Tuesdays at APA: The Purple Line Coalition in Suburban Maryland - Why TOD Is Not Enough

Transit oriented development has become the holy grail of land
use and transportation planners. The logic of concentrating both
residential and commercial growth at transit stations —
especially rail transit stations — is compelling and has ample
empirical support. There is also evidence that transit
accessibility increases property values near stations and that
mixed use, high density development near stations increases
transit ridership.


But investments in transit are designed to move riders through a
transit corridor, thus the success of transit investments should
be measured at the corridor, not the station, level. In this
presentation, Professor Gerrit Knaap, director of the National
Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, introduced
the newly formed Purple Line Corridor Coalition.


The goal of the coalition is to assure that investments in the
purple line transit corridor achieve more than transit oriented
development but serve as a stimulus for sustainable and equitable
economic development throughout the corridor without displacing
affordable housing or small businesses.