Transit-oriented communities are places that, by their design, allow people to drive less and walk, cycle, and take transit more. In practice, this means they concentrate higher-density, mixed-use development around frequent transit stops and stations. Transit-oriented communities also make it possible to operate efficient, cost-effective transit service. To further the development of more transit-oriented communities in Metro Vancouver, TransLink worked with regional stakeholders to develop guidance for community planning around transit stations, exchanges, and stops.
Nelson\Nygaard served as the principal author of these guidelines, collaborating with Steer Davis Gleave and TransLink staff. Building on our work helping to write the Transit Passenger Facility Design Guidelines, feedback from stakeholder workshops, and deep experience in planning for transit-oriented communities across North America, we crafted the guidelines to communicate clearly with a range of audiences, from city staff to developers and ordinary citizens. The guidelines demonstrate how community design can influence travel behavior and create livable, sustainable, and resilient places.
The Transit-Oriented Communities Design Guidelines, which serve as a companion to Transit Passenger Facility Design Guidelines, focuses on those attributes of community design that most strongly influence travel behavior. The guidelines are a tool and a resource to aid in the development of transit-oriented land use plans, projects, streetscapes, and transportation network designs in Vancouver and beyond.