Comparing Transit-Oriented Development Sites by Walkability Indicators

Abstract

Transit-oriented development (TOD) represents an integrated approach to transportation and land use planning. An often unspoken but key component to TOD theory is pedestrian access between the transit stop and the immediately surrounding area. Understanding the opportunities for pedestrian movement should be a key component in understanding and evaluating TOD projects. The TOD-pedestrian link is addressed by using 12 geographic information system (GIS) based walk-ability measures, within two geographic scales, and across 11 TOD sites in Portland, Oregon, to visualize and quantify the pedestrian environments at each site. The main addition to the larger research on TOD and pedestrian access is the classification of the street network into pedestrian-friendly and pedestrian-hostile categories. Subsequent analysis based on this refined street data is conducted to identify the quantity of different street types, densities of "good" intersections and dead ends, and the catchment areas pedestrians are likely able to reach. The presence and location of pedestrian-hostile streets have a significant, negative influence on the pedestrian environment surrounding transit stops, often cutting off more-pedestrian-friendly environments from the transit stops. The three primary sections include a comparative TOD ranking, a detailed explanation (visual, quantitative, and textual) of the relationships between individual walkability measures and overall TOD rankings, and a presentation of possible refinements for future GIS-based walkability analysis.