Transit Oriented Development for Nashville: Learning from Europe

A popular movement in the past decade has been to implement transit oriented development in city planning. Transit-oriented development, or TOD, is nationally characterized as mixed-use development located within a 2,000 feet diameter from a mass transit center. However, the typical format for TOD in the United States, initiated by Peter Calthorpe and fermented in the West Coast, lacks consideration in unifying various forms of transit. Individuals are more likely to participate in public transportation if they do not have to solely rely on one method of travel. On the other hand, TOD has been wildly more successful in European cities than in America (as is reflected in the percentage of individuals that use public transportation) by implementing an integrated transportation system that combines different modes of mobility (rail, metro, bus, car, bike and pedestrian).

One of the assumptions designers often make is that a logical proposal, based on just regional and economic conditions found in America, will encourage individuals to utilize and increase rider-ship on public transportation. From casual observation, it seems likely that the various sustainable innovations cultivated in Europe could be implemented and Modified for American cities.

Although many American urban planners are skeptical that sustainable city design approaches derived from European countries can be relevant to cities in the United States, similar concerns regarding the decline in the urban fabric and dependency on the automobile are simultaneously being addressed in Europe as well. While taking into account that the United States varies in climate, terrain, and demographics (not only within its different regions and States, but from its European counterparts also), the European policies regulating urban sprawl should be used as a starting point in reorganizing TOD in America.

Nashville, Tennessee is renowned for its successful collaboration between government agencies and city planners. The Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has undergone several studies and is currently on the brink of implementing a wide-scale bus rapid transit line along the Northeast Corridor. My intent is to activate the intersection of Ellington Parkway and Trinity Lane with a Transit-oriented development that takes into account and adapts European planning schemes that are environmentally conscious.