THE BALANCED AND ORDERLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A METRO STATION AS A CONTRIBUTOR TO A MORE HEALTHY AND ECONOMICALLY VIABLE URBAN ENVIRONMENT IN THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA

The relationship between construction of rapid mass transportation and surrounding land use and property valuation is traced. The fundamental conclusion drawn from this analysis is that increased accessibility (provided by transit) shifts human activities to the most accessible locations, promoting more intensive land use and subsequently greater land values. Data collected from the San Francisco and Toronto examples are discussed in support of this contention. Photographs showing the changes in land use before and after transit construction are provided. In San Francisco, the method employed was incentive zoning of land adjacent to the proposed BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system. Zoning regulations were carefully planned to stimulate desired patterns of land use and construction, enforced by law. In Toronto, less formal control were established under which the municipality acquired wide strips of land in which transit rights-of-way were to be located. Surplus land was then parceled out by the municipality for private development on a long-term lease basis, pending approval of a regional planning body. A comprehensive description is provided of the North Bethesda, Md., site, with reference to existing land use, assessed valuation, and zoning. Potential growth and development are examined.

• Corporate Authors:

  Consortium of Universities

  Urban Transportation Center, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Langfield, S C
• Publication Date: 1971-6

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commuter service; Railroad stations; Rapid transit
• Identifier Terms: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Railroads; Society; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00044183
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Urban Mass Transportation Administration
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jun 15 1974 12:00AM