Many studies and land use planning attempts have done to influence people’s travel choices these days. Rather than sprawl development with automobile-dependent, single-use zoning, and cul-de-sacs, scholars and city planners now prefer and recommend more walkable, mixed-use development, and compact development. Along with neo-traditional development and pedestrian pockets, one trend of recent urban planning, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), has attracted people’s attention. Given the new development of transportation methods, the present study explores how new transit stations will change people’s mobility and activity patterns. The main contribution of this project is to create an index of walkability attributions in a TOD setting based on previous research and to suggest assessment measures of walkability using a Geographic Information System (GIS). / text

This study explores the non-monetary values assigned by designers, planners, developers, and policy makers in integrating ecosystem services into the design and development of urban transit-oriented development (TOD). This thesis also investigates the theoretical and practical design strategies that incorporate ecosystem services into Urban TODs. Methods used for research and data collection included reviewing existing literature relevant to the subject matter, conducting interviews with policy makers, academics, and design professionals, and exploring two specific examples of progressive, urban, “green,” TODs in the Pacific Northwest. This study concludes with ideas for future research into the integration of ecosystem services into urban TOD planning, and potential urban environmental policies that can be adopted by municipalities to maintain and strengthen the ecosystem services of the growing metropolis. / text

The purpose of this study is to analyze the interim standards and determine whether or not they provide enough of a design base to produce a site plan which satisfies the City’s TOD principles. These guidelines and standards express vital elements and characteristics which the city desires to implement within their TOD districts. By developing a site plan for a specified TOD using only the given interim standards of development I will be able to examine their strengths and weakness and determine whether or not the goals of the City guidelines were met. / text

This paper will focus on the “town and gown” relationships between cities and universities and their combined planning efforts for bikeway networks. An examination of the bicycle plans, use of bicycle boulevards and bike lanes, etc. will be applied to towns known for their university populations such as Berkeley, California with the University of California and Palo Alto, California with Stanford University and how the City of Austin and the University of Texas-Austin compares in utilizing the same principles in their bicycle facilities planning efforts. / text

In recent years, a renewed interest has blossomed in rail travel and rail investment. However, federal funding constraints for new transit projects threaten the feasibility of urban rail network construction and expansion. In response, the public sector has begun to consider alternative financial mechanisms including value capture. As new construction expands transit’s reach into the suburbs, another phenomenon is facing these communities – the death of the suburban shopping mall. This report examines these two issues: constraints in transit funding and the proliferation of greyfield shopping malls. Addressing both issues, the argument is made that greyfield shopping malls serve as excellent locations to implement transit value capture strategies by converting the malls into suburban transit-oriented developments (TODs). / text

As a means of promoting “smart growth” in the United States, Transit-Oriented Development has become a significant strategy for planners to solve urban problems. Most researches and studies discuss transit-oriented development on a single node level, which created some barriers during the implementation process. This report demonstrates transit-oriented development on a corridor level to optimize its benefits. Three case studies, which are in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area, San Francisco Bay Area and Dallas Region, are used to illustrate different typologies of transit-oriented development corridors and to analyze significant planning principles for transit-oriented development at a regional or sub-regional level. / text

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

This practicum examines the opportunities and challenges for transit-oriented development (TOD) at strategic station areas along the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor (SWRTC) in Winnipeg. Research included three case studies that investigated policy support, station area planning and implementation tools in the City and County of Denver, City of Boulder and the City of Ottawa. Three recommendations are outlined in the concluding chapter. The first is to develop Smart Growth land use policies that direct growth to station areas along the SWRTC. The second is to develop station area plans that indicate the permitted land uses, urban form and densities at station areas. The third is to create a zoning overlay for TOD to that embraces compact, pedestrian oriented development, mixed land uses and reduced off-street parking requirements. These recommendations are of particularly benefit to the City of Winnipeg and to other municipalities that are investing in rapid transit systems and TOD.

Many cities today are contemplating major investments in rail transit systems, especially Light Rail Transit (LRT), to address two significant planning issues which have characterized North American metropolitan growth patterns: increasing automobile use and decentralizing population and employment. Proponents of these systems argue that by building rail transit, travel behaviour and land use patterns can be changed. The experience in cities which have built these systems is mixed, but transportation and land use outcomes typically go hand-in-hand: San Diego, Denver, and Portland have increased transit ridership and intensification in station areas, whereas Buffalo and Cleveland have had minimal change occur as a result of investments in LRT. Calgary, Alberta presents an interesting case as its LRT system, first opened in 1981, generates tremendous ridership but has had relatively modest land use change in station areas. This thesis aims to understand why intensification has been so marginal at many stations, and to uncover what are the unique facets of Calgary???s experience which shaped this outcome. The approach taken is to examine the evolution of the City of Calgary???s planning philosophy towards transportation and land use since the need for rapid transit was first identified in 1966. This evolution is also placed within the context of the particularly severe cyclical economic forces that influenced both the city???s growth and policy planning approaches taken to manage this growth. The research finds that the combination of transportation and land use policy, in conjunction with market forces, which existed during the design, construction and operation of the first three LRT lines favoured intensification in Calgary???s downtown and low-density decentralization in suburban areas. However, the evolution of planning policy and market forces indicate that this less likely to be true in the future, both in the near and long term. The City is transitioning from a highly centralized mono-centric city to a poly-centric and increasingly multi-modal metropolitan region. The LRT, and other transit service, will be a key means of facilitating and managing this transformation.

This practicum examines the opportunities and challenges for transit-oriented development (TOD) at strategic station areas along the Southwest Rapid Transit Corridor (SWRTC) in Winnipeg. Research included three case studies that investigated policy support, station area planning and implementation tools in the City and County of Denver, City of Boulder and the City of Ottawa. Three recommendations are outlined in the concluding chapter. The first is to develop Smart Growth land use policies that direct growth to station areas along the SWRTC. The second is to develop station area plans that indicate the permitted land uses, urban form and densities at station areas. The third is to create a zoning overlay for TOD to that embraces compact, pedestrian oriented development, mixed land uses and reduced off-street parking requirements. These recommendations are of particularly benefit to the City of Winnipeg and to other municipalities that are investing in rapid transit systems and TOD.