Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) In India: Concepts, Policy, And Development

Humans are constantly evolving. After our gadgets and electronics, our cities are getting a ‘smart’ approach. In the process of urbanisation, the concept of Transit Oriented Development has emerged as a game-changer. The policy was first explained by Peter Calthorpe.

TOD Full form

According to Peter Calthorpe, the Transit-Oriented Development definition stated: “a mixed-use community that encourages people to live near transit services and to decrease their dependence on driving”. Since then, the concept has revolutionised the process of human settlement and civilisation in some parts of the world. Let’s take a look at these concepts and how they have impacted urbanisation and the way we live. (With recent examples of TOD from India)

What is Transit Oriented Development: Definition, Concept, and Principles?

What is TOD: Definition?

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban planning and development that focuses on creating communities and neighbourhoods centred around public transportation. The main goal of TOD is to promote sustainable living and reduce car dependency by providing easy access to public transportation.

TOD typically involves the development of high-density, mixed-use buildings that are located within walking distance of a transit station or stop. These buildings can include residential, commercial, and retail spaces, as well as public amenities like parks and plazas.
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TOD is gaining popularity in many cities around the world, as it offers several benefits, such as reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality, and increased economic activity. It also promotes healthier living, as residents can walk or bike to their destinations instead of driving, and encourages social interaction by creating vibrant, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods.

 To know more about TOD, let’s take a look at what the concept and principles are:

What is TOD: Concept

With the global population on an exponential rise, the government may find it difficult to provide amenities to all its residents. In such a situation, a city planned through a well-defined plan can help the government provide amenities with convenience. Under the Transit Oriented Development Policy, high rising development areas are planned and built around good road connectivity and near excellent public transportation systems. This ensures residential spaces are built near public places of interest to encourage a walking culture. Simply put, It combines easy access to Public Transportation and high-density land usage to provide the best of both worlds. 

What is TOD: Principles?

As mentioned, a city built while keeping these Principles in mind will have ample space to support a high population density and will be majorly built with a healthy public transit ecosystem. It implies affordable residential options, with civil amenities like schools and hospitals and low-cost transit options. The TOD concept encourages a walking culture and reduces transit time to work leading to more productivity personally and professionally. Important characteristics of a community built following these principles are: 

• A walkable, high-quality ecosystem to integrate pedestrians.
• Highest housing Densities to be built in proximity with transit hubs for compactness.
• The destination should have mixed-use development to support diversity and growth. 
• Ample Parking Facilities, designed and managed according to the zone’s population density.
• Affordable, Quality transit options. 

What Are the Benefits of TOD (Transit Oriented Development)?  

The development of planned housing options and mixed-use development around them reduces congestion and sprawling and promotes a superior lifestyle. Since these developments put a special emphasis on reduced transit, the most immediate benefit of the policy is reduced traffic and carbon emissions. By promoting a walking culture, TOD effectively promotes a healthier lifestyle and reduces spending on transportation. Close proximity to places of civil interest and affordable transit options adds to savings on fuel and transportation bills. This in turn leads to a strong economy with content citizens. 
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It effectively addresses a lot of environmental and climate change concerns as well. Lower dependency on personal transportation for transit will result in lower carbon emissions through fossils. An area built and developed according to these principles will be called a Transit Oriented Zone. Reduced use of automobiles on a personal level every day will lead to significantly lower air pollution and noise pollution levels and leads to a healthier environment for the residents of a Transit Oriented Zone. 

Variants of TOD

The extent and intensity of development surrounding the transit node, or the performance of the neighbourhood in terms of car kilometres travelled, are used to classify TOD. It also depends on the reference scale (as already mentioned): The terms “node,” “corridor,” “city,” and “region” are used interchangeably The classification mentioned here is based on the major function of the area, the land-use mix, and the range of transit modes available in the area at the area/transit corridor scale. It’s worth noting that the many sorts of TODs discovered in this system aren’t always mutually exclusive and sometimes overlap.
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Under the hypothesis that transit nodes are not solely defined by density or intensity of activity, but also by the types of uses, the street arrangement, transit accommodation, and the role of the transit node within the region, there are eight place-types for station area typologies. Regional Centre, Urban Centre, Suburban Centre, Transit Town Centre, Urban Neighbourhood, Transit Neighbourhood, Special-Use/Employment District, and Mixed-Use Corridor are the different varieties.

TOD in real estate can also be classified by their location inside the city, such as inner-city, peri-urban, and extended areas; and by the type of development, such as infill (usually in denser inner-city regions), redevelopment, and greenfield development (generally on larger tracts of unused land)

These aspects should be taken into account while building a TOD zone meaning because they can have a substantial impact on the development’s character.

While the recommendations in this chapter are based on the foregoing global and domestic case studies, they attempt to represent socio-economic tendencies that are typical in India. Because most Indian cities are mixed-use developments, the typologies feature a combination of the following classification types. You know what is TOD, now know the following components:
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Urban Centres

They are city-level nodes with a combination of residential, commercial, employment, and civic/cultural purposes in a moderate-to-high density mix. Multiple means of transportation, including suburban/commuter rail, light rail or tramways, BRT, and local buses, service the centres. Because of the variety of uses offered, they tend to draw residents from adjacent neighbourhoods and the broader metropolitan region. They can take decades to develop and exhibit unique historical, socio-cultural, or architectural aspects. CBDs, big job parks, local commercial centres, railway stations, and bus terminals are all examples. Integration of high-density housing into existing employment/retail scenarios is the biggest obstacle.

Urban Neighbourhoods

The majority of them are residential regions that surround and support one or more urban centres. They have a combination of residential and local retail services and have moderate-to-high densities. In such neighbourhoods, fewer permanent guideway transit modes connect than in urban centres, necessitating the use of feeder services to provide last-mile accessibility for urban commuters. The majority of urban areas contain a significant mix of moderate and high-income housing,with only a small amount of cheap housing. Expanding housing opportunities, particularly for the economically disadvantaged, is a huge concern.

Suburban Centres

Residential, business, retail, and institutional uses are mixed in a moderate-to-high density mix. They are often origin or destination sites for transit routes or corridors, especially in India, and experience a one-way flow of commuters based on office hours and local mobility patterns. Suburban centres are served by a variety of means of transportation, including suburban rail, light rail or tramways, BRT, and local buses, as a result of their function. The main task is to improve local supporting services, such as shops, as well as linkages and access to public transportation, especially last-mile choices. Pimpri-Chinchwad-Hinjewadi, near Pune, Whitefield, Bengaluru, and Kalyan-Dombivli, in Mumbai, are examples. Some of the suburbs have grown large enough to become cities in their own right, such as Kalyan Dombivali.

Transit Corridors

They are becoming more prevalent in Indian cities. They tend to develop in an almost uniform manner throughout a transit route, with no distinguishing centres. They sprout up on both sides of a transportation corridor, such as BRT, Metro, or light rail, and feature a mix of business, retail, and residential activity, with a density profile that gradually decreases away from the corridor. The main issue here is evenly generating opportunities along the corridor. Ahmedabad stands out as a prime example of this type of development. To simplify development along transportation routes in comparison to the rest of the city, the city implemented Town Planning Schemes. The CBDs or mixed-use corridors have different zoning and FSI standards than the rest of the city. Within the TOD influence zones, housing regulations and land-use standards help to integrate transportation connections with housing and employment prospects.

Regional Transit Terminals

This is a distinct kind of area that grows around a high-density transportation terminal with broad route connections throughout the region. To assist the development of the transit station, such a hub exhibits predominantly retail and commercial operations. This is evident in India’s major inter-state bus terminals and rail hubs. These hubs may have seasonal footfall patterns and have larger floating population densities than the local population.

Components of TOD

Do you know what is TOD, this section in brief talks about the components of Transit-Oriented Development in India?

TOD is promoted as a long-term solution to sprawl and reliance on automobiles since it:

• Encourages the development of dense neighbourhoods to assist offset the costs of constructing and operating mass transit systems.
• Combining work centres, housing, and shopping in the same development eliminates the need for commuting.
• Creates non-motorized transportation choices within the infrastructure, such as walking and biking networks, as well as changing building form and urban design to improve the experience of these modes.

Factors Driving the Trend Toward TOD

The Transit-Oriented Development definition clearly states the development plans that it sees the head and how transit housing meaning incorporates it. 

Listed below are the major factors that affect TOD meaning in real estate –

• Rapidly increasing, mind-numbing traffic congestion across the country
• Suburbia and fry-pit strip development are gaining popularity.
• An ever-increasing desire for a high-quality urban lifestyle
• An increasing desire for more pedestrian-friendly lifestyles away from traffic
• Changes in family structures, such as more singles, empty nesters, and so on
• National support for smart growth is growing
• Federal policy has shifted to a new focus

TOD Process: How Transit Oriented Development Can be Implemented? 

This is one of those processes that are more easily conceptualised than implemented. It requires an alignment or resonance between multiple factors like housing development and infrastructure, street and road planning, implementation of parking and transit ecosystem, design, reforms, etc. This may take several years to implement, as it requires alignment of opinion between a very large and diverse population. It will require multiple stakeholders having different opinions and interpretations around the policy and concept to be on the same page. 

Still, the understandings should be met and the framework for development should start in a phased manner. 

Once a community has decided to go through with a Transit Oriented Development zone, they should:

• Identifying important opportunities and constraints about the Development
• Prepare a master plan according to the vision
• Develop streets, parking access, and circulation and transit options
• Designing and implementing traffic layout and having pedestrian support.
• Build adequate housing development around a transit hub
• Build in a phased manner

To ensure all the stakeholders are on the same page, the plan should be drafted on paper and opinions should be cross-checked before implementation. Even a small irregularity in the process and the city can face problems like population sprawling.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD)Scheme in India

India is a city that needs to implement a planned approach very badly. With the urban population growing rapidly and reduced amenities, the Government of India has started focusing on building smart cities following a new approach. To support the transformation, the government introduced the National Transit Oriented Development Policy in May 2017.

National Transit-Oriented Development Policy

The National Transit Oriented Development Policy provides a framework for Indian states on how they can adapt these principles as an urbanisation strategy. The government also introduced a TOD standard to score and rate cities according to their development. A TOD standard can be utilised for many purposes. For starters, using this standard, the government can classify the development of states under different categories to monitor them closely. The TOD standard also gives a brief of the current set of principles the zone plans to implement over the course of time. The government plans on using the standard to decide the funds a state will receive for urban strategy development. 

By having such a high-order policy in place, India has already taken the first step towards a smarter ecosystem. Cities like Ahmedabad and Delhi have already devised a TOD framework and their governments have started implementing it in a phased manner. Let’s take a look at the current developments and roadmap for India’s Transit-Oriented Development:

Challenges to Transit Oriented Development

One of the most serious issues with TOD is the lack of assistance from local governments. Every city has zoning rules and land development codes that are geared toward single-purpose, suburban-scale development. The approval of zoning rules is crucial for TOD implementation. TOD development is hampered by any restrictions or delays in FSI limits, minimum parking, minimum front setback, building height limitations, and landscaping standards.

The successful use of implementation mechanisms for land-use planning, land value capture, and transport demand management is critical to the success of any Transit Oriented Development. These enablers connect TOD components to bigger city planning procedures and goals by modifying their components. For example, building active, pedestrian streets would necessitate a land-use mechanism that encourages mixed-use development. Similarly, regulatory measures like as floor area ratios and minimum lot area per unit height would be required to achieve the required building intensity and scale. As part of a larger TOD project, the goal of developing transit integration would include the connection of train routes and stations.

Components of Transit Oriented Development

Transit Oriented Construction (TOD) is defined as a walkable, mixed-use kind of development within walking and cycling distance of a major rapid transit station. The rationale behind this strategy is that pedestrian-friendly developments encourage people to live near public transportation, reducing their reliance on automobiles.

TOD is promoted as a long-term solution to sprawl and reliance on automobiles since it:

• Encourages the development of dense neighbourhoods to assist offset the costs of constructing and operating mass transit systems.
• By combining work centres, housing, and shopping in the same development, it eliminates the need for commuting.
• Creates non-motorized transportation choices within the infrastructure, such as walking and biking networks, as well as changing building form and urban design to improve the experience of these modes.

These understandings are not restricted to TOD and have been pushed for in the following constructive ways to sustainable transportation:

The “Push – Pull” method emphasises the need of persuading consumers to use public transportation and non-motorized transportation while also developing strategies to “push” them out of autos and similar forms of transportation. To fulfil the “pull” component, communities must provide high-quality public transportation, enhance public transportation and non-motorized transportation infrastructure, and adopt policies that improve the conditions for using these modes in general.

Sustainable Urban Transport Project (SUTP) promoted the “Avoid/Reduce – Shift – Improve” idea in 2007 through its module Transport and Climate Change. “Avoid/Reduce” refers to minimising the need to travel by shortening trips through effective land planning and travel demand management; “shift” refers to greater journey efficiency and usage of sustainable modes of transportation like walking and bicycling. The term “improve” refers to the enhancement of transportation infrastructure.

The flexibility and progressive possibilities to apply these methodologies to the many typologies of TOD; the node/station, the corridor, the city, and finally the region, make them unique in their application to TOD. This is demonstrated through TOD implementations at various scales around the world.

Transit Oriented Development in Delhi

With a master vision titled ‘TOD policy for Delhi 2041’, India’s capital city has started implementing the regulatory framework introduced by Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Focusing heavily on ‘Transit Nodes’, DDA’s policy identifies 12 transit nodes for Delhi to function as transportation hubs. Let’s take a detailed look at Delhi’s Development project and how the city plans to aid the transformation. 

DDA TOD Policy: What’s special?

• 12 transit hubs to adequately support the dense population
• 3 multimodal transit hubs to cater to higher-density population areas. 
• Emphasis on development around the metro 
• Development of metro in densely populated areas. 
• Reduced FAR to support economically weaker sections. 
• Ample green and open spaces to support the concept. 

Examples of Transit-Oriented Development in India  

Transit Oriented Development in Delhi

With a master vision titled ‘TOD policy for Delhi 2041’, India’s capital city has started implementing the regulatory framework introduced by Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Focusing heavily on ‘Transit Nodes’, DDA’s policy identifies 12 transit nodes for Delhi to function as transportation hubs. Let’s take a detailed look at Delhi’s Development project and how the city plans to aid the transformation. 

DDA TOD Policy: What’s special?

• 12 transit hubs to adequately support the dense population
• 3 multimodal transit hubs to cater to higher-density population areas. 
• Emphasis on development around the metro 
• Development of metro in densely populated areas. 
• Reduced FAR to support economically weaker sections. 
• Ample green and open spaces to support the concept. 

Transit-Oriented Development in Ahmedabad, India

Ahmedabad is an Indian city that has embraced Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) through a progressive approach to implementing a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) called Janmarg. The BRTS success catalyzed policy directives that leverage BRT to implement TOD. The city’s development plan promotes mixed land-use, high densities, public transportation, a grid-based pedestrian circulation network, and a market-driven approach to land utilization for developing its central business district.

The city implemented a BRTS in response to the declining ridership of the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS). The Janmarg BRTS was designed to provide an efficient and reliable bus system, manage on-street parking, and create road space for pedestrians, cyclists, and vendors. The system uses smart cards for ticketing and Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to improve customer convenience, speed, reliability, and safety of the bus system.

Ahmedabad’s Development Plan 2021 has sought to establish a policy framework to integrate the gaps in land-use and housing with the expansion of transit infrastructure. The governing authorities have defined intense development zones called Transit Oriented Zones on both sides of the BRT corridor. The housing policy framed by the city corporation focuses on the integration of transportation facilities and commercial activities along the BRTS corridors. The city’s central business district will be shifted from the east bank of the Sabarmati river to the west bank, primarily to converge the high-density commercial land-use, the recreational space provided by the waterfront, and the upcoming Metro corridor (Metro-Link express between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar).

How Local Governments Can Begin Planning for Transit Oriented Development

The greatest challenge before implementing any process is to educate the people, who will be affected directly by it. By having an aligned community objective, the local government can educate the citizens towards the benefits of a smart city built on these principles. Having a regulatory framework and defined policies to benefit the citizen will also go a long way. Apart from that, local governments should be in sync with the central government and the development should be multi-purpose suited for a mixed diversity. Initially, the government can charge an additional tax from residents of development zones and fund the project accordingly to support sustainable growth around it. 

Transit-Oriented Development is changing the face of the cities we live in. Our cities are evolving in a phased and compact manner with more urban spaces and amenities to support the growing population. If you are looking for a suitable house for renting or buying in any of the developing or developed zones of India, we are sure we can help you out. Choose from a range of thousands of brokerage-free homes and move in today. Click on the link below and get started with your search. If you need further assistance or have any queries, drop us a comment below and we will get back to you. 

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