About Transit Oriented Communities

Effective TOC emphasizes both regional mobility and local accessibility, providing travel choices, supporting regional economic development goals and contributing to local livability goals. TOC primarily focuses on the density and mix of development near transit stations, relative to local context. Zoning for TOC promotes mixed uses within a neighborhood (horizontal mixed use) and within individual buildings, such as a multifamily residential building with retail on the ground floor (vertical mixed use). Walking and biking connections are prioritized, and regional transit connections are accessible.  This results in more destinations (jobs, stores, banks, restaurants, etc.) and housing units in a connected and compact area.

Being near something does not always mean it is easily accessed. Design and urban form are critical elements of TOC, ensuring that houses and destinations are well-connected to each other and to transit services. In a thoughtfully designed TOC area, the strong connectivity between land uses and a transit station promotes increased local walking and biking trips and more transit trips for longer distance travel. In areas with "transit adjacent" development, travel options are often limited. 

In the figure to the right, development in the upper right example is connected by a compact street network and the transit station is easily accessed. This is well-designed TOC. Development in the lower left example is characterized by large lots, circuitous connections over a sparse network of streets and a large parking lot separating jobs and residents from the transit station. This type of development may be near transit, but it is not effective TOC.

TOC is implemented over an entire transit station area rather than on a site-by-site basis. A station area is typically defined as the land area within a specified distance of a given transit station (usually one-quarter mile or one-half mile). More complex transit station area definitions may account for walking and/or bicycling times to the transit station, barriers to accessing the station or other factors affecting the ease with which the transit station can be reached from nearby developments. 

The TOCs Tool defines station areas as the half-mile radius around each station. Locations within the half-mile radius of multiple stations are included for all station areas they fall within. Although the station area is defined in this relatively simplistic way, walking and bicycling access metrics for each station support a more realistic analysis of “on-the-ground” accessibility, helping understand how easy it is to get to stations on foot or by bike. 

Like all land development processes, TOC evolves gradually over time. No two station areas are the same, nor will they evolve in the same way. Each station area has a distinct context and vision for future development; differing levels of market readiness; and varying relationships to the regional rapid transit network. Monitoring development trends and community characteristics in station areas over time helps localities assess the effectiveness of their adopted TOC implementation strategies, make local policy adjustments and coordinate with regional partners and/or neighboring jurisdictions to manage growth and support local and regional planning priorities. It is important to identify a clear set of TOC goals, objectives and supporting metrics to monitor TOC trends over time. 

The TOCs Tool focuses on four key aspects of TOC: 

• Economic Development: There must be development demand in TOC areas, aligning with regional economic development goals. Established TOC areas should provide a mix of jobs, while emerging TOC areas should offer developable land in accessible locations. Successful TOCs present attractive and resilient investment opportunities that sustain property value appreciation over time. The TOCs Tool provides data about development trends in SMART Plan corridors and station areas.

• Built Environment: TOCs offer land development patterns that support multimodal transportation investments, creating stations areas with a vibrant mix of uses at transit-supportive densities with a well-connected network of local streets. It is important to note that transit-supportive densities vary with community context and transit technology. The TOCs Tool provides data about development density, land use mix, and street connectivity in SMART Plan station areas and corridors.  

• Regional Travel: The SMART Plan envisions investment in six new rapid transit corridors in addition to Miami-Dade’s existing Metrorail and Metromover lines. The regional rapid transit network will provide access to jobs, shopping, schools, and services by transit from station areas. TOCs will bolster the ridership potential in each corridor and manage growth in vehicle miles of travel (VMT) across the region. The TOCs Tool tracks regional accessibility, ridership, VMT, average trip lengths, and related statistics describing regional travel in SMART Plan corridors and station areas. 

• Local Accessibility: The well-connected, compact development patterns associated with TOC present opportunities to make short trips by walking and biking for work, shopping, school, and recreation. Local access to key destinations complements the regional travel impacts of TOCs. The TOCs Tool provides data about walking and biking access to jobs and key destinations, parks and public spaces, last-mile access to SMART Plan stations, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities that make local travel safe and comfortable.