October 25, 2010
The classifieds in this issue offer a wide variety of high-level professional opportunities!
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First-of-Its-Kind National TOD Database Launched
The Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD)—a partnership among Reconnecting America, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), and Strategic Economics, and funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)—launched a first-of-its-kind TOD database Oct. 18 at Rail~Volution in Portland, OR, to provide access to comprehensive information about more than 4,000 transit zones across the U.S. By using this resource, developers, investors, and city officials will be able to take advantage of development opportunities around transit nodes.
The database provides information on density, demographics, occupation, and transportation habits of households near 4,160 existing and proposed fixed guideway transit stations—from Honolulu to Portland, ME—and includes commuter rail, streetcars, light rail, bus rapid transit, and ferries. It synthesizes 40,000 data fields at half-mile and quarter-mile buffers around fixed rail stations to create maps of various transit regions and data reports for stations of interest. Users can also query data by geography or demographics.
FTA Deputy Administrator Therese McMillan said her agency’s goal in supporting the database “is to partner with communities that want to develop smart transportation solutions that will inspire new economic development, reduce congestion and our dependence on oil, and help connect people with work, school, or the doctor’s office. Having the best data available at your fingertips will help cities, neighborhoods, and developers, achieve the goal of a more livable, walkable community that benefits all of their residents.”
“We created the TOD Database as a one-stop shop for information on TOD to encourage more transit-focused communities in the marketplace,” added CNT President Scott Bernstein. “We’ve provided research … for smart development decisions that are good for people’s pocketbooks and the economy.”
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