In recent years there has been a growing interest in using land use planning to reduce reliance on the automobile long-term, through ideas such as smart growth, New Urbanism, pedestrian pockets, and transit-oriented development (TODs). Portlands planning agencies, including the regional government (Metro), were early adopters of TOD concepts. This research surveyed residents of TODs in the Portland area about their travel behavior, housing choices, and mobility preferences. The survey collected data from over 300 residents near four different light rail stations in the Portland region. The neighborhoods were selected to represent a range of types of TODs, while controlling somewhat for income (through housing styles and prices) and regional and transit accessibility. None of the neighborhoods completely satisfies generally agreed upon standards for good TODs: higher density, good land use mix, pedestrian friendly, and close to transit. The research found that households in the neighborhoods tend to be smaller than the surrounding cities, often without children. The residents of the surveyed TODs are not transit dependent, though they did take transit to work or school at a significantly higher rate than residents citywide. The varying physical features of the TODs did not appear to affect transit commuting, but did influence non-commute travel mode choices. Parking pricing at work or school was an important factor in commute mode choice. A significant share of respondents now commute by transit who did not before.
Abstract