From Transactional to Transformative: The Case for Equity in Gateway City Transit-Oriented Development

Published Date : May 18, 2020

Transformative Transit-Oriented Development recognizes that equity is the key to transforming cities and towns in Massachusetts, and the country.

In Massachusetts, a decades long economic boom has not always reached Gateway Cities, yielding uneven growth and investment that have deepened inequities across places, races, classes and cultures. The coronavirus pandemic has amplified these disparities.

To address uneven growth, policy leaders turned to transit-oriented development, the practice of developing property near a transit station. But without intentional efforts to improve quality of life or economic opportunity for residents, uneven growth and inequities persist – especially in Gateway Cities.

MassINC is proud to build on our 2018 introduction to Transformative Transit-Oriented Development (TTOD) with a new report, From Transactional to Transformative: The Case for Equity in Gateway City Transit-Oriented Development. With this update, we encourage local leaders, policymakers, and Gateway City residents to address uneven development across the state and to tackle inequity in all its dimensions.

In this report, you will find a framework of how equity can help cities, particularly Gateway Cities, transform their regions through TTOD. The report includes an overview of Gateway City challenges and pathways to addressing them through state and local policies and practices.
 

 

Meet The Authors

Tracy A. Corley, PhD

Transit-Oriented Development Fellow, MassINC

Ben Forman

Research Director, MassINC

Elizabeth Haney

Research Associate, MassINC

Our sponsors