Tools and strategies used to create mixed-income and affordable housing near transit
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and disseminate examples of tools and strategies from around the country that are being used to create mixed-income and affordable housing near transit. Through this report, we hope to encourage more communities, regional agencies, state and federal government, and developers to adopt and improve upon the successful strategies, and to spur ideas for other tools that do not yet exist.
The first half of the paper explains the general areas and ways in which the tools are used, as well as any limitations that currently exist, and the second half provides best practices and an actual example of the strategy or tool in a transit-oriented development.
Tools for Mixed-Income TOD
Nationally, for every dollar a working family saves on housing, it spends 77 cents more on transportation. This was one of the dramatic findings from the Center’s earlier study, Something’s Gotta Give, which reflects the basic tradeoff many working families face between paying a greater share of their income for housing or enduring long commutes and high transportation costs. But how does this tradeoff play out at the local level? Are there metropolitan areas in which this tradeoff is more or less pronounced? Where do working families end up living within each area, and how does the availability of housing affect their choices? And how does the varying cost of housing and transportation within a region affect families’ combined housing and transportation burdens?
