After experiencing homelessness and instability, Quantavia Smith recently moved into a studio apartment in Los Angeles with direct access to public transit. Smith pays 30% of her income for rent, which amounts to $19 per month for an apartment valued at $2,000. “It is more a sense of relief, a sense of independence,” Smith said about her new living situation. “Having your own space, you feel like you can do anything.”
Cities such as Los Angeles and Boston are increasingly linking new housing developments to proximity to public transit. Officials argue that this approach revitalizes neighborhoods, provides affordable housing options, increases transit ridership, and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing car usage.
Yonah Freemark, research director at the Urban Institute’s Land Use Lab, emphasized the importance of these efforts: “Transit-oriented development should be one of, if not the biggest solution that we’re looking at for housing development. It takes advantage of all of this money we’ve spent on transportation infrastructure. If you build the projects and don’t build anything around the areas near them, then it’s kind of like money thrown down the drain.”
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has set a goal to create 10,000 housing units near transit sites by 2031. Developers are offered land discounts in exchange for including affordable housing and other community benefits in their projects.
In Washington D.C., eight completed projects since 2022 have delivered nearly 1,500 apartments and significant office space close to public transit. About half were developed in partnership with Amazon through $3.6 billion in loans and grants supporting affordable housing in several cities nationwide.
Freemark noted that “Big cities face the greatest challenges when it comes to traffic congestion and high housing costs. Building new homes near transit helps address both problems by encouraging people to take transit while increasing housing supply.”
Boston’s recent developments include Pok Oi Residents in Chinatown—located within walking distance of subway and bus stops—which attracted Bernie Hernandez’s family from Connecticut after his daughter was accepted into a local university. Hernandez highlighted how convenient public transport has reduced their reliance on cars.
States across the country are passing laws aimed at loosening zoning restrictions that previously limited multifamily developments. California recently enacted legislation allowing taller buildings on land owned by transit agencies or located near major bus or rail lines.
“Building more homes in our most sustainable locations is the key to tackling the affordability crisis and locking in California’s success for many years to come,” said State Sen. Scott Wiener.
Colorado now requires higher-density development near transit corridors; Utah mandates similar measures; and Washington state passed legislation permitting taller mixed-use buildings near stations.
Democratic Rep. Julia Reed explained: “We want to ensure that there are mixed-income, walkable, vibrant homes all around those transit investments and that people have the option of using cars less to improve the environmental health of our communities.” She added: “It’s about giving people the opportunity to drive less and live more.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey made addressing housing shortages a priority with a 2021 law requiring nearby towns to allow multi-family zoning districts—resulting so far in over 6,000 units under development after state investment.
“You put housing nearby public transit,” Healey said. “It’s great for people. They can literally get up, leave their home, walk to a commuter rail and get to work.”
Lexington was among early adopters but scaled back its planned zones after local pushback.
Project manager Quinlan Locke described one Lexington project: “This is a landscape yard. It’s commercial. It’s meant for trucking.” He continued: “Two years from now it’s going to be meant for people who live here, work here and play here.”
Despite progress, some advocates note persistent obstacles such as community resistance and funding gaps—leading nine times more homes being built away from public transport than near it over two decades according to Urban Institute data from 2023.
In Massachusetts alone, several communities have resisted creating new zones; some filed lawsuits against state requirements or rejected plans outright.
Anthony Renzoni from Holden expressed concerns about state involvement: “If we allow the state to come in and dictate how we zone what else are they going to come in and dictate?”
Back in Los Angeles’ East Hollywood neighborhood where Smith lives alongside other formerly homeless residents receiving support services—including case management—the presence of grocery stores and clinics aims to further revitalize areas adjacent to metro stations.
