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Transit-Oriented Development, Jobs and Economic Development

Today the Center for Transit-Oriented Development released a pair of studies exploring the impact of job sprawl and the importance of linking employment centers with transit. 

American cities have experienced significant employment decentralization over the last 60 years as jobs have shifted from urban downtowns to suburban communities. This “employment sprawl” has helped to generate much of the traffic congestion experienced today, swelled infrastructure costs, consumed open space and increased the bite that transportation takes out of household incomes.





The second report, “Transit and Regional Economic Development,” focuses primarily on the location decisions of employers. The report analyzes the degree to which different industry sectors are currently attracted to transit-rich locations and examines the character of employment clusters near transit.

"The outcome of this analysis is a better understanding of the types of industries that may have a greater propensity to be transit-oriented," explained Sujata Srivastava, lead author and principal with Strategic Economics. "This paper is intended to provide a framework for how the coordination of regional economic development, land use and transportation planning efforts can better promote healthy, high-functioning regions.

Both reports were supported with funding from the Federal Transit Administration.

We also have a featured topic page that gathers together many of our resources on TOD and Employment