This project examined the impact of transit-oriented development (TOD) on affordability in adjacent neighborhoods. Despite its many environmental and economic benefits, TOD often contributes to gentrification in urban areas, which can result in decreased affordability in the community and displacement of original residents. This project examined four case study neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, all of which have experienced TOD. Washington hosts one of the nation’s most significant rail transit systems, the Metro, while also being labeled America’s most gentrified city in a 2019 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Research began with a broad review of current literature, to determine how best to define vague concepts like TOD, affordability, equity, and displacement. Background research led to the conclusion that the available stock of affordable housing in an area is the most effective variable to study for measuring and comparing neighborhoods’ affordability. Each case study neighborhood was evaluated in-depth through local news media, academic reports, maps and planning documents, site visits, and interviews with local planning officials. The guiding research question sought to determine what concrete policies, strategies, and programs each locality had implemented to preserve and/or create affordable housing units in the TOD neighborhood. The results of the study found that, overall, it is possible for municipalities to implement tools to preserve and create affordable housing, even amid intense development pressures. More specific conclusions, however, were shown to depend heavily on local context. Strategies that are effective in one jurisdiction may have little impact in another, and not all potential policies will be politically popular in every community. This project served as a valuable learning experience for the researcher, as it will contribute to a career as a more conscientious and informed urban planner who is able to serve the needs of all residents.
Author: Ian Murphy
Advisor: David Prytherch, Geography
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