Are All Transit Stations Equal and Equitable? Calculating Sustainability, Livability, Health, & Equity Performance of Smart Growth & Transit-Oriented-Development (TOD)

While “Smart Growth”, Transit-Oriented-Development, and “Livability" have been around for years, little research has provided a framework to measure and understand their performance so transit planners can realize key sustainability, livability, health, and equity outcomes. In response, this paper builds on literature and practice to evaluate over 350 light rail stations throughout the US, using smart growth, livability, and Transportation/Land-use Coordination (TLC) principles. Using recently developed Livability and Smart Growth Equity calculators (http://bit.ly/SmartGrowthEquity), and a smart growth/livability place-typology framework, this research assesses and grades “livability opportunity access” performance of these station areas along such key dimensions as regional/local access to jobs, services, transit, walkability. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods, the authors show the significant associations between this livability access and the potential for realizing key quality-of-life benefits important for both individuals and society. But are all people able to equitably access these livability opportunities around transit so they can work towards realizing their desired quality of life? This study provides a unique evaluation of urban quality performance related to Transportation Land-use Coordination (TLC), “Smart Growth” and “New Urbanism. The authors find stations with higher levels of livability opportunity access to be significantly associated with key quality of life outcomes for individuals and society, such as lower rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, driving, carbon emissions, and even lower poverty and unemployment. These higher-performing stations also have higher rates of walking, bicycling, transit use associated with lower household transportation costs which offset higher housing costs. Unfortunately, these stations are not socio-economically inclusive – in sum, all stations are not equal, or equitable. Using livability-opportunity-access-assessments with livability ethics, the authors recommend transportation and land-use agencies coordinate policies to provide equitable access to opportunities so all people can pursue and realize sustainability, livability, health, and equity outcomes for themselves and society.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2019.100584
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140517300166
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/22141405
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Appleyard, Bruce S
  • Frost, Alexander R
  • Allen, Christopher
• Publication Date: 2019-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Serial:
  • Journal of Transport & Health
  • Volume: 14
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 2214-1405
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22141405

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Equity; Land use planning; Light rail transit; Livability; Quality of life; Smart growth; Transit oriented development; Walkability
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01714096
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 20 2019 11:46AM