TOD For Urban Sustainability In Detroit, Michigan

TOD for Urban Sustainability in Detroit, Michigan

Introduction

Today most of the cities are faced with the problem of getting right the residential

density. Especially in places where the majority rely on vehicles as a mode of transport. In such

areas where the population density is high, TOD is suitable since it supports the development of

transit systems leading to a compressive coverage characterized with high accessibility. As

noted by Dittmar and Ohland (2012), in urban planning and sustainability, transit-oriented

development (TOD) is a development plan that maximizes business, residential and leisure

spaces. It can also refer the designing of an area with the intention of maximizing the access in a

bid to attain sustainable transportation and society as a whole. Promoting of compact

development around major public facilities encourages sustainable transportation by improving

the experiences of the pedestrians and increasing accessibility of the public transit systems

(Kamruzzaman et al., 2014). Therefore, TOD is a strategy that can be used in dense populations

like Detroit, Michigan.

Typically, it involves having centers like railway stations and bus stops surrounded by

high-density development with lower densities spreading outward. Dittmar and Ohland (2012),

contend that TOD involves designing an area for a maximum and sustainable transport system to

enhance the sustainability of the society as a whole. People can access important places in cities

where TOD has been implemented. They spend less time on the roads and do not require vehicle

travel. There are few traffic congestions. The paper reviews the use of TOD in Detroit to

improve urban sustainability. TOD has been used in the city to promote cultural sustainability

and improve the urban transport system. Detroit is used as an example to justify that planning

for compact growth of a city, rather than letting it sprawl out, greatly enhances its sustainability

and quality of the environment.

Background Information

When creating a TOD, several factors are taken into consideration, among them is

Proximity, which is an aspect of accessibility that emphasizes the need to have destinations near

individuals (Ratner & Goetz, 2013). The area is created based on the urban design

specifications. Increasingly, there is the use of regional planning techniques to shape and control

the growth of neighborhoods. The existing of compact development offers sufficient demand and

population to support transportation system in places with dense population. Generally, TODs

are located up to fifteen-minute walk from the main transit stop to increase location efficiency

and encourage residents to walk or use bikes. Renne (2009) argues that TOD has features that are

designed to encourage the use of public transport and differentiate urban development from city

sprawl. Example of the features including designing the neighborhood walking and cycling

paths. Streets of cities that have implement TOD have excellent connectivity with speed of

vehicles controlled through transport calming through techniques such as narrowing f streets.

The management of parking is efficient to reduce the size of the land devoted to parking. The

transit stations and stops are convenient, secure and comfortable.

A more intensive development promotes more walking and cycling within the

neighborhood, and with the addition of transit connections, it is possible to have auto-free access

to most parts of the metropolitan area. Having fewer automobiles in the city implies that there

are low fuel consumption, reduced pollution and people spending less on transportation. Renne

(2009) postulate that when a place is characterized as supportive of fewer transportation costs,

both the individuals and the community captures the monetary benefits. In short, Renne (2009)

suggests that TOD can be a vital part of the development paradigm that emphasis on

environmental and social sustainability, leading to high quality of life. TOD can also play a

major role in the preservation of existing historical neighborhoods and enhance proximity to

homes, shopping centers, and entertainment choices.

Need for TOD

Detroit has experienced a population decline over the years, and it is now arguably a

shrinking city (McDonald, 2014). The decline has led to an abundance of abandoned and vacant

properties. Accessibility was the primary goal of implementing TOD. The aim of TOD is to

have people access their destination with ease (Kamruzzaman et al., 2014). Besides, Proximity is

an aspect of accessibility that emphasizes the need to have destinations near individuals (Ratner

& Goetz, 2013). Therefore, TOD was a tool used as an interface between land use and transit.

Research Question

 How has Detroit Implemented and benefitted from TOD?

Research Objectives

a) To understand the TOD implementation process

b) To identify the current state of TOD in Detroit

c) To evaluate how the city has benefitted from TOD.

Methodology

This research involved both secondary and primary data. Secondary research was done

using various articles and publications on TOD in Detroit city. Primary research involved

interview, through phone call, where two individuals were contacted to provide more

information on the research topic. The reason why the interview was used was to confirm and

provide more insight on the data collected from secondary data. After collecting the needed data,

data analysis and interpretation was done. The results were compared and contrasted. The

analysis involved comparing the primary data with secondary research.

Findings and Discussion

The first Strategy for TOD in Detroit was to create a high density mixed development

along the central transit corridor. The high-density strategy was particularly used to increase

ridership within the city. Ecologically, Dutta (2014) observed that the creation of the high

density was beneficial since it led to reducing per-capita environmental effects compared to the

population with low density as it was before the implementation of TOD. The mixed-use of

development was vital in the creation of a walkable environment, which was one of the primary

goals of implementing TOD in the city. TOD turned the metropolitan Detroit into an area with

both commercial and residential use (Ignaszak, 2014), and this made it possible for people to

walk from home to work. The TOD radius was done based on the radius people were willing to

walk from their homes to the workstations (Da Silva et al., 2010).

The second strategy was to design the neighborhood so that it was possible for people to

either walk or use bicycles (Da Silva et al., 2010). Walking and bicycling are now the ideal

methods for people to get to their destination. These two modes of transportation are

advantageous compared to the automobiles due to fewer fuel needs, promote social interaction

and health and have zero emissions. In efforts to create walkable neighborhoods, it was

essential for the developers and the planners to increase connectivity while calming down the

traffic (Da Silva et al., 2010). The easing of traffic was done to reduce the movement and speed

on vehicles in the metropolitan region with most vehicles moving to places where there was no

traffic calming (Da Silva et al., 2010). The promotion of connectivity ensued that it was possible

for the pedestrians to walk from one point to another on a direct path while connecting to roads

using paths that vehicles could not use.

The management of the parking areas was also critical to the TOD program in Detroit.

Initially, parking areas within the central district were taking valuable land which could have

been used productively. The land recovered from parking after the implementation of TOD was

put to valuable use (Spring-Summer, 2013). Parking management made driving within the

metropolitan Detroit difficult and expensive for the motorists and encouraged the walking or

cycling. Various safety and shelter mechanism were put in place for the pedestrians.

Ignaszak (2014) argues that TOD was considered as a tool for economic development in

Detroit because it helps raise the value of property within the city. The commercial intensity and

residential density were also increased (Ignaszak, 2014). These effects, in turn, have created jobs

for the residents and the nonresidents, increased commercial activity, and the amount of property

tax was also increased. Although TOD offered various benefits including environmental and

social benefits, the economic benefits are the most outstanding.

The mitigation of dead zones also proved effective for Detroit (Da Silva et al., 2010).

First, it was essential to evaluate the land use within the city and identify the areas that were

responsible for the dead zone effect. By solving the problem of dead zones, on the targeted

corridors and large and vacant parking lots, Detroit was turned into a more legible and safer city.

The combination of various new designs that were linked by improved and new street conditions

expanded and contributed to a more unified scenery. Today the city scene is one that is

connected by place, unlike before where it was interrupted by dead zones. It was one strategy of

getting the people reinvested in Detroit’s experience. As noted by Anderson (2011), the new

TOD plan for Detroit created an arguably dense corridor full of multi-use and opportunities. The

corridor is now the foundation of Detroit planning, reflecting both the current situation in the city

as well as the future transit-oriented growth. The Detroit streets are now a destination that brings

together individuals from different parts of the city (Spring-Summer, 2013). The proximity of

the neighborhood to other areas are currently not only through one single transit point as it was

previously, but also along transit corridors connecting various transit options (Dutta, 2014).

As observed by (Dutta, 2014), rather than letting the vacant spaces everywhere that were

almost reverting into a natural landscape, a new zone called “productive’ for these areas was

proposed. The new zone included various productive land use that would not lead to nuisance.

Example of land use is recreation, commercial and residential use. The reasoning behind

productive areas was that any land use was much better and productive than no use at all, as long

as it creates no interference to the residents and the pedestrians. Zoning of areas allowed people

the flexibility to use the land creatively which was impossible under the traditional land use.

Fixed development for maximum land use (Dutta, 2014)

According to Da Silva et al. (2010), the first design challenge experienced during the

implementation of TOD was to scale down the experience of the main street in the central

business district, Woodward Avenue, into a more conducive and comfortable place for the

pedestrians. Approximately 170 feet wide or ten feet wider than a normal football pitch, the

street created ample room for the incorporation of station platforms in the center of the street. As

a way of escaping the feeling of separation, a new station park was developed to expand the train

line width. Today there are long linear park spaces with welcoming sights that invite the

pedestrians and cyclists visually with trees that have created an open woodland in the middle of

Woodward Avenue (Dutta, 2014).

Trees along Woodward Ave. (Dutta, 2014)

The riders using the train can now experience the benefits of TOD as they pass between

the trees, an experience that is seldom lacking in a major and busty city like Detroit. The

remaining part of the urban asphalt could still accommodate several lanes and parking lanes.

Vehicles can still use the outer route efficiently. By having multiple transits on Woodward

Avenue, the number of users also increased to maximally take advantage of the vast space that

was there before. The more the users on Woodward Avenue increased, the more appealing and

safe it became (Dutta, 2014). The developments brought to an end the previous feelings of

emptiness with public streets gaining diversity as TOD began taking shape.

Conclusion

In brief, the use of TOD has raised the value of the adjacent properties and increased

ridership. TOD has also led to the preservation of existing historic neighborhoods, Increases in

traffics are now minimal. Additionally, the quality of life is high with the city becoming more

environmentally and socially sustainable. The development has led to sustainable transportation

that is beneficial to the community. Effective land use is now possible with more prime

properties coming up along the rail system. Various barriers often hinder the implementation of

new TOD programs. In order, to overcome these obstacles, it was necessary to use various sets

of techniques and mechanisms.

References

Anderson, H. (2011). Greater downtown TOD strategy. Downtown Detroit Org. Retrieved from

http://downtowndetroit.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/20120119_Greater-Downtown-

TOD-Strategy_Executive-Summary-1.pdf

De Silva, L., Krueger, A., Lee, A., Mansoor, P., & Seelye, K. (2010). Transit-Oriented

Development in Detroit.

Dittmar, H., & Ohland, G. (Eds.). (2012). The new transit town: best practices in transit-oriented

development. Island Press.

Duncan, M. (2011). The impact of transit-oriented development on housing prices in San Diego,

CA. Urban studies, 48(1), 101-127.

Dutta, U. (2014). Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in Metro Detroit (No. CA-MNTRC-14-

1136). https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/RC1599E_455990_7.pdf

Ignaszak, N. (2014). Detroit, get ready for transit-oriented development. Available at

http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/transitdevelopment12114.aspx

Kamruzzaman, M., Wood, L., Hine, J., Currie, G., Giles-Corti, B., & Turrell, G. (2014). Patterns

of social capital associated with transit oriented development. Journal of Transport

Geography, 35, 144-155.

McDonald, J. F. (2014). What happened to and in Detroit? Urban Studies, 51(16), 3309-3329.

Ratner, K. A., & Goetz, A. R. (2013). The reshaping of land use and urban form in Denver through

transit-oriented development. Cities, 30, 31-46.

Renne, J. L. (2009). From transit-adjacent to transit-oriented development. Local

Environment, 14(1), 1-15.

Spring-Summer. (2013). A plan of our time. Retrieved from http://opportunitydetroit.com/wp-

content/themes/Opportunity_Detroit/assets/APlanforOurTime-Sm2.pdf

Zheng, H., & Peeta, S. (2015). Network design for personal rapid transit under transit-oriented

development. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 55, 351-362.

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