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An Empirical Investigation into Affordable Transit-Oriented Development (A-TOD) in California: Applying Classification and Scoring Systems
Transit-oriented development (TOD) integrates housing, offices, and amenities near quality public transportation, offering benefits like reduced displacement, socio-economic opportunities, and environmental sustainability (Boarnet et al., 2017). However, studies often overlook affordability and gentrification risks. California's TOD initiatives, supported by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, prioritize affordable housing near transit to reduce emissions and benefit disadvantaged communities. The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program has invested $2.5 billion in 164 projects, creating 15,324 affordable homes (California Housing Partnership & Enterprise Community Partners, 2022).
This project addresses California's investment in affordable housing within TOD areas by using advanced geospatial and urban data science techniques. It evaluates transit infrastructure quality, TOD-supportive environments, housing affordability, and minority presence in California's High Quality Transit Areas (HQTAs). The goal is to classify and score these areas based on their capacity to support Affordable TOD (A-TOD), providing insights into the impact on disadvantaged communities.
Our study expands HQTAs to a 1.5-mile radius around light rail stations, focusing on affordability and minority communities. We classify and score these areas for A-TOD using hierarchical cluster analysis on built-environment factors (density, land use diversity, walkability, bike-ability), transit quality, and regional accessibility. A second cluster analysis assesses affordability (H+T Index, Location Affordability Index) and minority presence (racial segregation, poverty). Using Factor Analysis (FA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we develop TOD and affordability/minority presence scores. GIS techniques then spatially map these variables, providing a tool for policymakers to evaluate transit access and affordable housing opportunities.
Principal Investigator:
Ahoura Zandiatashbar, PhD
PI Contact Information:
San Jose State University
Dates:
June 2024 to May 2025
Implementation of Research Outcomes:
The major output of this project is a final model and dataset that allow users to assess transit access and suitability for affordable housing. By overlapping our findings with the HCD Statewide Affordable Housing Opportunities Sites, the model provides a flexible and scalable solution applicable to various locations. Delivered as code or a workflow with formulas, it can be customized for different geographic contexts, ensuring the tool remains dynamic.
Additionally, we design and develop a user interface (UI) for public access to the A-TOD score and classification data. This online UI, featuring spatial visualization through a web map, benefits private and public sectors, as well as policy organizations. It will be instrumental in identifying suitable investment locations, allocating affordable housing policies, and helping individuals find appropriate Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) for residential purposes.
Impacts/Benefits of Implementation:
The California Housing and Community Development (CA HCD) has expressed a keen interest in the study's outcomes, with a team of Data and Innovation staff members from the Housing Policy Development Division serving as external advisors and stakeholders (HCD support letter for this project can be found in the proposal package). Their involvement is driven by the potential for the findings to inform strategic investment decisions through the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. This program, a significant fiscal investment in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), has invested $2.5 billion in 164 catalytic developments across California, leading to the creation of 15,324 new affordable homes according to the Program Impact Report (California Housing Partnership & Enterprise Community Partners, 2022). This substantial investment underscores the policy imperative for robust data-driven research that integrates affordability metrics into the existing classification framework for station areas, aiming to identify suitable locations for AHSC investment and enhance the overall effectiveness of the program's initiatives.
Furthermore, the outcome classification of High-Quality Transit Areas (HQTA) developed in this project can be overlaid with the HCD Statewide Affordable Housing Opportunities Sites, providing insights into unaffordable TOD areas that require increased affordable housing construction.
Beyond direct policy implications, the final model and outcomes will enable Californians to assess regional transit accessibility and affordability of TODs for housing location decisions. Living in accessible TODs has been found to correlate with a reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from daily trips, aligning with the state's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals outlined in its climate policy.
Project Number:
2463
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Contact Us
SJSU Research Foundation 210 N. 4th Street, 4th Floor, San Jose, CA 95112 Phone: 408-924-7560 Email: mineta-institute@sjsu.edu
