Affordable Housing and Transit: A City-by-City Series

Public transportation and affordable housing are natural complements. When combined, affordable housing near transit can reduce resident dwelling expenses while also reducing their transportation costs— a win-win for residents and an opportunity for more people to afford a higher quality of life. Moreover, transit-oriented development (TOD) can encourage more transit ridership, thus reducing congestion, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and improving the financial performance of transit agencies.

While TOD can improve access and mobility, it can also increase housing prices, which poses the risk of gentrification. Identifying mechanisms to encourage TOD that incorporates affordable housing on site is a potentially valuable strategy to promote the fiscal and environmental health of communities across the United States.

This series examines how agencies across the country navigate the world of affordable housing and transit, including how they coordinate housing, land-use, and transportation policies, barriers they encounter, and key lessons learned. Each case study draws on local data and policy documents to provide a detailed and comparative account of TOD and affordable housing in a particular region.