Transit Oriented Development: A Vehicle for Great Streets and Great Sidewalks

Source: Torti Gallas

Neal Payton, AIA
Expert Commentary
August 2009, Urban LAndscape

"For too long, federal policy has actually encouraged sprawl and congestion and pollution, rather than quality public transportation and smart, sustainable development..."
President Barack Obama, July 13, 2009

As if we needed more evidence that there's a new sheriff in town, comes this bold comment from President Barack Obama while addressing a White House urban affairs summit in which he called for the "reinvention" of America's cities and metropolitan areas and vowed to spark a public conversation to create a "new, imaginative, bold vision" for urban policy. What if that bold vision, included an elegant, vibrant and joyful public realm, characterized by great streets and enabled by a robust policy of Transit Oriented Development, or better yet: Mobility Oriented Development (MOD)?

It is safe to say that all but the most skeptical would consider a commitment to Transit Oriented Development, characterized by equal parts Density, Diversity and Design, to be part of a bold vision for a sustainable Los Angeles. I would argue that TOD (or MOD) should not be the end in itself, but a means to an end. Imagine great public spaces where opportunities to sustain public life become numerous. Then focus on great sidewalks, an integral part of great streets, which in turn are the major constituent of public space. As the most intimate of public spaces inhabited by individuals, sidewalks are where we have our most visceral experiences of the city. TOD represents not only an opportunity to put density near transit, but possibly as importantly, to remake the public realm creating a city of great streets and great sidewalks.

Yet, many of us in the area have repeatedly been thwarted in our attempts to build in such a manner due to existing zoning regulations, bureaucratic inertia, and well-organized groups of NIMBYs masquerading as environmentalists. Why? Perhaps the answer lies in our focus on the first of those ingredients-density. Too little time is spent on considering and promoting the other two-diversity and design. While many of the NIMBYs can never be won over, others are merely worried that the scale of new development will overwhelm them and diminish the quality of the public realm. Frankly, who can blame them?

"High-Density" development too often appears monolithic, insular and just plain in-human. Separated from its context so completely, it often appears to have dropped from the sky. Such projects may come with lush landscapes, carefully placed solar panels, sculptural shards, and the latest in high tech glazing systems. However, such "experiments" do not in themselves render the density any less blunt to surrounding neighbors and planning commission members whose conversations still focus on number of stories, dwelling units, acres or floor area ratio (FAR).

This is not to say that density is not an important part of the equation. We need to think more creatively at density solutions that are idiosyncratic, site specific, and pedestrian friendly. We need to champion a robust and finely grained mix of uses that supports vibrant sub-neighborhoods and even blocks. On any given block, we might think of the buildings or parts of buildings as having individual densities, some high and some low, that when aggregated create a blended density consistent with pro forma expectations without looking monolithic.

Dealing with density in more creative ways brings us to the question of design. I am not referring to the design of an individual building, its style or its likelihood of appearing in Dwell Magazine. Rather, design as conveying a value system that prioritizes the spatial experience of the street in general and the sidewalk in particular as the primary elements of the public realm. In this domain, adequate space must be given to the sidewalk gently embracing it with buildings and landscapes that are pleasant and welcoming. Lining this space are buildings that are not monolithic in height or façade, but deferential to their neighbors. Buildings that are not iconic in themselves, but are hybridized and part of the fabric that frames a great street-enablers of an iconic space.

By design I am also referring urban transparency where a pedestrian has the opportunity of not looking at blank walls, parking garages or endless lengths of unbroken facades. Rather, it is a condition in which a pedestrian's experience is continuously stimulated by views into storefronts and courtyards, or through landscapes to spaces beyond or between buildings where paseos grant access to more recessed courtyards or private spaces.

By diversity I mean that TODs not be considered in terms of individual buildings. Instead think of neighborhoods containing a robust mix of uses and price points. City governments need to be encouraged to adopt more flexible zoning rules that allow for that diversity to emerge, but at the same time be vigilant against allowing the formation of a mono-culture of one use under the guise of "market forces." Such diverse development provides a more round-the-clock set of experiences. This spreads out the traffic and utilizes resources more efficiently, while allowing people to live, work, shop and play within a walkable area.

How important are the attributes of diversity and design? Aside from the fact that the greenest cities in the nation tend to be the densest and the most walkable and functionally diverse, the latter is a function of the pedestrian-orientation in the design of their buildings and landscapes. In fact these characteristics are synergistic. A recent study from the Center for American Progress provides listings of the "greenest" cities by transit use and walkability. Interestingly, one city making the "greenest" list was Philadelphia, hardly a city where one finds solar panels on every roof yet it is a place in which a two-mile walk feels like a short stroll, because the character of the urban spatial experience-embodied in the street and sidewalk-is so charming.

As Los Angeles and the surrounding region continues to grow upward, in response to the need for density surrounding all of the new transit opportunities under construction, city leaders and advocates alike should all make sure that this growth also focuses downward-toward the street and the sidewalk. This is the place where people inhabit the city, where they walk, bike and engage in the daily activities of public life. Every new building designed to support a pattern of transit oriented development, should aim to frame and enhance that spatial experience and contribute to the ensemble that ultimately becomes a sustainable city.

Neal Payton, AIA, LEED-AP, is a Principal at Torti Gallas and Partners, Inc. and directs its west coast office in Downtown Los Angeles.