New Report Released Finds Growing Demand for Housing near Transit
As hundreds of transit activists assembled in Chicago for the 2006 Rail~volution conference, which ended on Wednesday, CNT released a new report highlighting the growing demand for diverse housing near transit, in conjunction with Reconnecting America and Strategic Economics –the partners in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
The study reveals the significant diversity – economically and racially – currently present in transit-served neighborhoods, or transit zones, and suggests that additional development of mixed-income, mixed-race housing in these areas would respond to growing demand for affordable and livable communities while also providing numerous benefits to cities, regions, and the environment.
The study of 41 regions ─ 32 regions with transit and 9 regions planning it ─ entitled Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods was funded by the Ford Foundation and highlights data on neighborhoods near transit today and the demand for such neighborhoods by 2030.
The current picture reveals a presence of diversity by race and/or income in transit neighborhoods – whether urban or suburban – that surpasses the diversity of the surrounding neighborhoods and overall regions. Projections to 2030 indicate that 16 million households – compared to 6 million currently living near transit in 2000 – will want to live near transit and that low-to-moderate income households represent a significant portion of the future demand.
For more information on the new report, you can read the press release and fact sheet here and the Summary Report of Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods here.
