CNT commends Blair Kamin for his excellent article on transit-oriented development (TOD) in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. He focuses on the new apartment building at 1611 W. Division, across from the Milwaukee/Division Blue Line station, that does not include a parking garage. Kamin’s article does an excellent job of highlighting an issue that the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has worked hard on advancing smart TOD.

In 2013, CNT published a report on TOD in the Chicago Region that showed that between 2000 and 2010 the number of housing units around transit stations increased more slowly than in neighborhoods away from the system.  This contrasted dramatically with other regions with extensive legacy transit systems – places like New York, Boston, and the San Francisco Bay Area – which sprawled less and grew around transit more.

We identified six locations in the region where TOD is being successfully pursued as a matter of public policy, places as diverse as the Grand/State Red Line station, the Orland Park 143^rd Street Metra station, and the Berwyn Depot District.  Each place has its own character, but they share a commitment to compact, walkable, amenity rich development around transit that gives residents the opportunity to use their cars less and reduce their environmental footprint.

As Kamin points out, a different approach to cars and parking is key to a successful urban design.  CNT has worked with King County, Washington to develop a web-based tool that developers and planners can use to determine the actual demand for parking in any new building as a function of its distance from transit.  It was based on middle-of-the-night visits to dozens of parking garages to determine the number of unused parking spaces.

For the past three years, CNT has been working with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) to target public and private investments to Priority Development Areas, originally recommended in Prospering in Place. Targeted transportation, housing, and economic development investments can help accelerate TOD at more than 80 stations that already have a TOD plan. CMAP has led the way in targeting its Congestion Management and Air Quality program to TODs this year.

But our city and region still needs to build more TOD, and help it keep it affordable for everybody. Chicago’s TOD Ordinance covers less than 1 percent of the city’s land area. And Chicago recently created new bonuses for TOD that emphasize affordability, but bolder steps can be taken.

1611 W. Division is a great building. CNT is working to ensure our city can build more like it and keep it affordable to everybody.

We encourage residents to urge their locally elected leaders to work together to improve zoning codes, reduce parking requirements and target transportation investments to TOD areas.