Even in these uncertain times there is one hot topic within real estate and community development markets: Transit-oriented development.

Transit-oriented development, or TOD, is new development located within walking distance of a transit station – whether bus, ferry or rail. It results in a pedestrian-oriented environment, which leads to higher transit-ridership and more valuable neighborhoods.

TOD has many benefits. Developers and property owners enjoy competitive advantages in marketing locations where residents and employees save themselves time and money by living and working without cars. Officials setting public land use and infrastructure policy promote the efficient use of land, and a reduction in fuel use and the associated costs of an extended roadway infrastructure. Environmental advocates extol the benefits of reduced “vehicle miles traveled.” Transit authorities see increased ridership and the ability to redevelop their unneeded land assets (or air rights) as neighborhoods with transit stations become more attractive to developers.

In Massachusetts, the opportunities for TOD are a fundamental part of the planned extension of the South Coast Rail that will connect New Bedford, Fall River and other communities to the MBTA’s network. The Boston region enjoys one of the most extensive transit networks in the nation, with many of its neighborhoods and communities historically being built around trolley lines and train stations. Adding additional development at transit nodes is a common-sense extension of this pattern.

Framingham Revitalization

While TOD is springing up in many locations around New England today, some communities are looking toward TOD as a long-term opportunity for revitalizing the areas around existing commuter rail stations.

Framingham, for example, is advancing concepts to reorganize the tangle of rail lines in the town center and open underutilized land to bring residential and mixed-use development along its waterfront. The plan envisions housing and offices clustered around the commuter rail station, a new lakefront park, consolidated parking, and the adaptive re-use of the downtown’s historic buildings.

In Massachusetts, 40R Zoning has been established, referring to applicable sections of the Massachusetts General Laws. In essence, communities can receive grants if they adopt 40R Zoning to establish the ability to create new development at relatively high densities in locations well-served by transit.

Challenges Remain

But TOD is not without its challenges. Even though it is a smart growth strategy that many people support in concept, it brings a concentration of new development and its associated impacts to sites. Neighbors may be resistant to change.

There are also practical planning, design and financial challenges, including the ironic issue of vehicle parking and traffic around TOD sites. While TOD generates less traffic than would occur in other locations, new housing and office development still requires parking. When combined with the traffic and parking demand associated with a transit station, the total accumulation of cars can be expensive and difficult to accommodate in a financially sound and aesthetically appropriate manner.

Transit-oriented development is integral to the future of many of our urban and suburban communities. The success of TOD projects will depend upon their ability to address site-specific constraints and transform station areas into attractive, pedestrian-oriented places that can overcome local resistance to increased density.

Steven Cecil is principal of The Cecil Group, a multi-disciplinary planning and design firm based in Boston. The Cecil Group has contributed its professional expertise in transit-oriented development in many communities throughout the Northeast, includinging Framingham. E-mail: scecil@cecilgroup.com