Transit Oriented Development

Explanation of transit oriented development

Nowadays, the importance of transportation is very big. Transportation has already become a key component in most of the citizens in a modern city, and take Hong Kong as an example, in rush hours like in the morning or at around 17:00, there are thousands of people taking the public transit. In addition, nowadays it is very common to see that people living in New Territories have to travel to Kowloon to work, and the distance between two places is not short. Hence, these phenomena have raised the importance of designing a city structure on the basis of transportation, and therefore some places in Hong Kong such as Tai Koo, Tseung Kwan O are actually designed according to the model of transit oriented development. According to Reconnecting America, transit oriented development, or TOD, is defined as a type of “community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities integrated into a walkable neighbourhood and located within a half-mile of quality public transportation”. In addition, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission, TOD is aimed to increase the access of transit for citizens, and also encourages them to drive less. According to Figure 1, there is a transit stop surrounded by different kinds of infrastructures. This is an idea of TOD, which the distance between the transit stop and other infrastructures is walkable.

Figure 1: The conception of transit oriented development (Source: http://transportpolicy2013.blogspot.hk/2013/06/transit-oriented-development-without.html)

Reasons of transit oriented development

Transit oriented development can derive various benefits. According to a study conducted by the California Department of Transportation (2002), TOD can encourage people to take public transit more often, and this will reduce these people’s desire to drive. This is because the public transit is within the walkable distance for the people. Also, TOD can help...