Rail Transit’s Value-Added & the Commons
Jennifer Kenyan
PA 395 Common Assets
January 29,2008

Transit-Oriented Development
• Case-study: Rail Transit’s Value-Added:
Effects of Proximity to Light and
Commuter Rail Transit on Commercial
Land Values in Santa Clara, California by
Robert Cervero and Michael Duncan
• Does proximity to a light-rail station increase the value of commercial property?

Benefits and perceived drawbacks of TOD
• Accessibility
• Transit boards become entrepreneurial
• Public-private joint investments
BUT
• Incursion of noise, vibration, increased transit, partial takings that reduce usable size of residential land parcels that reduces property values

Policy Implications
• Increased land values
• Increased commercial property value
• Employer access to labor markets improves
• Local governments capture value-added

TOD and Common Assets
• Environmental impacts
• Community“The commons is the village tree, the public square, Main Street, the neighborhood and the Internet. Outside of families, it’s the glue that holds us together.” ( State of the Commons , p. 4)