery, medical clinic, and farmers market slated to open next year. Half of the 187 units are reserved for formerly homeless individuals like Smith, who is receiving support with life skills, budgeting, and job searching.
For Smith, the convenience of transit is paramount. “I’m very very lucky to be somewhere where the transit takes me where I want to go,” she said. “Where I want to go is not that far.”
