TOD Research & Publications

Below you will find a list of resources that provide a more comprehensive definition of transit-oriented development, and describe unique ways communities have incorporated TOD into their transportation and land use plans. The list of resources begin with FTA funded research and end with research sponsored by non-profits and other stakeholder groups.

Recent FTA Funded Resources

• Making Joint Development Work: Perspectives from the Federal, Transit Agency and Business Roles
• TOD 205: Families And Transit-Oriented Development - Creating Complete Communities For All
• National Transit-Oriented Development Best Practices Database
• Mixed-Income TOD Action Guide
• The Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD) is a national nonprofit created by the 2005 SAFETEA-LU, dedicated to providing best practices, research and tools to support market-based transit-oriented development.
  • CTOD Publications and Research Papers
  • CTOD Plans and Strategies
  • CTOD Webinar Series
  • Educational Booklet Series on Transit Oriented Development
  • National TOD Database

TOD Foundational research

• TCRP 102 – Transit-Oriented Development in the United States: Experiences, Challenges and Prospects (2004)
• TCRP 128 – Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking, and Travel (2008)
• TCRP Legal Research Digest 36 – Transit-Oriented and Joint Development: Case Studies and Legal Issues (2011)
• Hidden in Plain Sight: Capturing the Demand for Housing Near Transit 
• Better Coordination of Transportation and Housing Programs to Promote Affordable Housing Near Transit

Other FTA Funded Resources

• TCRP and NCHRP reports:
  • List of TOD-related TCRP reports
  • List of TOD-related NCHRP reports
  • TCRP Report 95 Chapter 17: Transit Oriented Development: Report published by TRB and sponsored by FTA that explores the TOD land use strategy and its transportation impacts in terms of regional context, land use mix, and primary transit mode.
• TOD Lessons Learned: Results of FTA’s Listening Sessions With Developers, Bankers, and Transit Agencies on transit oriented development.
• Childcare Services at Transit Stations: 2005 report on successful examples of childcare facilities at public transit centers.
• TOD Lessons Learned: Results of FTA’s Listening Sessions With Developers, Bankers, and Transit Agencies on TOD
• Building Livable Communities with Transit: “Planning, Developing, and Implementing Community-Sensitive Transit”; part of the FTA’s Livable Communities Initiative in the 1990s

• Land Use Impacts of Bus Rapid Transit: Effects of BRT Station Proximity on Property Values along the Pittsburgh Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway

TOD Programs of State DOTs and Regions

• The Role of State DOTs in Support of Transit-Oriented Development: Final Report of Task 20 of NCHRP Project 25-25, as requested by the AASHTO Standing Committee on the Environment.
• California TOD Searchable Database: Database that allows the user to access and search detailed information on TODs in California.
• Envision Utah TOD Resource Guide: Handbooks for understanding, designing, and implementing transit-oriented development and creating distinct and walkable communities (links near bottom of page).
• The History of Envision Utah: Includes the role that transit-oriented development is playing in shaping the community and affecting economic growth.
• RTD - Denver Transit Oriented Development
• MTC (Bay Area) TOD page