TDM Strategy | Land Use

Transit Oriented Development Overview

Transit Oriented Development brings housing, jobs, retail, services, civic destinations, and public spaces within a comfortable walking, bicycling, or rolling distance of transit, while also aligning the street network, parking, and micromobility infrastructure to make transit an easy and practical choice for everyday trips. TOD/TOC are not isolated approaches to TDM, rather these are a comprehensive method that requires formal, constant deliberation among land use, zoning, transit, street design, parking and housing. Successful TOD requires coordination among local governments, transit agencies, developers, property owners, community members, and other partners to integrate land use, transportation, and development planning. TDM benefit depends on more than locating development near transportation: supportive land uses, density, connected streets, pedestrian-oriented design, and appropriate parking are needed to make those options practical for everyday trips.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

• VMT and GHG reductions from TOD are closely linked as the housing concentration, employment, shopping, and other destinations around high-quality transit, TOD encourages more trips to be made by transit, walking, bicycling, and other shared modes, while reducing reliance on SOVs.
• The TDM benefits of TOD stem from coordinating land use, transit, street design, parking, and housing so that more daily trips can be made without relying on SOVs.
• Street and site connectivity, safe crossings, building orientation, public spaces, and other design features determine whether transit and nearby destinations are convenient to reach without driving. Local governments can support these conditions through zoning and land use regulations, station area planning, development standards, parking reform, infrastructure investment, incentives, and partnerships with transit agencies and developers.

Project Examples

• Mariposa District/South Lincoln Redevelopment- Urban

  • This $197 million dollar project is a mixed-income redevelopment near 10th and Osage light rail station located in Denver. The project transformed a previous public housing building into a transit oriented neighborhood, with community service uses, pedestrian connections, open spaces, and near access to the light rail. The redevelopment supports more walkable, mixed-use urban environment areas within high density areas. The South Lincoln development shows that communities can retrofit an existing neighborhood, and that a TOD approach works for new and established planning developments. In addition to the emphasis that mix-use and mix-income neighborhoods allow accessibility to all residents that benefit most from accessible transportation options.

• RidgeGate/Lone Tree City Center- Suburban

  • The RidgeGate planning development is a master-planned suburban extension in Lone Tree, aiming to expand a suburban area into a modern transit centric district. The development, built over multiple decades, includes housing, employment, shopping, dining, parks, trails, and civic infrastructural assets. Lone Tree City Center is a blueprint for a community walkable downtown, as it is built to focus on strong transit access, pedestrian-friendly streets, and multimodal connections. The City Center area includes two RTD light rail stations, a park-n-ride garage, public space, residential development, and planned commercial and civic uses.

• Frisco Granite Park Workforce Housing- Rural

  • Granite park is a 22-unit workforce housing development forged through a partnership between the city of Frisco and CDOT. Located in the core of Frisco, where public transportation, commerce, pedestrian infrastructure and recreation areas all collide. Placing workforce housing developments near TODs of this kind allows housed employees to more easily access restaurants, popular services, shops, and trails. Addressing the need for affordable housing near employment opportunities and services can generate behavior mode shifts and reduce long vehicle trips. The Granite Park development demonstrates that TODs can be used outside of regional transportation areas, and still benefit from the TOD approach.

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Key Resources

• ITDP- TOD Standard: A clear performance-based framework for walkable, mixed-use, TOD
• Reconnecting America- TOD Resources Archive: Foundational TOD planning, equity, and implementation resources
• Center for Transit-Oriented Development- TOD Database: Data and tools for understanding station areas and TOD markets
• Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)— HB24-1313 Transit-Oriented Communities Resources and Housing Opportunity Goal Calculation Tool: Colorado-specific guidance and tools for implementing the state's Transit-Oriented Communities framework, including calculating Housing Opportunity Goals and evaluating qualifying transit areas

Measuring Success

• Transit Ridership and station-area mode share: Local agencies can measure transit ridership and station-area mode share to evaluate if their TOD approaches have increased transit use and reduced drive-alone travel. Agencies and transit providers can track station boardings, nearby household vehicle ownership, commute mode share, parking use, and resident or employee travel survey results.
• Station-area access and TOD quality: Local agencies can apply the ITDP TOD Standard to evaluate their areas development and its connection to transit, assessing the areas walkability, mix-use, density, compactness and reduced SOV trips. This approach can be measured within a station walkshed or bikeshed by tracking housing, jobs, services, sidewalk and bikeway connectivity, intersection density, block length, parking supply, and major barriers such as wide roads or large surface lots.
• Housing capacity near transit: In order to assess whether zoning communities around transit is providing the right development capacity to support transit-oriented communities. This can be measured within communities that fall into the framework established by Colorado House Bill 24-1313; using the DOLA's Housing Opportunity Goal Calculation Tool.

Infill & Development Overview

Local governments can promote infill and redevelopment by marketing new homes, commercial services and/or green spaces within an existing community. Infill and redevelopment areas can reduce outward expansion by utilizing previously developed or unoccupied areas in established neighborhoods. Turning these sites into compact developments fosters walkable, vibrant neighborhoods that incorporate mixed-use and transit-oriented design. Approaches that align zoning, development standards, infrastructure investments, and incentives effectively makes development feasible while limiting urban sprawl and maximizing TDM benefits.

Recent Colorado legislation supports various approaches to accommodate additional housing and development within existing communities, including the following:

• House Bill 24-1313: Establishes housing capacity requirements for qualifying transit-oriented communities
• House Bill 24-1304: Removes minimum parking requirements for certain residential and adaptive-reuse development in applicable transit service areas
• House Bill 24-1152: Expands opportunities for accessory dwelling units in applicable jurisdictions

An infill project may be residential, commercial, mixed-use, or another use and may also incorporate mixed-use or TOD principles.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

• Infill and redevelopment places new residents, jobs, and destinations closer to existing activity centers, transit, services, and transportation networks, thereby shortening trip distances and making walking, bicycling, transit, and shared mobility more practical. Efficient development—development located near jobs, services, transportation options, and existing infrastructure.
• Infill and redevelopment can reduce VMT by locating new housing, jobs, and services closer to existing destinations and transportation networks rather than extending development farther from established communities
• Local governments can implement infill and redevelopment by identifying priority infill and redevelopment areas in comprehensive and area plans and then aligning zoning, development standards, infrastructure investments, and incentives to make development feasible in those locations.

Project Examples

• Highlands’ Garden Village- Urban:
  • In 1994, when Elitches Gardens Amusement Park relocated into its current location, Highland Garden Village became the 27 acre vision of infill and redevelopment for the community. Once completed this compact, mixed-use neighborhood created 300 new homes for the community, as well as 200,000 sq ft of commercial and live/work spaces; including a range of housing types, affordable housing options and preservation of green/recreational areas. This project demonstrated that central TDM opportunities associated with infill can accommodate new housing and destinations into previous developed sites within existing communities. Projects such as this one can reorganize a formerly single purpose site into a community, especially in central locations, creating new communities within high transit and walkable areas.
• Kit Carson Rural Development- Rural:
  • The non profit agency, Kit Carson Rural Development, redeveloped abandoned and deteriorated homes into new housing developments. Addressing issues of asbestos and deterioration, the non profit was able to revitalize the properties in and around the communities downtown area. The Kit Carson Rural Development is a great example of TDM approaches within small rural communities in which TOD is not realistic. Infill and redevelopment can occur anywhere, regardless of the size or connectedness of a community.

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Measuring Success

• Infill and redevelopment activity: Local agencies can use this approach to evaluate whether land use planning and development strategies are successfully directing growth to existing developed areas and locations that support compact, connected, multimodal development. Agencies can track whether growth is being directed to already developed and infrastructure-served areas. Measures may include the share of new housing and employment in designated activity centers, transit corridors, infill and redevelopment areas, or other priority growth areas; the number or acreage of vacant, brownfield, surface parking, or other underused sites redeveloped; and development density and proximity to existing transportation options. Communities can also track the extent to which new development uses existing streets, utilities, and public facilities or avoids, reduces, or defers the need for
  new infrastructure.
• Travel behavior and accessibility: Local agencies can use this approach to evaluate whether infill and redevelopment are translating into the intended TDM outcomes of shorter trips, reduced reliance on SOVs, and improved access to destinations. Communities can track whether infill and redevelopment are contributing to shorter trips, reduced reliance on SOVs, and improved access to destinations. Measures may include VMT per capita, average trip and commute distances, travel mode share, vehicle ownership, parking demand, and proximity of new housing and employment to jobs, services, schools, parks, and transit. Where feasible, communities can compare these outcomes with development in less location efficient areas or with baseline conditions.

Overview

Zoning and development regulations are used by local governments to integrate land use and transportation goals into actual developments surrounding communities. A community's development code establishes the many rules that shape development, including allowable density and intensity, parking requirements, building and site design, as well as street and site connectivity. Communities can amend land use or development codes to allow greater housing and employment density in appropriate locations, enable infill, redevelopment, and adaptive reuse. Land use codes can aid in establishing TOD/TOC, 15-minute communities, or destination/activity hubs, all planning methods that leverage communities to reduce or eliminate minimum parking requirements, set parking maximums and incorporate pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and TDM standards into new developments.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

• Density and location influence how many homes, jobs, and other destinations can be accommodated in places with access to existing services and transportation options. Allowing sufficient development in accessible locations can shorten trip distances and support transit, while regulations that limit development in those locations can push growth toward more auto-dependent areas.
• Land-use regulations can allow housing, employment, retail, services, and other complementary destinations to locate closer together, thereby reducing the need for longer vehicle trips.
• Connectivity and site-design requirements determine whether those nearby destinations can actually be reached conveniently by walking, bicycling, or transit. Disconnected streets, large blocks, and barriers between adjacent developments can make even short trips dependent on driving.
• Parking and development review requirements influence how much parking is provided, how sites are oriented toward different modes, and whether projects are expected to mitigate vehicle travel through TDM and multimodal improvements.

Project Examples

• Thornton 2025 Development Code Update- Suburban
  
  • The city of Thornton updated its Development Code in 2025 to better align development regulations with the city's Comprehensive Plan and modern development practices. The update revised permitted land uses and development standards to introduce and expand requirements related to parking lot design, pedestrian connectivity, bicycle parking, site access, and circulation. The code expands pedestrian walkway requirements; requires communication among buildings and nearby sidewalks, trails, side paths, and transit facilities. Also requiring bicycle parking for new development and certain redevelopment projects.
    This code expansion demonstrates that low-scale municipal zoning can determine what uses and densities are allowed within its municipality, while also developing standards that can establish interconnectedness and low vehicle utilization.

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Key Resources

• National Zoning Atlas: Provides standardized information on local zoning regulations and can help communities understand how zoning affects housing types, density, development patterns and how these compare regulations across jurisdictions.
• Smart Growth America– Smart Growth Implementation Toolkit: Set of tools designed to aid communities in policies, regulations, zoning and implementation by utilizing smart growth approaches for new and established developments.

Measuring Success

• TDM-supportive zoning and development standards; Local governments can evaluate whether development codes can support transit-oriented growth after regulatory changes, and if these results are stimulating growth towards more mobile, more compact development. Fundamental measures include enacting mixed-use upzoning, lowering or removing parking minimums, adopting multimodal connectivity standards, and implementing TDM programs to new and pre-existing developments. 
• TDM-supportive development outcomes; Comparing development built under updated regulations with previous development patterns can help determine whether regulatory changes are producing more compact, connected, and multimodal development.
• Travel behavior and VMT outcomes: Communities can measure whether transit oriented development occurring under updated regulations are associated with less vehicle travel and greater use of transportation alternatives. To determine this behavior change we may include VMT per capita or per household, average trip length, drive-alone mode share, transit ridership, walking and bicycling rates, vehicle ownership rates, trip generation, and parking use. Where feasible, communities can compare these outcomes before and after regulatory changes, between similar developments built under old and new standards, or against alternative growth scenarios. These measures indicate whether zoning and development regulations are contributing to the intended TDM outcome of reduced vehicle travel.