Density. For planners and urban designers helping to create
transit-oriented developments (TODs), density is the crucial
factor in achieving a critical mass for ridership and a mixed-
use walkable environment that will entice people out of their
cars. In many cases if planners can’t reach that threshold of
density than transit is the baby that gets thrown out with the
bath water. Density continues to be extremely important to the
success of transit, and in looking at the largest cities in the
U.S., residential and employment density correlate strongly with
the percentage of transit modal share. But increasingly,
physical access and the walkable environment of a TOD are
getting face time in the transit debate. Reconnecting America,
arguably the organization taking the lead in TOD, highlights
street design, public space design, and connectivity to transit
as must-dos. Even if the density threshold is met, in many cases
if these urban design principles aren’t used in land use
planning, premium transit won’t acqui