Maximising Transit Oriented Development Opportunities in Chicago
Research conducted as part of Master of Urban Policy and Strategy, University of New South Wales
Len Alzona, Ashleigh Gay, Laura Meyer, Luke Thompson, Hendry Wan *
20 November 2015
* Authors appear in alphabetical order
Acknowledgement
Prepared under the supervision of Professor Sue Holliday as part of Master of Urban Policy and Strategy (MUPS) at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
With support from Regional Transportation Authority (Jessica Hector-Hsu, Director Planning and Market Development, and administrative support from Tina Causby).
Disclaimer
This report has been prepared by students of the University of New South Wales. The report does not represent the views of the authors’ employers, Regional Transportation Authority or the University of New South Wales.
Research for this report (including stakeholder engagement) was carried and the report prepared during the MUPS International Studio in Chicago, 6-20 November 2015.
Cover image by Laura Meyer
ii Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...... 1
Introduction ...... 3
Aims, Objectives, Audience & Approach ...... 4
Traditional TOD Overview ...... 5
Predictors of TOD success ...... 6
Key Themes ...... 8
Governance ...... 8
Growth ...... 10
Transit Experience ...... 12
Sustainable, Resilient and Vibrant Communities ...... 13
Case Study Insights ...... 14
Forest Park ...... 14
West Chicago ...... 15
Creating Successful TOD in Chicago ...... 16
International Best Practice Insights ...... 17
1. Governance Models ...... 17
2. Strategic Vision ...... 20
3. Measures to Improve Funding Allocation ...... 23
4. Smart Cities ...... 26
5. Community Engagement ...... 28
Recommendations ...... 30
Conclusions for RTA ...... 34
Bibliography ...... 36
Appendix 1: RTA project brief ...... 39
Appendix 2: Stakeholders in Chicago consulted for project ...... 40
Appendix 3: Sample question sets used for stakeholder engagement process ...... 42
Appendix 4: Qualities of Resilient Cities ...... 44
iii Executive Summary
The RTA has a mandate to increase ridership across Chicago’s transit system. Having identified Transit Oriented Development (TOD) as a key tool for achieving this goal, the RTA engaged a group of students from the University of New South Wales Master of Urban Policy and Strategy program to explore best practice ways to increase infill development around low to middle income transit areas. Forest Park and West Chicago were two case studies to understand this challenge within the Chicago region.
With the RTA’s end goal of increasing ridership in mind, a range of general themes emerged from this work. These themes include governance, growth, transit experience and sustainable, resilient and vibrant communities. One of the key ways to encourage infill development that emerged from this work is to ensure a level of existing community amenity is already in place prior to further development. This requirement for communities to be ‘TOD ready’ is particularly important within the Chicago region given fragmented governance structures, low population growth and stable economic conditions and a tight fiscal environment. These themes were informed by general research on TOD, a stakeholder engagement process and site visits.
In addition to these general themes, a range of insights emerged from research on international best practice strategies, policies and tools to increase TOD in low to middle income areas. The insights include:
• Governance models that highlight the importance of coordination and collaboration • Tools to develop a strategic vision referencing Newcastle City Future 2056 and a Plan for Growing Sydney • Maximising TOD potential through need based assessment and funding options as demonstrated by the TOD Guideline by Portland and UK City Deals • Smart City initiatives from Vancouver and Dallas • Community engagement tool, Better Block, to build vibrant communities
Based on this research it became clear that there are a range of ways to increase ridership in addition to TOD. However, when focusing on TOD in low to medium income areas, effort should be focused on building vibrant communities in the vicinity of existing transit. The best way to increase the use of the transit system is to enhance communities in these areas, making them more resilient to change and becoming attractive places to live and work. These communities including the case studies of Forest Park and West Chicago can then become well placed to accommodate TOD in the future.
This research has led to a number of recommendations for consideration by the RTA. Several of the recommendations presented in this report are not directly related to the RTA’s role. However, in the context of increasing ridership ideas should be done in partnership with CMAP and other agencies or the private sector.
Key recommendations for policy development include:
• Develop a multi-agency strategic vision for the Chicago region identifies future growth corridors and TOD priority areas
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 1 • Undertake a regional needs assessment for TOD and develop a framework that highlights TOD priority areas spatially to direct and prioritise investment • Increase rigour around the assessment and allocation of resources and grants for communities by developing a policy that assesses projects against the TOD priority framework • Develop policies that can support increased funding for transit that include the use of tools such as business cases • Build partnerships and programs with other agencies and the private sector to combine resources for maximum benefit
Short term initiatives to build community resilience and vibrancy:
• Develop a mandate for change by using use best practice community engagement strategies • Understand customer experiences using transit to help direct service improvements • Potential ‘day in the life of a customer’ periodic event where RTA and three service boards meet to experience a lifecycle journey together across different areas and modes • Consider a program that brings local business facilitators into the communities to engage stakeholders to achieve short term success stories and to develop main street programs
Recommendations for the two case studies of Forest Park and West Chicago:
An analysis of the needs and opportunities for TOD in the Chicago region may determine that the case study locations of Forest Park and West Chicago are not ready for TOD at this stage nor are they the highest priority for allocation of RTA resources for TOD. However, this research has found that there are a number of opportunities to build on the strengths of these communities, making them more vibrant and resilient to changes in the region. This shift in focus towards community building would provide the opportunity for these communities to be ‘TOD ready’ in the future.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 2 Introduction
Chicago has reached a critical point in its development. Once the powerhouse of American industry, Chicago is at risk of losing its status as a global city. Ageing infrastructure, sprawling development and vast economic and social disparities in communities are underscored by its fragmented governance model and low to declining population and economic growth. The time has come for strong individual and agency leadership to invigorate Chicagoans around a strategic vision and implemented this at a regional and local scale through evidence based decision-making. This must be predicated on shaping Chicago as a resilient and sustainable region by focusing on utilising existing assets from land, buildings through to transit.
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) has identified Transit Oriented Development (TOD) as a key enabler to achieve this approach to the region. Infill development around urban transit locations is a useful way of increasing ridership along existing transportation corridors, invigorating local communities and achieving greater density. A key challenge lies in attracting such infill development in low to medium income areas across the Chicago region.
The RTA engaged postgraduate students from the University of New South Wales’ Master of Urban Policy and Strategy program to explore international best practice strategies, policies and tools that could be applied to Chicago. Two case studies of Forest Park and West Chicago were used as a means of exploring this challenge in addition to a stakeholder engagement process.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 3 Aims, Objectives, Audience & Approach
The aim of this research was to identify and apply international best practice strategies, tools or policies to successfully attract and facilitate infill development in TOD areas across the Chicago region. Two case studies of Forest Park and West Chicago were selected as a means of exploring this.
The objectives of this work include: • Provide advice on best practices on infill development particularly as it relates to areas around transit in low to medium income areas • Develop strategies to apply learnings from international best practice to Forest Park, West Chicago and the Chicago region more broadly
The primary target audiences for this work include: • Regional Transportation Authority • Villages of Forest Park and City of West Chicago
It is hoped that the development community and other planning and transit agencies will also be considered as a target audience for this work.
The approach to this work was divided into three phases:
1. Discovery a. Stakeholder interviews b. Site tours and analysis c. General understanding of TOD
2. Research (desktop) – International best practice study • Governance models that highlight the importance of strategic planning, coordination, collaboration, effective financial management and community engagement • Strategic visioning for a city’s future and translation into a spatial plan for implementation • Maximising TOD potential through need based assessment and funding options as demonstrated by the TOD Guideline by Portland and UK City Deals • The concept of Smart Cities and initiatives on community participation and transportation • Community engagement tool, Better Block, to build vibrant communities
3. Recommendations a. Recommendations for policy developments b. Short term initiatives c. Case study site recommendations
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 4 Traditional TOD Overview Broadly ‘transit-oriented development’ (TOD) is high density and mixed-use infill development within walking distance to a transit station. The national Center for Transit-Oriented Development1 (CTOD) defines TOD as: “A type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other commercial development and amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a half-mile of quality public transportation.”2
A half-mile (800 m) corresponds to the distance an average person would be willing to walk to a train station. The half-mile ring is about 500 acres (2.0 km2) in size.
Some of the benefits of TOD identified by CTOD include: 1. Reduced household driving and thus lowered regional congestion, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. 2. Walkable communities that accommodate more healthy and active lifestyles. 3. Increased transit ridership and fare revenue. 4. Potential for added value created through increased and/or sustained property values where transit investments have occurred. 5. Improved access to jobs and economic opportunity for low-income people and working families. 6. Expanded mobility choices that reduce dependence on the automobile, reduce transportation costs and free up household income for other purposes.
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP)’s GO TO 2040 supports TOD and seeks to broaden the definition of transit-supportive land use beyond areas around train stations. In considering transit-supportive land use, the plan includes support for bus service as well as rail.3 A broader definition of TOD beyond areas around train stations is supported by research findings in More Development For Your Transit Dollar report (2013) prepared for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. The research showed that bus-rapid transit (BRT) plays a bigger role in stimulating economic development than rail projects do. Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are the best practice examples of BRT TOD. Other examples include Las Vegas, Nevada; Ottawa, Ontario; and Eugene, Oregon. Traditional TOD focuses on outcomes instead of on process (such as the process of getting an area TOD-ready). A broad rather than a narrow definition of TOD allows focus to shift to social aspects instead of limiting the focus to physical and functional outcomes of place (around a half-mile radius of transit node). This broader definition should allow for the strengthening of existing communities, building of future communities, and socio-cultural aspects in the vicinity of transit. In this way, TOD can be aligned with social policies for communities in TOD catchment areas and beyond. A broad definition of TOD also allows for focus on improving the commuter experience, which in turn should increase ridership. Not all TOD are necessarily good developments. TOD should consider three broad areas of impact: economic, social and environmental. ‘Highest and best use’ financial approach to TOD in some instances may be at cross-purposes with other goals (such as social and environmental) and may not
1 CTOD is a collaboration among three innovative and outcome-oriented organizations: Center for Neighborhood Technology, Reconnecting America and Strategic Economics. 2 CTOD http://www.ctod.org/faqs.php. 3 Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (2010), GO TO 2040: Comprehensive Regional Plan, full web version October 2010, p.19.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 5 be best for transit users or the local community/neighbourhood, for example, in terms of livability, housing affordability, mix of income groups, household types and sizes.
Predictors of TOD success Predictors of TOD success include: 1. Government support for TOD (from regulatory changes to financing to marketing of the area) is the strongest predictor of success. 2. The strength of the land market around the transit corridor is the secondary indicator of success. 3. The quality of the transit investment is the tertiary indicator of success.
The literature on this issue is extensive, with various planning and architecture specialists articulating their criteria or vision on what makes a successful TOD. A brief review of this work is set out below.
For example, a paper prepared in 1999 for the American Planning Association National Planning Conference identified the following measures for TOD success (Figure 1).4
Figure 1: Typical criteria for TOD success (Niles & Nelson, 1999)
4 Niles, J. and Nelson, D. (1999), ‘Measuring the Success of Transit-Oriented Development: Retail Market Dynamics and Other Key Determinants’, paper prepared for the American Planning Association National Planning Conference, Seattle, Washington D.C., April 24-28, 1999. Available at http://globaltelematics.com/apa99.htm
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 6 Many of the definitions of TOD success criteria use different terms to describe the same measures.
In 2013, the Institute for Transportation and Development carried out a study of 21 North American transit corridors. The findings are found in its report, More Development For Your Transit Dollar which found that if various criteria for TOD success were ranked, then the top three strongest predictors of TOD success are:5 1. Government support for TOD (from regulatory changes to financing to marketing of the area) is the strongest predictor of success. 2. The strength of the land market around the transit corridor is the secondary indicator of success. 3. The quality of the transit investment is the tertiary indicator of success.
Government support or interventions can include: • Regional and city-level agencies, authorities and other institutions. • Creating a comprehensive plan for the area. • Rezoning a corridor to encourage mixed-use development. • Offering financial incentives such as Tax Increment Financing, favourable loans to developers, tax abatement programs and grants. • Capital improvements. • Land assembly.
Other important factors include: • Assistance from community development corporations, and local stakeholders can help create more targeted policies to direct development to such transit corridors. • Local foundations can be critical to the process of funding redevelopment and providing capital and equity for projects. • Local NGOs, which can communicate the projects to the public to help broaden support.
The prerequisite for successful TOD is planning for TOD at a regional level. The regional strategic plan for TOD should identify specific goals for specific areas based on evidence. It should have a framework to indicate which areas are suitable for TOD, where to prioritise TOD investment and, criteria for assessment of TOD proposals. Where appropriate, it should identify spatial and geographic regions, zones, corridors, and precincts for different land uses, development, activity, and investment as well as the priorities and time frames for TOD. For example, the regional strategic plan might identify Chicago performing best as a single centre (with a hub-and-spoke transit system) or as a multi-centre city (with multiple spider-web transit arrangement). Regional scale planning should help stakeholders manage and make decisions about local issues in the context of the whole metropolitan region.
5 Hook, W., Lotshaw, S. and Weinstock, A. (2013), ‘More Development For Your Transit Dollar: An Analysis of 21 North American Transit Corridors’, prepared for Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Available at https://www.itdp.org/more-development-for- your-transit-dollar-an-analysis-of-21-north-american-transit-corridors/?/moredevelopment
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 7 Key Themes
The first phase of research was to engage with stakeholders to understand the key themes regarding TOD across the Chicago region. This process included meetings with the Regional Transport Agency (RTA), Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Metra, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). This process also included site visits to the Village of Forest Park and City of West Chicago. A detailed list of stakeholders involved in this process can be found in Appendix 2.
With the RTA’s end goal of increasing ridership in mind, the following themes were identified as important considerations regarding increasing infill development around TOD areas: governance, growth, transit experience, and sustainable, resilient and vibrant communities as shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Stakeholder insight key themes
Transit Governance experience
Sustainable, resilient and Growth vibrant communi es
Governance The Chicago region is defined by 14 counties and a population of approximately 9.5 million.6 The Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area is characterised by a fragmented governance model, with over 300 relatively small municipalities that each have their own government that provide local public services. A feature of this system is that each of these municipalities has autonomy over land use zoning and some aspects of taxation. In addition to this, school, fire and park districts are examples of additional regional layers generally inconsistent with these municipalities. The relationship between some of these boundaries is shown in Figure 3.
6 OECD (2012) http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/urban-rural-and-regional-development/oecd-territorial-reviews- the-chicago-tri-state-metropolitan-area-united-states-2012_9789264170315-en#page41
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 8 Figure 3: Counties, Cook County board districts, Cook County elementary school districts, Chicago wards, municipalities and Cook County TIF districts (RTA, 2015)
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 9 There are a number of challenges that this fragmented governance model presents in relation to this research. Based on the stakeholder insight process, these challenges include leadership, decision- making and competition between actors.
Many stakeholders engaged in this research were involved in understanding and progressing issues around ridership and TOD from an overarching perspective through to the local level. However, central coordination between actors is not currently evident resulting in potentially counterproductive outcomes or a zero sum game at a regional Chicago level. This demonstrates an opportunity for individual and agency leadership. This leadership is not only necessary to navigate Chicago’s dense political power dynamics and sustain electoral cycles but also to provide a coordinated and collaborative vision for the city’s future that can be implemented at a local scale.
A second governance challenge relates to decision-making. Either as a result of or a key enabler to Chicago’s reputation as a ‘city of deals’, evidence based decision is not widely used across the region. Strategic priority setting based on rigorous needs assessment and business cases are two tools that would produce more productive decision-making outcomes.
The third area within governance identified by various stakeholders relates to competition. Competition between local municipalities, for example, is often counterproductive as each vies for limited funding which can often perpetuate cyclical social, economic and environmental disparages. This competition is particularly evident in the differences between home rule and non-home rule towns. An example of this competition to the school district system as shown in Figure 3 and the subsequent impact this has on the attractiveness of an area.
Growth Chicago has undergone significant change over recent years. Once the manufacturing hub of the mid-west, Chicago’s economic base is currently driven by its status as a transportation hub (up to 50% of all US freight passes through the region), more specialised manufacturing (12% of the population), and emerging fields such as nanotechnology (relatively high number of patent applications).7
However, overall economic growth has been declining and is lower than the US average.8 In line with this, population growth has also declined. These trends can be seen in Figure 4 and Figure 5 below.
7 OECD (2012), OECD Territorial Reviews: The Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area. Available at http://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/oecdterritorialreviewsthechicagotri-statemetropolitanarea.htm 8 ibid.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 10 Figure 4: Economic growth in Chicago compared to other US cities (CMAP 2015)
Figure 5: Population growth in the region 2000 to 2010 (Chicago Tribune 2015)
Without foreseeable population growth or a clear substitute for the economic contribution once derived from traditional manufacturing, Chicago is at risk of losing its status as a global city. In the
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 11 context of increasing ridership across Chicago’s transit network, this calls for a focus on the sustainability and resilience of existing communities and improvements to the transit experience where possible.
Transit Experience One of the key benefits of TOD is providing a greater level of access to employment for a greater number of people. Across the region, there are opportunities to increase access to jobs using the transit network as shown in Figure 6, particularly in the southern areas.
Figure 6: Job access within 60 minutes (RTA 2015)
However, despite this potential, ridership along CTA lines has been decreasing. This highlights the need for not only an increase in TOD but a broad range of strategies to increase ridership. Stakeholder engagement process identified additional strategies to achieve this goal: • Pricing mechanisms to penalise the use of cars • Improve cross linkages between transit services to increase connectivity in outer areas (e.g. circular transit network as opposed to a hub-and-spoke model) • Improve quality of travel and ease of use along existing transit lines • Improve surrounding amenity at transit stops • Roll out pricing mechanisms that discourage the use of other transport modes (e.g. cars)
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 12 In summary, although stakeholders suggested that their experiences on Chicago’s transit is generally good, there are a range of ways in addition to TOD to increase ridership and connectivity to jobs across the region.
Sustainable, Resilient and Vibrant Communities One of the key ways to encourage infill development is to ensure a level of existing community amenity is already in place. This requirement for communities to be ‘TOD-ready’ is particularly important within the Chicago region given fragmented governance structures, low population and economic growth and tight fiscal environment.
Strategies to enhance the community amenity to attract developers can be implemented at a local level by municipalities at relatively low cost. Sustainable, resilient and vibrant communities are liveable communities and can adapt to the ebbs and flows of broader economic, social and environmental changes as they are not necessarily centred on achieving growth.
Sustainable communities consider a broader range of factors when making decisions. These factors include economic, social and environmental criteria. For a municipality, this might include economic criteria such as productivity, employment and cost of living. Social criteria include diversity, health, safety and culture while environmental criteria include resource use, recycling, biodiversity protection and rehabilitation.
Resilient cities and communities are designed to withstand external factors that impact a city. According to the 100 Resilient Cities project (2015), of which Chicago is included, some of the key qualities of resilient cities include resourcefulness, robustness and flexibility (full list available in Appendix 4). These qualities could be adopted as a philosophy for municipalities, particularly those that are unlikely to experience population or economic growth in the coming years.
By combining sustainability criteria in decision-making with an underlying philosophy of resilience, communities within the Chicago region have the potential to be more vibrant and therefore attract infill development and increase ridership. Further recommendations on specific ways to bolster community vibrancy are explored in this report.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 13 Case Study Insights
The RTA identified Forest Park and West Chicago as case studies for this research. During the site visits, the research team made a number of observations and insights.
Forest Park The Village of Forest Park is located 10 miles west of Chicago’s downtown area. It prides itself as a town that “combines the unlimited resources of an urban setting with a small town sense of community, making it an exceptional place in which to live, work and do business”.9
It is a non-home rule town therefore it has limited powers to change taxation, land use, and zoning,. Forest Park has a newly-updated Comprehensive Plan 2014, which has undergone public consultations.
Forest Park is located 42 minutes from downtown on the CTA Blue Line. The current ridership at Forest Park Station is 561 people per day.
Potential development opportunities have been identified for sites near the terminus of the Blue Line (Figure 7). The CTA owns the land near the primary site lending itself to easier site assembly. Secondary potential sites are located in the high traffic Roosevelt Road and Harlem Avenue bus corridors, where up-zoning code updates are being developed. The use of form-based zone development in the area is currently being considered. However, factors such as fragmented land ownership and smaller parcels in the secondary site, pose more challenges to large development in this area.
Figure 7: CTA Blue Line station at Forest Park Figure 8: Mixed-use development at Madison Street
Mixed-use development on Madison Street (Figure 8) has been successful with cafes and other retail establishments on the ground floor (first level) and residential units above it.
The Village receives revenue from sales tax and car parks, especially the car park site adjacent to the rail station. In terms of development, the Village prefers early engagement with developers. The Village has an ambitious plan for growth.
Some challenges relate to the perceived quality of education, particularly at the high school. However the village is attempting to overcome this issue by attracting younger professionals and students as well as older residents.
9 Village of Forest Park (n.d.).
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 14 Forest Park faces Inter-town competition for development with nearby Oak Park. Oak Park has a relatively strong economic base and has attracted TOD in recent years.
West Chicago West Chicago is located 38 miles from downtown Chicago with a population of 27,507 in 201410. It has a notable cultural and ethnic mix with 51% of the township being Hispanic or Latino. Because of this inherent multicultural characteristic, there area has a good platform for which to grow and enhance the community’s offering. It also has the Prairie Path Cycleway, a popular tourist trail used extensively in the summer and an emerging arts scene.
It is around one hour from downtown on the Metra rail line. The current average daily ridership is 700 people. Highway access is through the Eisenhower Expressway.
It has a relatively large land area with 14.8 square miles or 38.3 square kilometres,11 although with lower density. In terms of development, some potential can be seen in the extensive municipal- owned land, especially in the areas near the Metra rail station (Figure 9). The developer panel conducted by RTA and ULI made recommendations for higher density at the site.
Figure 9: West Chicago train station Figure 10: Main Street, West Chicago
There are a number of existing retail shops and restaurants in the Main Street (Figure 10). However, some low quality shopfronts in some sections and a number of vacant buildings degrade the amenity and reduce its desirability for development. The area also faces some economic challenges, with the recent announced closure of the General Mills site, which is planned to occur over the next few years. However, it is understood Forest Park are working closely with General Mills to find an alternative use for the site.
10 United States Census Bureau 2015. 11 United States Census Bureau 2015.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 15 Creating Successful TOD in Chicago
In summary, there are number of critical factors when considering how to best attract infill development to TOD areas throughout Chicago including at Forest Park and West Chicago. These factors are not necessarily the most common or traditional criteria for successful TOD. These traditional criteria and Chicago specific criteria are compared in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Comparing traditional criteria for TOD success and criteria for success in Chicago Traditional TOD criteria for success Criteria for success for TOD in Chicago • Support from government Top three criteria • Strength of land market around transit corridors 1. Support from government o Existing density 2. Strength of land market around transit o Potential developer profitability corridors • Quality of transit 3. Quality of transit o People living and working along transit lines o Reliable, comfortable and clean transit experience • Other local factors o Good school district o Vibrant community (bars, restaurants, shops) o Local champion o Home rule town o Control over land parcels o TIF district
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 16 International Best Practice Insights
One of the requirements of this work for the RTA was to conduct research into international best practice for increasing infill development around TOD areas. A number of key themes emerged from this research which complement the themes identified in the stakeholder engagement process. These themes include: governance, strategic vision, needs based funding, smart cities and community engagement.
Specifically, the international best practices highlighted in this report include: • Governance models that highlight the importance of strategic planning, coordination, collaboration, effective financial management and community engagement • Strategic visioning for a city’s future and translation into a spatial plan for implementation • Maximising TOD potential through need based assessment and funding options as demonstrated by the TOD Guideline by Portland and UK City Deals • Smart City initiatives from Vancouver and Dallas • Community engagement tool, Better Block, to build vibrant communities
1. Governance Models In recent decades, there has been a move from focusing on government structures of metropolitan projects to the governance of such projects. Governance in this context means the system by which development and change in cities and regions are directed and controlled.
OECD best practice principles for metropolitan governance include:12 • Cities for Citizens – governance should meet the needs and aspirations of people who live in them. • Coherence – ‘who does what’ should be clear to the electorate. • Coordination – local authorities and regional agencies should work together, particularly on strategy planning. • Effective financial management – the costs of measures should reflect the benefits received. • Flexibility – institutions should be able to adapt as necessary to changing economic, social, and technological change. • Participation – community representation should be open to a diverse range of groups. • Social cohesion – institutions should promote non-segregated areas, public safety, and opportunity. • Subsidiarity – services should be delivered by the most local level that has sufficient scale to reasonably do so. • Sustainability – economic, social, and environmental objectives should be integrated and reconciled.
Governments and their agencies are key stakeholders and decision-makers in the legislation, procurement arrangements and approvals process. In many instances, governments are also landowners. However, governments and their agencies are not the only key driver or player in complex metropolitan projects such as urban renewal.
12 OECD (2000), The Reform of Metropolitan Governance, Policy Brief, Paris: OECD. OECD (2001), Cities for Citizens: improving metropolitan governance, Paris: OECD.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 17 Agency governance models typically include broad stakeholder involvement in articulating the problem, identifying the solutions and agreeing on desired outcomes. Multiple stakeholders, decision-makers, influencers, and actors may include governments (Federal, State, regional, municipal), landowners, local communities, private sector, developers, and financial enablers.
The table below summarises the main points from a comparative study of city governance.13 These key learnings may prove useful in Chicago.
Urban Key Learnings Governance
Vancouver • An enduring vision has evolved with wide public input. • There have been decades of effective regional governance. • Vancouver has a tradition of having the will to make hard decisions and see them through.
Toronto • Local government amalgamations has transformed Toronto’s governance. • Progress towards a regional approach to further growth. • Public engagement has patchy but is growing. • There is influential cross-sectoral activity.
Seattle • There is a cohesive legislative framework for managing growth. • Change has been successfully driven from the local level. • Decision making is hindered by a lack of regional oversight.
Portland • There has been a clear and consistent vision. • Portland has benefitted from a regional approach. • There has been extensive and consistent involvement of residents in decision- making.
Austin • Improvement was catalysed by cross-sector collaboration. • Rapid growth has happened without a strong planning framework, or effective cooperation between levels of government. • Lack of regional cooperation was identified as a challenge. • Interest groups are active, but broader public engagement is not widespread. • Austin may now be facing some hard decisions if it wishes to maintain quality of life.
Dublin • Central government initiatives encouraged investment and the rejuvenation of Dublin. • Growth was unexpected and not actively managed. • Citizen and stakeholder groups influenced some planning decisions. • The rejuvenation of Dublin has contributed to a positive outlook and pride in the city.
Copenhagen • Economic decline became a trigger for change. • Copenhagen has benefitted from a focus from all levels of government, particularly the national government.
13 Kelly, J-F. (2010), Cities: Who Decides?, Melbourne: Grattan Institute.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 18 • There is regional collaboration beyond government. • There is a long tradition of civic engagement in policy formation. • Residents now have pride in, and ambition for, their city.
Good governance in Chicago Good governance should provide clarity and certainty about who has the mandate to make decisions and who has the power to implement the required actions. This should allow stakeholders to act on short and long term goals. The common elements that emerged from the comparative study above include: public engagement in decision-making, consistency of strategic direction, collaboration across different sectors of society, regional cooperation and a mandate for change. These insights are aligned with the overall themes identified in the best practice research in particular the areas of strategic vision and community engagement.
Chicago has multiple layers of governments. Decision-making and implementation of metropolitan projects in Chicago follow a multiple agency governance model. The Mayor of Chicago and City Council are often given significant credit, though their governing style has been criticised. Non- government groups in Chicago are very active, and neighbourhood groups are particularly significant in city- and place-making. Regional collaboration is improving, though action is lagging.14
The government structures of the State of Illinois and of Chicagoland do not need to be abandoned or restructured in order to implement TOD successfully. Existing government structures can still aim to meet the criteria for good governance above. This would require collaborative partnerships and cooperation among stakeholders including RTA, CMAP, Urban Land Institute Chicago, municipalities, and local communities.
A study on what fields of work metropolitan governance bodies in the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area spend most of their time and efforts, found that three fields dominate the work of these governance bodies:15 1. Regional Development (about 80%) 2. Transportation (about 75%) 3. Spatial Planning (about 65%) Approximately two-thirds of all governance bodies in the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area are active in all three fields. For effective governance, there is a need for collaborative partnerships and cooperation among stakeholders – and this is an arena where an appropriate governance body can take a leadership role or collaborative leadership role.
Consistency of strategic direction is critical for prioritising TOD areas to yield the highest benefit or in areas with the highest need. However, CMAP’s GO TO 2040 is not spatially located within Chicago, making the governance of TOD projects more challenging.
Some governance strategies implemented elsewhere and worth considering in Chicago’s context include:16
14 Kelly, J-F. (2010), Cities: Who Decides?, Melbourne: Grattan Institute, pp.22-24 and confirmed by authors’ observations and insights from stakeholder engagements. 15 Tompson, W. (2014), ‘The OECD Metropolitan Governance Survey: What Lessons for Chicagoland?’, paper presented at Second Annual Summit on Regional Competitiveness, Alliance for Regional Development Chicago, 19 December 2014. This paper was prepared following the OECD’s Territorial Review of the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area in 2012. 16 SGS Economics and Planning Pty Ltd (2014), ‘Best practice urban renewal: Input into Bays Precinct forum’, report prepared for City of Sydney (unpublished).
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 19 • Delivery of metropolitan projects is embedded in legislation to provide long-term certainty and implementation. A statutory planning instrument is prepared following engagement with the community and subject to transparent processes of amendment and approval. • Government Owned Development Corporations (GODCs) are established as general- purpose developers undertaking projects across a range of sites. The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority in Perth as responsibility for Perth City Link, Elizabeth Quay, and the revitalisation of the Perth Cultural Centre. In the State of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia, UrbanGrowth NSW Development Corporation is an example of a general-purpose, multi-geographic GODC. The downside risk with this approach is that it adds another layer of bureaucracy. • A project delivery authority is created with the development of specific sites in mind and disbanded upon completion. The Barangaroo Delivery Authority in Sydney, NSW is an example of a GODC created for the delivery of a specific project. • The coordination or delivery of the project through a private or not-for-profit agency, separate from the government may be appropriate, especially if the land is in private ownership, such as at King’s Cross in London. The use of not-for-profit development agencies is common in the City of New York. The use of a not-for-profit agency enables objectives other than profit to take precedence. The corporate focus of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) demonstrates a strong commitment to socially and environmentally sustainable outcomes through the delivery of the project, through local procurement practices, allocation of tenancies, and delivery of supportive infrastructure on site.
2. Strategic Vision CMAP’s GO TO 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan provides an aspirational framework for the future of the Chicago region; however, it does not position Chicago within the competitive national or international context, providing a vision for what the city should look like in the future and how the city and its residents will respond to change. This vision should draw on evidence of past and current trends and should consider regional and international political, environmental, economic and social contexts that may influence the shape of the city in the future.
The Newcastle City Futures 2065 project in the UK provides an innovative example of an initiative to get communities thinking strategically about change and the future of their city.
Newcastle City Futures 2065 Newcastle in the north east of England was a major industrial centre during the 19th century that saw a decline in the second half of the 20th century. Following several decades of population decline, population has been increasing once again with a new services and retail based economy.
Newcastle City Futures 2056 is a project led by Newcastle University that commenced in 2014 as a way of enabling city wide participation in thinking about the future of the city. The project takes a strategic view of the city and provides a model for other cities to think about their futures and is scalable to local and regional areas.
The project had three primary aims:17 • To work with local partners and national bodies in establishing a review of key research applicable to the city region; • To establish a transferable methodology through which expertise in local universities
17 Tewdwr-Jones et al (2015).
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 20 could be mobilised on a sustainable basis and focused on the long term future of the city region up to 2065; • To develop long term thinking capacity in the partnership around the key future challenges such as environmental sustainability, long term economic development, the healthy and ageing city, urban to urban relationships, and urban and rural dynamics.
Led by the University, the project brought together stakeholders around a broad spectrum of interests including higher education, local authorities, enterprise and business, and the voluntary sector in order to build stronger relationships and boost the policy-research links. The end goal of the project was not to produce a particular plan or vision for Newcastle, but to provide evidence and ideas from the entire community that can be used in policy making and investment going forward.
After gathering an evidence base about the region including challenges and opportunities, the project provided two main platforms for engagement in the future of the city. The first was stakeholder workshops and scenario development that constructed a series of narratives about how future societal change might affect the city with the goal of getting stakeholders to think about the future of the city in new ways.
The second was the Newcastle City Futures Exhibition which established an ‘urban room’ in the city, providing a space for the community to explore the history of the city and to participate in discussions about change and the future. The exhibition ran for three weeks in 2014 in a neutral space in the centre of the city and combined story telling, exhibition and interactive events. It was made clear that the project’s future thinking was not about science fiction ideas such as flying cars, but about stimulating a conversation around change and future development.
Key success factors of the project are: • Required a strong leader dedicated to building relationships across the sectors. • Leadership by the university sector enabled conversations to be neutral to any one interest group, avoiding scepticism about someone’s agenda or the validity and relevance of participation. • Relationships and participation across multiple local authority boundaries was established • The project guided thinking about future cities without influencing peoples’ views. • The results of the project have the potential to affect change, as there was support for the project across all sectors including policymakers.
Strategic Plan To be successful, a strategic plan must provide a direction and justification for investment, leading to changes in the location and form of investment.18 A framework that provides guidance on implementation is required to enable communities and the market to respond and so that the success of the plan can be measured. A transparent framework that directs policy decisions and investment enables the private sector and community to respond with more informed decisions.
GO TO 2040 aims to provide a direction for growing Chicago’s regional economy by building on its strengths and overcoming its challenges. The Plan sets out a vision for Chicago’s future around four themes: liveable communities; human capital; efficient governance; and regional mobility. However, the directions and recommendations under these themes are not directed spatially within Chicago to prioritise areas yielding the highest benefit or with the highest need. A framework for
18 Healey (1997).
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 21 implementation and the interfaces between GO TO 2040 and other regional and local plans that apply to the same areas are unclear.
Sydney’s metropolitan strategy provides an example of a regional plan that translates city scale visions about the growth of the city into a spatial structure.
A Plan for Growing Sydney The metropolitan strategy for Sydney, Australia, A Plan for Growing Sydney (2014), provides a framework for investment and growth of the city through the development of a spatial structure that sets a hierarchy of activity hubs across the city, urban renewal and growth areas, and connectivity across the city. This plan gets updated every few years by the state government. Figure 11 shows the spatial plan for Sydney in the current strategy.
Figure 11: A Plan for Growing Sydney (2014)
The plan moves Sydney away from the traditional monocentric city focused around the Sydney CBD in the east towards a polycentric city, building up the strength of Parramatta as a second CBD supporting the economy in the western part of the city. A key feature of this spatial structure is the ‘Global Economic Corridor’, which identifies the major economic spine of the city spatially and has been the focus of economic development and connectivity since it was first conceived in 2005.
The plan also identifies key urban renewal corridors along existing rail lines that provide important opportunities to accommodate increased growth in areas with a high level of accessibility. ‘Strategic Centres’ are located along these corridors as major TOD areas serving as employment, retail and community hubs in key transport accessible locations. ‘Priority Precincts’ are also identified in the plan as underperforming areas in key locations that are targeted to receive government funding to stimulate new development that is more appropriate to their role in their surrounding area. This
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 22 framework and spatial hierarchy provides certainty to the market and the community about the priorities for future investment.
A spatial hierarchy and definition of TOD priority areas provide a framework for investment and give communities a clearer expectation on their capacity for TOD. Areas that are identified as being opportunity or priority areas for TOD are able to prioritise their investment on readying sites and the community for increased development and change. Areas that may not be identified for TOD could yield more benefit from investing in community infrastructure to strengthen existing assets and build resilience and vibrancy. With this framework in place, programs such as the RTA’s Community Planning Projects and CMAP’s Local Technical Assistance program are better able to prioritise allocation of resources to areas that have the greater potential but need assistance in getting TOD- ready.
3. Measures to Improve Funding Allocation
Regional level - needs based assessment for grant allocation and funding assistance to encourage TOD Successful TOD districts require a combination of factors. These factors include real estate market attractiveness, the availability of existing transit supply and other factors such as quality of the school district. As confirmed during the stakeholder engagement process, not all sites that have accessibility to transit will be successful TOD areas as developers are likely to favour areas with attractive real estate markets and good transit over higher risk alternatives. Research on best practice cities indicate that having a strategic guide about which areas of the city are growing, shrinking, or best able to support TOD (similar to Sydney’s metropolitan strategy described above) is a good way to focus the attention of regional authorities when providing direct grant assistance for TOD planning.
Portland Oregon has strict TOD guidance for applicants for TOD planning and funding assistance, under its Transit-Oriented Development Program. The region’s TOD program provides developers with financial incentives for TOD planning if applications enhance the economic feasibility of what fits the regions definition of a good TOD profile (higher-density, mixed-use projects served by transit).
Portland Oregon Transit Orientated Development – Project Investment Criteria19 Introduced in 2012 by the Portland Metropolitan government, TOD project investments must meet the following threshold requirements to be eligible for funding consideration: • Site control • Connection to transit • TOD typology (catalytic, major catalytic, housing choice project) • Transportation benefits • Land use benefits • Extent of financial need • Cost effectiveness analysis
This approach and framework could also be applicable to regional level support programs to municipal areas, in relation to community level support for corridor planning, for communities that are most likely to support TOD. The benefit of having more prescriptive guidance on how to award
19 Metro Portland (2015), Transit-Orientated Development Program.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 23 TOD planning grants, and the requirement for municipal areas to demonstrate costs and benefits in their applications, is that it directs grants to areas most likely to support TOD and gets municipalities to think more realistically about what is achievable in terms of TOD planning. It also directs regional financial resources to projects that are more likely to succeed, and result in better value for money.
Once applications for TOD planning are approved, best practice cities often use business cases and market studies to support projects. These projects could be planning studies, site selection for TOD, highest and best use of sites and so on. The benefit of using business cases is that they direct efforts to projects that deliver the greatest benefit. In NSW Australia, the state government use capital business case to support government-funded urban renewal and transport projects. The business case process in NSW helps decision makers choose the best means to satisfy a specified objective and rank competing proposals and enable Government to prioritise its resource allocation decisions.
Using business cases to support TOD planning studies (for instance to test quantitatively which sites/projects within a precinct would deliver the greatest value for money) can greatly reduce, but not eliminate the number of projects that prove to be poor investments. Business cases and market assessments have the capacity to indicate: • Expected impact on ridership through a TOD • The additional economic activity generated through TOD, including retail trade capture • Market studies could develop evidence around required price points for residential sales in order for development to be made possible • Ability for projects to make areas more economically resilient and sustainable
The Portland Oregon TOD program also provides financial incentives to developers in TOD eligible areas. The metropolitan government also acquires and owns property in transit-served areas and solicits proposals from qualified developers to create transit-oriented communities in these places. This option could be considered in other cities for sites where TOD will provide benefits to the community greater than the cost of the government subsidy. Business cases would help to determine the public benefit of providing such support.
Local level - financing options to make sites TOD-ready Some sites that are in attractive real estate markets and have good transit may still require innovative ways to secure TOD, particularly in areas where there is nearby competition for development. This may require regional level assistance directly to eligible municipalities to better prepare them for TOD.
Many municipalities will need to develop innovative ways to incentivise investment to make sites work. The research team has identified a number of additional potential funding sources that could be generated at the municipal level that could be leveraged in Chicago.
Alternative financing approaches Funding source and Description Exemplary programs potential lead agency
Local car parking Parking revenues could NSW Government car space levy20, strategy to space levies, be used to fund discourage car use in major commercial administered by local infrastructure centres, encourage the use of public transport municipalities hypothecated to fund and improve air quality. All parking space levies collected are deposited into a special
20 NSW Government (2015), Parking Space Levy, accessed on 19 November 2015 at url: http://www.osr.nsw.gov.au/taxes/psl
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 24 TOD enabling projects account called the Public Transport Fund, and must be used for public transportation purposes
Partnerships with Collaboration with The Greater New Orleans Foundation21 local businesses and surrounding convenes agencies and community associations to jointly municipalities and local development organisations to apply for develop funding bids businesses to develop federal funding for sustainable community funding applications for planning community improvements, to make site TOD-ready
On the ground Embedding developers The City West Development Corporation was development sector into municipalities for a established by the NSW Government to bring expert fixed time to help about urban renewal of Pyrmont and Ultimo structure property deals to direct investment and coordinate actors
Long term regional planning - consider alternative funding measures for long-term infrastructure needs Regional funding for capital projects over the period to 2040 is highly constrained, meaning new major capital projects will need to be funded either privately or through a combination of: • New Starts grants • Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program
The research team identified various international case studies which iterate best practice ways to encourage public use and grow the funding base for projects including: • Congestion charging • Rigorous project business cases (to strengthen bids for federal government funding) • City Deals (to increase funding allocations from the federal government)
The UK uses congestion charging to force mode shift from vehicles to other modes and raises revenue for transport funding. Such an option would help in Chicago to (i) increase public transport ridership; and (ii) grow the pie of transport funds. • Tolling and congestion levies charged to private motorists for entering defined areas during peak (congestion charge) and tolling on motorways. These funds could be directed to priority transit projects. • High level estimates of potential revenue raising capacity of a congestion charge alone could be up to $8 billion (in 2015 dollars) over 25 years, based on a $4 daily charge for 310,000 cars entering downtown area each weekday.
In addition to these new sources of locally generated funds, bids for federal money could be strengthened by the use of economic impact assessment and detailed business case that show the economic contribution of projects to the regional economy and the national economy. A project business case that does this well is London’s Cross rail project22 – an eight-station 21-km addition to
21 TOD 204, (year unknown), Planning for TOD at the Regional Scale, accessed on 19 November 2015 at url: http://www.ctod.org/pdfs/tod204.pdf 22 UK Cross-Rail, website, accessed on 19 November 2015, at URL http://www.crossrail.co.uk
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 25 the city’s metro system – expected to generate a benefit cost ratio of 3:1. In applying for government funding for that project, the business case placed a value on: • Effects of increased productivity of workers and employers from their ability to produce higher value goods and services • Sustainable economic development and population growth • Enhanced accessibility, improving job accessibility • Improved safety with reduced road incidents • Environmental improvements
Cross Rail demonstrates the economic impact across all of London by valuing the resultant additions to tax generation, and impact on the overall regional economy. A similar approach could be used to support current bids for application from new starts grants in Chicago, such as the CTA Red Line extension.
The UK also has in place a program called City Deals. Implemented in the UK in 2010,23 City Deals are agreements between the UK central government and city governments in relation to major project funding. The model has enabled a more financially sustainable approach to infrastructure financing through the implementation of a long-term rolling investment approach that draws on new sources of committed funding.
This has provided a commitment to prioritisation of infrastructure around economic growth and productivity outcomes, and the capacity to fund a greater scale of infrastructure than has historically been possible. Baseline economic activity is agreed between the city and the central government and performance above this results in additional funding for future projects in relation to: • Extra economic growth at a sufficiently large level of geography (whole of city level) • Net increases in jobs and productivity • Commitment to reinvest all money earned back in further economic impact-prioritised projects – this provides a rolling investment fund that can target sustained economic growth, rather than a one-off step change
Key to City Deals is an acceptance of the approach by the central government. This may not be achievable in the US at this point in time; however, the growing infrastructure backlog will continue to increase competition for funding. There is an opportunity for Chicago to lead on this approach to secure early funding and be known for innovation in project design and assessment.
4. Smart Cities The use of digital technology to enhance the performance of urban services is a growing trend in city planning, often referred to as ‘Smart Cities’. The user experience of transport for instance (via the use of mobile apps for public transport timetables) is an important benefit of using Smart City tools.
Smart Cities is an emerging theme for cities of the 21st century. The concept of Smart Cities is another theme identified by the research team to be relevant to Chicago’s context.
Smart Cities is a very broad concept and has various applications to cities. However, there are two notable examples identified as international best practice.
23 KPMG (2014), Introducing City Deals, accessed on 19 November 2015 at url: https://www.kpmg.com/AU/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/uk-city-deal-economic-growth-productivity.pdf
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 26 Social media and other technologies can also serve as new avenues for community participation and consultation. In the case of Metro Vancouver,24 they have introduced new methods for civic participation, such as: • Bring the Town Hall online – where local governments engage their citizens on social media accounts, such as Twitter or Facebook for a scheduled time slot, for questions and immediate feedback on vital issues • Allow access to city services via smartphones – Development of mobile-friendly websites and apps for easy access to information and city services • Map your Assets (Figure 12) – mapping the community resources to inform policies and activities in focusing or prioritising the use of their assets
Increased use of this platform in Chicago could be beneficial in engaging with local municipal residents about proposed change in their community.
Figure 12: Community Assets Map (Google Image by ACT for Youth)
Another example of Smart Cities is the partnership between public and private sectors in terms of providing a smart city service for the general public. There are transportation networks or ride- sharing companies that have emerged and currently growing globally. Ride-sharing applications, such as Uber and Lyft, offer the service to both drivers and willing passengers by ride-sharing or car- pool, and are stirring issues within the norm of the taxi industry and other public transport agencies. However, there are public transport agencies that have started to form ties with these newcomers. In an article in Next City,25 Lyft has started to arrange a formal partnership with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s GoPass mobile ticketing app to be able to connect that missing link from transit stations to the final destinations, to meet the demand as well as increase convenience for the commuters. Arrangements similar to this in Chicago could enhance the transit experience and may eventually impact ridership.
24 Toderian and Glover (2014). 25 Kaufman (2015).
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 27 5. Community Engagement One of the key issues identified at Forest Park, West Chicago and in communities across Chicago more generally is the importance of effective community engagement. Effective community engagement is critical in successfully implementing change. One of the tools available for community engagement is an initiative known as ‘Better Block.’ Better Block is an open source, one-day community event that is designed to be a tangible demonstration of what the future of a block or street could look like. Launched in the United States to combat urban degeneration, Better Block provides an alternative to the typical urban planning process. Better Block events typically include street furniture, modified traffic conditions, activities, music, greenery, surveys and a space for the community to have their say on the future of the area. Better Block has been used around the world from Tehran to Tampa and while predominantly targeted at demonstrating a need for change to policymakers and local government, one of Better Block’s core strengths is community engagement. The aims of Better Block include:26 • Bring the community together • Activate a healthy, sustainable built environment • Encourage community participation • Achieve permanent changes to areas • Show leaders or other key stakeholders the need for action • Minimise car use and increase pedestrian safety • Improve business sales
Considerations when selecting a site for a Better Block event include: • Leasable or available buildings for temporary business set up or other activity • Potential for multimodal street infrastructure • Proximity to a neighbourhood • Trees and greenery • Interest from local partners
The seaside neighbourhood of Clovelly in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia was one of the first in Australia to host a Better Block event in 2013 and held a follow up event in 2014. The core drivers for hosting Better Block included: poor cyclist safety, high business turnover and a lack of inviting space that attracted people to the area (and kept them there). The aim of the events were to support the area’s longer term vision of creating a liveable environment, complete street with greenery, outdoor seating, kerbside dining, community gardens, places for children and the elderly and an increased community feel.27 Key stakeholders for the 2014 event included the resident- formed Park to Pacific group that acted as a Steering Committee, local businesses, residents and local council. Park to Pacific was formed by the local community following the success of Better Block 2013 in an effort to formalise the strategic plan for the corridor between Centennial Park and Clovelly Beach which was conceptualised entirely by local residents through Park to Pacific. Over 3,000 people attended the Better Block event in 2014. The achievements of this event included: • Opportunity to trial ideas for improvement – low risk and low cost with high reward • Tangible demonstration of what greener and more sustainable streets could look like • Attracted 40 passionate volunteers from the local community
26 Better Block (2015). 27 Park to Pacific (2015).
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 28 • Prompted local businesses and residents to participate and shape/interact with a longer- term vision • Engaged locals to shop local • Improved aesthetics of the street with trees, shrubs, moveable street furniture, murals and parklet temporarily and permanently • Improved pedestrian and bike safety and slowed traffic • Fostered a stronger community spirit • Businesses noted sales were 30-50% above average on the day • 50% more visitors than the previous Better Block (3,000 in total) • Permanent change – 2 murals and 2 community verge gardens • Semi-permanent parklet trial for 6 months experienced high usage by the community
In a summary report prepared for local council and residents, Park to Pacific highlighted key learnings from the event including: • Demonstration projects like Better Block are an effective way to trial streetscape improvements, change behaviour and create awareness. They are relatively low cost, low risk and potentially high reward. • The residents and businesses should be involved in discussions on infrastructure and landscape decisions, not just development proposals or other day-to-day issues. • It is crucial for Council, both elected members and staff, to be supportive of innovation, trying new approaches and for sustainable changes to the street and public realm. Events such as Better Block are great venues for discourse, sharing of ideas and development of mutual solutions. Approvals process to get various permits could be simplified.
This case study is relevant to this research regarding Chicago for a number of reasons. These reasons include the ability to achieve shorter-term wins from which to build greater momentum, relatively low costs, successful community engagement – and it was started in the US, meaning leveraging the Better Block team and other towns that have done this should not be too difficult. Overall, Better Block is likely to be a successful way of mobilising communities across Chicago and ready them for change.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 29 Recommendations In undertaking this research, discussions with stakeholders working in Chicago’s transit and development arena as well as visits to the two case study sites with local municipality administrators has provided interesting insights into the political, social and environmental context that Chicago operates in. A review of international best practice has offered further understanding of Chicago’s development context and opportunities to build on its strengths and embrace new ideas for TOD.
This research has led to a number of recommendations for consideration by the RTA. Many of these recommendations build on the strengths of the RTA’s current work, and others suggest new opportunities and perspectives for TOD policies in Chicago. Several of the recommendations presented in this report are not directly related to the RTA’s role in terms of oversight of the three service boards. However, in the context of increasing ridership there is a great opportunity to improve ridership across all communities on the transit system by improving community vibrancy and resilience. Other recommendations won’t be able to be implemented by the RTA alone but could be done in partnership with CMAP and other agencies or the private sector.
This section is structured into recommendations for policy development and short term initiatives, followed by specific recommendations for Forest Park and West Chicago. In each case, an indication of responsibility is given (RTA or other) and in several cases there is an opportunity for the RTA to lead discussions and form partnerships with other actors to bring about change.
Recommendations for Policy Development The research has found opportunities for the development of policies that strengthen existing programs and plans, and that provide a framework to prioritise and maximise ongoing investment. Many of these recommendations for policy development could be led by the RTA, or they could be encouraged in partnership with other agencies such as CMAP, municipal governments, private sector partners or community groups. Recommendations for Policy Development Responsibility RTA Other Develop a multi-agency strategic vision for the Chicago region that goes ✔ ✔ beyond GO TO 2040 (include spatial distribution of priorities in the GO TO 2040 update) to identify future growth corridors and TOD priority areas. Criteria for success: • Develops a spatial structure for the city • Engages the community • Includes the private sector • Achieves interagency collaboration • Governor of IL and Mayor of City of Chicago as well as other regional mayors collaborate • Includes an implementation strategy Following a regional needs assessment for TOD, develop a framework ✔ ✔ that highlights TOD priority areas spatially to direct and prioritise investment. Possible tools to support a needs analysis: • Transit entry/exit data to better analyse transit utilisation • Business case development to assist allocation of scare resources by analysing the costs and benefits Increase rigour around the assessment and allocation of resources and ✔ ✔
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 30 grants for communities by developing an allocation policy that assesses projects and grants against the TOD priority framework. • Develop new tools in partnership with MPC that help communities look at the costs and benefits – build on MPC’s TOD Calculator • Relate allocation criteria to broader strategic vision and needs analysis Develop policies that can support increased funding for transit. Possible ✔ ✔ policy tools include: • Congestion charging, parking levies • Develop new ways to lobby the federal government for funding including business case development, City Deals type grants • Include private finance Develop clear measures of success for TOD in Chicago. ✔ ✔ • Commence TOD programs with a market analysis • Develop tools to assist TOD ready communities prepare for change and to achieve high quality TOD • Develop tools to assist communities that are not TOD ready to understand other opportunities to get them TOD ready in the future. • Build broader environmental, social and economic sustainability criteria into TOD framework making to get better outcomes Build partnerships and programs with other agencies and the private ✔ ✔ sector to combine resources for maximum benefit • RTA and CMAP to consider pooling resources and expertise by undertaking community programs in partnership to receive higher impact and return on investment in getting communities ready for TOD • An RTA, CMAP, ULI, private sector partnership could help integrate transit, land use and development programs.
Short Term Initiatives The following recommendations are short term initiatives that the RTA could lead or encourage in partnership with other agencies. These initiatives are generally local in scale and would help build the resilience and vibrancy of communities in preparation for future TOD.
Short term initiatives Responsibility RTA Other Develop a mandate for change by using use best practice community ✔ ✔ engagement strategies. Possible tools:
• Better Block project in local areas • Newcastle City Futures initiative at local or city scale • Local churches provide opportunities for local engagement • Interns of social policy and related courses
Work with local ‘champions’ and leverage their power and influence to ✔ ✔
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 31 maximum community benefit.
Understand customer experiences using transit to help direct service ✔ ✔ improvements. Potential ‘day in the life of a customer’ periodic event where RTA and three service boards meet to experience a lifecycle journey together across different areas and modes.
Consider a program that brings local business facilitators into the ✔ ✔ communities. These business facilitators could:
• Proactively engage multiple stakeholders and work to getting short term success stories for the community. • Develop main street programs to boost identity, amenity and competition • Market the community to prospective residents and developers
Case Study Site Recommendations An analysis of the needs and opportunities for TOD in the Chicago region may determine that the case study locations of Forest Park and West Chicago are not ready for TOD at this stage nor are they the highest priority for allocation of RTA resources for TOD. However, this research has determined that there are a number of opportunities to build on the strengths of these communities, making them more vibrant and resilient to changes in the region. The recommendations for these two case study areas directed towards community building which may have the potential to get these communities ready for TOD in the long term.
Forest Park Recommendations Responsibility RTA Other Prioritise a first development site to create a short term success. ✔ ✔ • Municipal owned car park site at Forest Park station is recommended as first priority Develop increased flexibility around planning/zoning/design controls to ✔ ✔ attract developers Engage a business facilitator to develop a main street program to support ✔ local businesses and increase amenity. Create a forum outside of City Hall that enables municipalities to talk ✔ with the community about change Proactive ‘deal-making’ with the development industry and local ✔ institutions • Potential to approach the hospital about opportunities to provide accessible and affordable nurse housing
West Chicago Recommendations Responsibility RTA Other Give the municipal owned ‘Frank’s Auto’ site to the Hispanic Housing ✔ ✔ Corporation to develop affordable shop top housing and create a short term success Attract cyclists and walkers on the ‘Prairie Path’ to stop in West Chicago ✔ • Utilise empty Depot Building for café, craft sales, community
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 32 space, artist workshops Build on strength of existing local Latino culture ✔ • Cultural music and food festivals • Opportunity for weekend festivals with camping on vacant site on W Washington St Build on strength of existing arts culture ✔ • Potential for artist studios in vacant buildings Change the prerequisites in the Main Street Program ✔ Relocate City Hall to vacant tenancy on W Washington to be closer to ✔ town centre and develop trust in the community Seek out new business opportunities for the closing General Mills factory ✔ site.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 33 Conclusions for RTA
The RTA has a mandate to increase ridership across the transit system in the Chicago region and has identified TOD as a key tool for achieving this ambition. Infill development around urban transit locations is a useful way of increasing ridership around existing transit stations, however this becomes particularly challenging in low to medium income areas. The case study sites of Forest Park and West Chicago used to explore this issue highlighted that many low to medium income areas are not ‘TOD ready’ and priority should be given to first increasing the vibrancy of local communities like these.
This research consolidated the perspectives of a wide range of stakeholders to understand the political, social and economic context of TOD in Chicago. Insights gained from these discussions were around four key themes:
• Governance: Strong leadership and multi-agency partnerships are required to negotiate through Chicago’s fragmented and multi-layered governance and get development happening • Growth: Population and economic growth across the Chicago region are less than other major US cities. Without this growth impetus over the coming years, using TOD to increase ridership may not be the only tool • Transit experience: there are many ways to increase ridership in addition to TOD including improving the quality of travel experience and pricing mechanisms to discourage the use of cars • Sustainable, resilient and vibrant communities: To attract development, communities need to have an existing level of amenity in place to be ‘TOD ready’. Building sustainable, resilient and vibrant communities will strengthen their ability to accommodate TOD in the future.
These insights as well as the case study site visits led to the conclusion that TOD in low to medium income communities is not about stimulating new development on sites at existing transit stations, rather TOD can be used to focus on building vibrant communities in the vicinity of existing transit. The best way to increase the use of the transit system is to enhance communities in these areas, making them more resilient to change and becoming attractive places to live and work. These communities can then become well placed to accommodate TOD in the future.
While meeting with municipal administrators at Forest Park and West Chicago, the research team experienced a commendable enthusiasm and energy for the continual improvement and development. Rather than pursuing large scale plans for growth and development in these areas that may be too long range, this energy is a valuable asset that can be directed towards the strengthening of resilience and vibrancy of the communities they serve for more immediate benefit. Refocusing on shorter-term, more achievable development outcomes may provide greater confidence in the community and the market, and provide a more efficient use of scare funding and resources. As community vibrancy and resilience is strengthened, the market and further TOD development may follow in the medium to long term.
A range of international best practice case studies were reviewed for their relevance in assisting the RTA and other agencies to establish priorities for the city, stimulate TOD and develop TOD guidelines, increase ridership and engage with the community.
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 34 This research together with the stakeholder insights has led to a number of key recommendations for the RTA:
• The RTA has the opportunity to take a strong leadership role in coordinating public and private players to direct resources where they can collectively get the most impact. • A needs analysis across the transit network that highlights areas with the highest opportunity for growth and areas that are in need of additional assistance to meet their potential, would provide the RTA with a good understanding of where resources should be allocated. • The development of a set of likely success criteria for TOD and TOD guidelines tied to this needs analysis would provide a strong framework for assessing and developing TOD programs. The RTA has the opportunity to strengthen the existing Community Planning Program though an assessment framework that allocates funding grants based on a demonstrated alignment with TOD guidelines and directs these to areas that are most likely to generate the greatest TOD success. • The RTA has the opportunity to work collaboratively with CMAP on community development programs in order to maximise resources and impacts in the community. • Developing a requirement for municipal governments to provide business cases or a discussion around the costs and benefits of proposed projects would assist the RTA in comparing the projects to direct resources where there is the highest benefit. • The RTA has the opportunity to consider the use of business cases in seeking federal funding for long-term transit projects. The use of business cases would assist in building a case for projects by demonstrating the costs and benefits of proposed projects.
The RTA operates within a challenging governance environment but is in a strong position to forge partnerships with other agencies and stimulate discussion about change and priorities for the Chicago region. The RTA has developed valuable programs that assist communities around transit stations and should be commended for this work. This research has concluded that there are opportunities for the RTA to build on the strength of these programs by shifting the focus these programs from infill development at transit stations, to community development that builds resilience and vibrancy in preparation for TOD. The development of a more systematic and evidence based framework would assist the RTA in directing resources to areas providing the highest benefit and aligning with broader strategic goals for the region.
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Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 38 Appendix 1: RTA project brief
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 39
175 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 1650 Chicago, IL 60604 312-913-3200 RTAChicago.org
Urban Policy Issue: Encouraging infill development in TOD areas
Background / Policy Issue
The Chicago Region has experienced sprawling growth since the 1980s and is now seeing that this type of development can no longer be sustained region-wide. Traffic congestion, increasing infrastructure costs and higher gas prices have all contributed to a changing mindset that is now putting more focus on development closer to the Region’s existing transit network on smaller parcels of land. This strategy, known as transit-oriented development (TOD), is gaining momentum in communities throughout the Chicago Region that have transit service. TOD can occur anywhere that transit exists, whether on undeveloped land (greenfield) or in areas with existing development (brownfield). Redevelopment opportunities are more complicated and cumbersome in brownfield areas or neighborhoods with some existing building stock. New construction in these areas most often occurs on smaller parcels of land that are underutilized and/or vacant amongst existing viable land uses. This type of development is referred to as infill development. Infill development in TOD areas is important for its contribution to the local (and regional) tax base, its ability to increase the population density of a smaller areas as well as a means to help create a neighborhood complete with a mix of land uses and a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure network near transit, contributing more riders to the system.
Encouraging and attracting infill development is challenging in older, low to moderate income, urban areas because it often requiring a tedious land acquisition process and results in smaller parcel sizes that are less profitable to developers. It is particularly challenging and currently rare in areas that lack a strong economic base and real estate market, even though most of these neighborhoods have an abundance of redevelopment opportunities. Land assembly, outdated and obsolete land control regulations, land development constraints and market constraints all challenge successful infill development and in many occasions force developers to consider greenfield sites for their lack of obstacles. While TOD has become increasingly popular in many greenfield, suburban, and affluent urban areas throughout the Chicago Region as the market strengthens, some areas still face challenges attracting development.
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is the oversight, funding and regional planning agency for the transit Service Boards (Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and
Pace) operating across the six-county region surrounding Chicago. The RTA does not have jurisdiction over land-use but supports TOD and infill development because it increases transit access and ridership. The RTA incentivizes local municipalities , which do have land-use control, to plan higher density developments around their transit stations through the Community Planning program. The Comminity Plannning program provides funding and technical assistance to local governments and the RTA Service Boards for transit-focused planning studies and implementation activities. Eligible implementation projects include zoning code updates, developer discussion panels, pedestrian access improvement plans, and other innovative implementation approaches. Eligible planning projects include transit-oriented development (TOD) plans and corridor, sub-regional or local access improvement plans. The RTA has provided funding and planning assistance to over 150 projects through the Community Planning program since 1998. New ideas and best practices related to successful TOD infill development will help the RTA provide insight and technical assistance to municipalities across the region facing challenges with attracting development .
Policy Relevance
Many established municipalities in the Chicago Region—mostly concentrated in the City of Chicago and inner-ring suburbs—face ongoing challenges related to encouraging and attracting infill development in market depressed, older urban communities served by transit. Strategies and policy solutions are needed to overcome barriers and attract and facilitate infill development in lower-income areas and those that have not yet captured the growing market for TOD.
Research Approach
This research aims to identify national and international strategies, policies and best practices to successfully attract and facilitate infill development in market depressed, urban, transit-served communities. This will include engaging local agency stakeholders to discuss issues and barriers to infill development and will be applied to two (2) case studies in the Chicago Region: one inner-ring suburban example (likely the Village of Forest Park) and another location to be determined (likely a Metra- served community).
Project Objectives
• Provide robust research on best practices on infill development, particularly as it relates to areas around transit in economically disadvantaged and/or low income areas
2
• Develop strategies to approach infill development that can be applied in urban and dense suburban areas throughout the Chicago Region • Provide guidance to the transit agencies and case study communities
Background Documents, Resources and Information
• RTA TOD Resources – information about RTA’s work • RTA TOD Viewer – an overview of projects completed with RTA funding • RTA Land Use Viewer – coming soon! • Regional Transportation Authority Mapping and Statistics (RTAMS) – maps, information and statistics about transit in Chicago. • Village of Forest Park Comprehensive Plan – context for one of the likely case studies • Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) Equitable TOD Efforts – work from one of our local non-profits • Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) TOD Efforts – work from another local interest group • CNT Housing + Transportation Index – more from the same
3
Appendix 2: Stakeholders in Chicago consulted for project
Agency Name and Position Leanne Redden Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director
Jessica Hector-Hsu Director, Planning and Market Development
Anthony (Tony) Manno Principal Analyst, Local Planning & Programs
Mark E. Pitstick Technical Advisor, Planning
Peter Fahrenwald Manager Regional & Corridor Planning
Patricia Mangano Project Manager
William Gillespie Principal Analyst, Strategic Planning
Bradley Thompson Manager, Data Services & Analytics Timothy E. Gillian Village of Forest Park Village Administrator
Joellen Charlton Senior Planner, Wills Burke Kelsey Associates
City of West Chicago John D. Said, AICP Director of Community Development
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Kendra Smith Planning Senior Planner
Jonathan Burch Senior Planner
Chicago Transit Authority Janine Farzin Strategic Planner, Strategic Planning
Metra David Kralik, AICP Department Head, Long Range Planning Strategic Capital Planning
Brian Hacker Planning Analyst, Long Range Planning Strategic Capital Planning
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 40 Metropolitan Planning Council Yonah Freemark Manager
Urban Land Institute Chicago Cindy McSherry Executive Director
Center for Neighborhood Technology Kyle Smith Manager, Transit-Oriented Development
University of Illinois at Chicago Rachel Weber Associate Professor in the Urban Planning and Policy Department
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 41 Appendix 3: Sample question sets used for stakeholder engagement process
General question set for Forest Park and West Chicago:
• Tell us about the area. • What are some of the strengths of the area? • What are some of the issues or challenges of the area? • What’s your vision for the area and how do you plan on achieving it (e.g. how do you connect the Forest Park/West Chicago station with the rest of the village)? • What work has been done in the area to encourage development around transport and what’s been the outcome? • Who are the main employers in area? • Do people generally work in the area or travel into the city? • Tell us about some of the social, environmental and economic dynamics within the area. • What are developers telling you that they need in order to develop in the area?
Forest Park specific questions:
• Tell us about the CTA Blue Line vision study completed in October this year. What has happened since? • Tell us about the developer panel session in November last year and what has happened since. Why? • Who is driving this from Forest Park? • Why do you think Oak Park has been successful? • What are the challenges you see in Roosevelt and Harlem Avenue (e.g. traffic speed)?
West Chicago specific questions:
• Tell us about the strategic plan. • Tell us about the developer panel session. • Who is driving this from West Chicago? • Why do you think other towns have been successful?
Meeting with Metra:
• Tell us about Metra’s role. • Can you describe Metra’s relationship with the RTA? Where does Pace fit into this? • Do you work with CMAP? Please describe this. • What data do you collect and what do you do with this information? • How do you measure success? • How frequently do you review your timetables and what are the drivers of doing this? • What is your role in increasing and changing ridership? • How do you facilitate passengers transferring between Metra and CTA lines? • Are there any transport providers globally that you consider best practice? • What are the features of best practice trains and stations that you think are best practice?
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 42 • Do you see your role as increasing infill development around stations? What benefit would this bring you? What are some of the challenges of doing this? • Do you have any assets such as land that you can leverage to increase this development? • Do you have staff who have links into the property industry? How do you engage with the development sector? • Have you done any work on the Forest Park or West Chicago areas? • Are there any resources available that you think would assist our research?
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 43 Appendix 4: Qualities of Resilient Cities
List of qualities of resilient cities (100 Resilient Cities, 2015) 1. Reflective: uses past experience to inform future decisions 2. Resourceful: recognises alternate ways to use resources 3. Redundant: spare capacity purposively created to accommodate disruption 4. Flexible: willingness and ability to adopt alternative strategies in response to changing circumstances 5. Robust: well-conceived, constructed and managed systems 6. Inclusive: prioritise broad consultation to create a sense of shared ownership in decision making 7. Integrated: bring together a range of distinct systems and institutions
Maximising TOD Opportunities in Chicago 44