About

Through research, data tools, and partnerships, Urban’s transit-oriented development (TOD) work offers key insights and evidence-based best practices that help communities create more vibrant, livable, and affordable neighborhoods near transit.

Our vision

• Increasing access to housing near transit for all families—no matter their income—without displacing existing communities.
• Boosting transit ridership and reducing pollution by creating vibrant, walkable communities around stations.
• Maximizing public resources to ensure planning for housing, land use, and public transportation improves residents’ quality of life.

What we do

We conduct rigorous research to identify best practices for advancing TOD, including:

• Collaborating with the Washington State Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee to analyze potential for TOD throughout the state and identifying economic feasibility barriers for TOD projects.
• Evaluating how Nashville could encourage additional TOD around its planned bus rapid transit lines.
• Creating guides for states and localities on how to track TOD performance.
• Assisting Chicago’s Metropolitan Planning Council with an evaluation of its zoning policies, with a focus on transit areas.

We create datasets and interactive tools that fill gaps in public data and provide changemakers with insights on how to address challenges in their communities. We use state-of-the-art methods to generate innovative datasets that help leaders evaluate their policy decisions. We’ve also developed an interactive map and data tool demonstrating how zoning changes could make homes near transit possible.

We work with state and local policymakers and other stakeholders to help them understand who makes decisions about TOD in their communities. This includes:

• Working with Minnesota’s Metropolitan Council to revise its TOD policy, with the goal of maximizing opportunities for development near the Twin Cities’ light rail and bus rapid transit stations.
• Helping metropolitan planning organizations throughout the US coordinate their transportation and housing policies.
• Conducting a national survey of metropolitan planning organizations and investigating how well they represent their constituents.