# 8 standards for transit oriented development

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2014-11-12

architect-this-city, atc, athiscity, biking, compact, cycling, density, list, mixed-use, principles, standards, tod, transit, transit-oriented-development, transportation, uncategorized, urbanism, walking

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Recently in the comment section of ATC, [Lloyd Alter of Treehugger](https://twitter.com/lloydalter) shared a great article talking about [the 8 principles of Transit Oriented Development (TOD)](http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/transit-oriented-development-key-better-cities.html). “TOD” is one of those buzzwords (or buzz acronyms?) that gets thrown around a lot in city building and real estate circles. But I suspect that most people don’t exactly know what it takes to design and build successful TOD projects and neighborhoods.

Which is why the [Institute for Transportation and Development Policy](https://www.itdp.org/what-we-do/eight-principles/) came up with these 8 standards:

1.  WALK: Develop neighborhoods that promote walking
    
2.  CYCLE: Prioritize non-motorized transport networks
    
3.  CONNECT: Create dense networks of streets and paths
    
4.  TRANSIT: Locate development near high-quality public transport
    
5.  MIX: Plan for mixed use
    
6.  DENSIFY: Optimize density and transit capacity
    
7.  COMPACT: Create regions with short commutes
    
8.  SHIFT: Increase mobility by regulating parking and road use
    

What should be apparent from this list is that the standards are quite clearly stacked against cars. Number 2 is about prioritizing non-motorized transport networks. And number 8 is about regulating parking use and road use. It’s about making a decision who you are planning for and acknowledging that when you do all of the above, you largely eliminate the need for driving.

If you’re a “war on the car” kind of person, this might offend you. But if you look at [the data I shared about a week ago](http://brandondonnelly.com/post/101649368883/who-are-you-planning-for) (forgive me, I know the chart is a pain to read), you’ll see that it’s seemingly pretty difficult to design a city that’s equally great for both cars and for people. The cities where people love to walk, cycle, and take transit are precisely the ones where few people drive.

_Image:_ [_Flickr_](https://www.flickr.com/photos/josemanuelerre/4925587085)

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/8-standards-for-transit-oriented-development)*