When considering all the ways to fight global warming, it’s impossible not to make Transit Oriented Development (TOD) among the top priorities.
TOD is now part of the common lexicon of environmental advocates and is front and center in New York State because of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s New York Housing Compact. The proposal, which is part of her FY 2024 Executive Budget, would create 800,000 new housing units in the state in the next decade.
There’s a push to build as many of these 800,000 units as TODs as possible. This would mean building them close to mass transit hubs (trains, buses, subways) and shopping, so residents can rely on cars less and walk, bike or take public transportation more.
“We applaud the Governor’s Housing Compact and encourage the governor, all state elected officials and state administrators to work together closely to compel the construction of transit oriented developments all across the state,” said Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “Zoning restrictions must be eased around transit hubs and town and city centers and the state must require zero-emission building construction on all projects,” adding, “The Housing Compact is a golden opportunity to make a difference and reduce carbon emissions.”
No doubt that’s true, because TODs cut greenhouse gas emissions by reducing individual car travel and per capita energy and water use.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that in 2020, the transportation sector accounted for the largest share of carbon pollution in America, a 27% share, with cars and trucks accounting for more than half of that. In New York, that number is over 40%.
“Transit Oriented Development is at the very heart and soul of sustainability, and brings together compact, walkable communities with high quality rail systems,” the Transit Oriented Development Institute (TOD Institute) states on its website. “This creates low carbon lifestyles by enabling people to live, work, and play without depending on a car for mobility. This type of lifestyle can reduce energy consumption and driving by up to 85%.”
Many city, state and federal agencies are on board pushing for more TODs. Aside from the EPA extolling their virtues, so does the Federal Transit Authority (FTA), which is providing funding to TOD projects across the country.
On November 17, 2022, the FTA announced it was providing $13.1 million in planning grants to 19 projects around the country, including $400,000 to a project in Suffolk County for a proposed bus rapid transit line.
“The TOD plan will enhance economic development, support enhanced transit ridership, facilitate multimodal connectivity, increase access to transit hubs, and create mixed-use development,” the FTA stated on its website.
Of course, New York City’s wide variety of neighborhoods that prosper because of their proximity to the subway are the most famous examples of TOD in the country. The MTA continues to support TOD, providing guidance and contacts to property owners and municipalities in support of TODs and promoting “development around rail stations that increase accessibility and provide housing, retail shops, office and public improvements,” on its website.
And according to Data for Progress (DP), 67 percent of voters in New York State approve of these developments. The time is ripe for the governor and the state legislature to come together and pass a housing compact in the FY24 budget that mandates TODs and eases zoning restrictions so walkable, environmentally friendly communities can finally flourish.