{"id":5405,"date":"2012-02-27T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2012-02-27T18:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingvancouver.ca\/?p=5405"},"modified":"2013-01-21T07:10:43","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T15:10:43","slug":"identifying-potential-areas-for-intensifying-transit-oriented-development-in-vancouver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/vancouver\/2012\/02\/27\/identifying-potential-areas-for-intensifying-transit-oriented-development-in-vancouver\/","title":{"rendered":"Identifying Areas for Transit-Oriented Development in Vancouver"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As many people may know, transit-oriented development (TOD) is emerging as a popular and influential planning idea across North American cities as a means of sustainable urban development. TOD is defined as moderate to high-density, mixed-use residential and commercial development located around a transit station or corridor. Representing the full integration of land use and transportation planning, it encourages a compact and pedestrian-oriented form where people are able to live, work and play in the same community.<\/p>\n

Given concerns of increasing urban sprawl and high ecological footprints, pursuing TOD has proven to be an effective way of concentrating growth on brownfields while generating and attracting transit ridership to shift mode share.<\/p>\n

In the City of Vancouver, the SkyTrain rapid transit system has shaped land use planning since its inception in 1985. While development that capitalizes on rapid transit has been successful in the downtown core, a simple ride on the train will clearly show that the stations beyond the peninsula have yet to pursue transit-oriented development to its full potential.<\/p>\n

With Vancouver’s projected population increase from about\u00a0578,041 in 2006 to 740,000 by 2041, it seems natural to concentrate future growth along transit corridors where surrounding neighbourhoods within station catchment areas would be able to benefit from a more complete and intense mix of residential, retail, office and community.<\/p>\n

Of course, this is often met with apprehension by the communities directly affected by such transformations. However, prioritizing densification along transit corridors can, and should, be done while preserving neighbourhood character within outlying single-family zoned districts. Successful climate change planning must consider the interest of the city at large and be contingent on the geographical circumstance.<\/p>\n

For example, high density development in a neighbourhood such as Dunbar would be unsuccessful in the short-term as there would be no existing locational advantage of being close to rapid transit. Concentrating resources towards creating successful TODs will serve as useful precedents to deepen public acceptance of more sustainable urban forms, especially given that concerns regarding neighbourhood character preservation often run high in single-family districts.<\/p>\n

At the larger scale, as automobile dependency decreases and transit ridership increases, the development of TOD along transit corridors make sustainable mode share and greenhouse gas reduction targets at the provincial (2007 BC Greenhouse Gas Reductions Target Act), regional (1999 GVRD Livable Region Strategic Plan) and municipal level (1997 Transportation Plan, Greenest City 2020 Action Plan) more attainable. Given the latter, assessing potential areas to improve and\/or optimize TOD in the city is becoming increasingly important for long-term planning.<\/p>\n

Towards this end, a multi-criteria evaluation<\/a> (MCE) was conducted to assess TOD performance in the City of Vancouver and identify potential SkyTrain station catchment areas within a proximity of 400, 600 and 800 meters that would benefit from intensifying and optimizing TOD.<\/p>\n

The MCE method is useful to decision-making since it is able to evaluate multiple and often conflicting criteria.\u00a0 Done in conjunction with the use of a Geographic Information System<\/a> (GIS), it can accommodate large amounts of information and provide a structured, traceable and flexible analysis: making a multi-criteria evaluation an effective spatial decision support tool in a multi-stakeholder environment. The models created can then be used by planners, politicians and the public in determining ideal solutions to regional, city, neighbourhood and community problems.<\/p>\n

For the purposes of my study, six criteria were selected. Four criteria were used from Statistics Canada\u2019s 2006 Census: population aged 15 to 24, household income less than $40,000, recent immigrants from 1996 to 2006 and low density housing (primarily single-detached). The fifth criteria was walkability derived from an index developed by Larry Frank and his team at the UBC Health and Community Design Lab<\/a>. Similarly, the final criteria was bikeability developed by Meghan Winters and her team at the UBC Cycling in Cities<\/a> research program.<\/p>\n

These criteria were selected to capture the social and physical dimensions of an ideal TOD.<\/p>\n

The 15 to 24 age group represents the most likely group to travel using sustainable modes. In Canada, 35.1% of this group across all major census metropolitan areas use sustainable transportation to travel to work. In Vancouver, they represents 36.7%. Similarly, recent immigrants are more likely to use public transit, even after controlling for demographic characteristics, income, commute distance and residential distance from the city centre.<\/p>\n

While TOD can be expensive to develop and generates a high demand and real estate value, it is very important to ensure future\u00a0transit-oriented developments in Vancouver are equitable and within reach of lower income households. As such, households that have an income of less than $40,000 – an approximate threshold for Vancouver\u2019s living wage of $18\/hour – were chosen. Station catchment areas that have a higher proportion of these census groups have a higher potential for TOD intensification.<\/p>\n

Single-detached family dwellings are characteristic of undesirable land use patterns in a\u00a0transit-oriented development due to the fact that they are typically low density and unable to support a cost-effective transit ridership rate. As classified by Statistics Canada, the presence of high proportions of seven housing types are favourable for TOD intensification:<\/p>\n