Making Transit and Affordable Housing Work Together

One of the sessions at the American Planning Association's 2023 national conference titled "Yes, Transit Can Support Affordable Housing" discussed how the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) created a toolkit of transit-oriented strategies to increase affordability in Oregon communities.

The case studies used in the presentation helped inform the creation of ODOT’s toolkit, which helps state and local agencies (including municipal, city, county, and tribal governments), community organizations, and developers understand the resources and strategies that can connect housing development and transit. The toolkit is broken down into categories, including transit system and services tools; land use and zoning tools; financial incentives tools; and partnerships and engagement tools. Waterman described how this toolkit enables stakeholders to improve their own work while facilitating conversations across traditionally siloed organizations. These actions can, for example, help transit planners, affordable housing developers, and community members collaborate to achieve their shared goal of inclusive transit-oriented development.

Together, the panelists showed how housing represents more than just the structures themselves; its connection to networks of mobility empowers residents to access employment, services, and the amenities of daily life. Ensuring that transit-oriented development is equitable, includes affordable housing, and is built around the actual needs of the people who use the transit system can be a challenging and intensive undertaking. However, by diving into the challenges and successes of a diverse set of communities, Oregon was able to create an important resource to further similar transit projects, advance equity, and reach housing affordability goals.