CCAPCENTER FOR CLEAN AIR POLICY

Dialogue. Insight. Solutions.

WRIT TEN BY:

Chuck Kooshian and Steve Winkelman

S E P T E M B E R 2018

WHITE PAPER:

A M AT R I X O F P OT E N T I A L P O L I C Y TO O L S F O R T R A N S I T O R I E N T E D D E V E LO P M E N T I N CO LO M B I A

CCAP September 2018

Matrix of Potential Policy Tools for Transit Oriented Development in Colombia

Authors:

Chuck Kooshian and Steve Winkelman

September 2018

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Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Growing Wealthier Matrix: Economic Benefits of Smart Growth and TOD ............................................. 4

Organizing Principles for TOD Policy ............................................................................................................ 5

Elements of TOD Neighbourhoods ........................................................................................................... 5

Categories of Government Actions .......................................................................................................... 5

Levels of Government Responsibility ....................................................................................................... 6

Matrix of Potential TOD Policy Tools ............................................................................................................ 7

Next Steps ................................................................................................................................................... 12

The following document was developed as input to inform TOD replication policies for the Colombia TOD NAMA Support Project funded by Germany and the UK through the NAMA Facility . Note that these are potential tools that will require further assessment and do not represent policy recommendations. CCAP serves as the Delivery Organization for the NAMA. CIUDAT, a center for sustainable urban development within Colombia’s national development bank, FINDETER, is the NAMA implementing entity. CIUDAT provides cities with technical and financial assistance on TOD implementation and serves a policy advisory role to ensure replication of TOD across Colombian cites. CIUDAT is pursuing a comprehensive Monitoring & Evaluation strategy to track implementation progress, improve performance and establish the capacity to assess long-term impacts.

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Introduction The core concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) is to combine residential, retail and commercial land uses with public open space near public transit stations. A TOD allows people direct access to transit and to live, work, play and shop in a pedestrian-friendly environment. TOD principles promote compact development, mixed-uses and enhanced auto, pedestrian and bicycle connections. Most TODs are located within 500 – 750 meters from a transit station or stop. From the perspective of transit agencies and government, TODs are a proven way to achieve outcomes such as:

• Increase transit ridership • Reduce traffic congestion (and exposure to it) • Reduce environmental pollution including greenhouse gases (GHGs) • Reduce the demand for oil • Enhance tax revenue from increased land value and intensified development • Reduce infrastructure costs

TOD and metropolitan “smart growth” strategies yield multiple social, economic and environmental benefits to a variety of stakeholders. CCAP's 2011 book, Growing Wealthier: Smart Growth, Climate Change and Prosperity, present evidence on how application of smart growth principles can improve the bottom line for businesses, households and governments by increasing property values, cutting fuel and infrastructure costs, creating jobs, enhancing public health and strengthening communities.

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Growing Wealthier Matrix: Economic Benefits of Smart Growth and TOD

Government policy is an important part of creating a supportive environment for Transit Oriented Development. When developing a strategy for policy intervention to support TOD it is important to include a variety of tools that complement each other and together offer the possibility of affecting all elements of TOD. It is also important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of government and political power within the specific context being considered.

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Organizing Principles for TOD Policy The wide range of potential policy interventions can be organized into a few key themes by considering 1) the elements of TOD that the policy is focusing upon, 2) the type of intervention action and 3) the level of government at which it is implemented. The scheme described below is fairly general: although government agencies and processes specific to Colombia are named, the structure and policy options can be translated to other countries without too much difficulty.

Elements of TOD Neighbourhoods Effective TOD areas share a mix of elements, each of which contributes to the performance of the neighbourhood with respect to the outcomes listed above. These key elements are often listed as the “D” characteristics, since a word starting with “D” can be used as shorthand for each concept. Since the goal of policy change is to promote development with these “D” characteristics, it is important to recognize each element as a part of the overall concept of TOD.

• Density – maximize density close to public transport and transition away from stations • Diversity – a mix of housing types, uses, tenures, sizes, price points along with retail, leisure and

employment opportunities • Design – standards and designs that ensure walkability and bikeability, while promoting a sense

of place • Destinations – accessibility to other important places via public transport corridors • Distance – small block size, fine grained sidewalk and bike path network grids • Demand Management – regulatory or pricing policies that discourage parking and driving

Categories of Government Actions Government actions to achieve certain goals, broadly termed policy, can actually be broken down into a number of categories. Broad strategies are often a combination of actions from one or more of the following areas.

• Planning and growth policy – Mapping, determining and describing future goals for the built environment, including technical capacity building, stakeholder engagement and communication.

• Public investment and budget – spending public money to build infrastructure or fund operations, including institutions.

• Incentives and disincentives for private investment – Regulatory and fiscal measures that make certain choices preferable to others, while still allowing flexibility.

• Regulations – non-flexible government rules with punitive sanctions for violators.

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Levels of Government Responsibility Government operates at different geographic levels, with responsibility for different aspects of urban development and subsequently the ability to mobilize different policy tools. In Colombia, we consider two levels, although it is also possible to develop a more detailed breakdown of responsibilities.

• National level – Presidencia, Ministries and Departments, CONPES, CONFIS –responsible for nationwide development policies and supporting large investments in critical infrastructure

• Department and Local level – Governors, City mayors and councils and state and local secretariats– responsible for local land use, transport and development policies and local infrastructure planning, construction and maintenance

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Matrix of Potential TOD Policy Tools

Organized by category, responsible government level (National, Local) and affected TOD elements

Categories of Action

National Ministries Departamentos y Ciudades

Planning and policy actions

DNP • Modify urban planning

requirements to include mobility as a guiding principle (Density, destinations, distance)

• Update urban development plans at least every few years with performance targets for density, land use diversity, transit service, destination accessibility, range of housing types and other criteria. (Density, diversity, destinations)

• Peripheral land management on the city outskirts by establishing a land expansion containment policy that takes into account mobility as a structural basis of urban space and promotes TOD. (Density, destinations)

• Ensure that land use plans designate mixed-use TOD centers and other activity growth areas that support national and regional transit plans. (Diversity, destinations)

• Develop guidance for cities to designate Priority Development Areas that adhere to TOD principles (Density, design, destinations, distance)

• Establish local government capacity building program; training and assistance in reviewing sustainable development proposals (Density, diversity, design, distance)

• Establish local government

Planning • Ensure land use policies

promote TOD and compact shape including– (Density, diversity, destinations, distance) o POT, regional, city and

neighbourhood plans o zoning, form based or

Euclidian o mixed use policies o density

requirements/allowances o transfer of development

rights o TOD standards

• Designate Priority Development Areas that adhere to TOD principles (Density, design, destinations, distance)

Transport • Ensure parking policies do not

encourage excessive parking (Design, demand management) o maximum and minimum

requirements per square metre

o consider fees o promotion of parking

garages • Set Road, Transit and NMT

investment policies (Design, destinations, demand management) o VMT vs level of service

impact o transit access and service

level o NMT infrastructure

requirements

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Categories of Action

National Ministries Departamentos y Ciudades

capacity building program; training and assistance in reviewing sustainable development proposals (Density, diversity, design, distance)

Transporte • Redirect additional funding to

public and non-motorized transport (Design, destinations)

• Establish funding criteria to fund only mass transit that meets international quality standards and/or operates on a Transit-Oriented Development strategy (Design, destinations)

• Ensure mass transport access to government facilities such as airports, schools, etc. (Destinations)

Vivienda

• Modify national housing policy to include location criteria. (Density, diversity, destinations) o Mortgages granted by

government agencies should take into account two factors: transportation costs and accessibility to housing developments.

o Bridge loans for the construction of housing developments should require location and accessibility criteria in order to prevent urban sprawl.

o Encourage developments to include a mix of high and middle income housing, including rentals, and reward such a mix with federal grants.

• Encourage mix of housing

o PPP rules and processes o BRT Standards

Public Works

• Ensure infrastructure policies promote sustainability, resilience and TOD (Density, design, distance) o utility infrastructure

capacity to support density o green infrastructure and

resilience planning o renewable energy

Housing

• Ensure housing policies promote sustainability, resilience and TOD (Diversity, destinations) o Location of social housing

near transit o mixing levels of housing

around transit

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Categories of Action

National Ministries Departamentos y Ciudades

ownership and rentals in cities. (Diversity)

MADS

• Develop national M&E standards for GHG and TOD (Density, diversity, design, destinations, distance, demand management) o Establish evaluation

protocols to monitor progress and outcomes.

o Begin data collection program for monitoring and reporting of key criteria.

Hacienda

• Program funding to promote sustainable urban mobility and Transit-Oriented Development (Design, destinations)

Public investment and budget actions

Transporte

• Prioritize and implement TOD in conjunction with transit projects to increase ridership and farebox recovery (Design, destinations)

Vivienda

• Prioritize and implement TOD-supporting housing projects around transit stations (Density, diversity, design)

MADS

• Begin data collection program for monitoring and reporting of key criteria. (Density, diversity, design, destinations, distance, demand management)

Public Works

• Identify and implement pilot

projects on transportation, housing or economic development that are in preferred areas or support national transit initiatives (Density, diversity, design, destinations)

• Begin to implement new utility plans to support TOD. (Density, design, destinations, distance)

• Prioritize wet and dry infrastructure improvements within designated TOD focused Priority Development Areas. Delay improvements in non-preferred areas far from existing development. (Density, design, destinations, distance)

• Equipamientos. Construct parks, civic buildings, schools and other amenities in TOD focused Priority

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Categories of Action

National Ministries Departamentos y Ciudades

Hacienda • Link federal transport and

housing funding to local governments’ planning efforts and program requirements (Density, diversity, design, destinations, distance, demand management) o Creation of institutions

responsible for urban planning and mobility

o Updating Metropolitan transportation and POTs

o Urban development plans linked to transportation plans

Obras Públicas (and all Ministries) • Prioritize infrastructure

investments in Priority Development Areas that adhere to TOD principles

Development Areas before other areas. (Density, diversity, design)

Transport

• Begin constructing transport infrastructure to support TOD. (Design, destinations)

Incentives and disincentives for private investment

Transporte • Promote PPPs for transit

oriented development (Density, diversity, design) o Joint development ventures o Leasing schemes around

stations Hacienda

• Consider tax incentives for TOD (Density, diversity, design, destinations, distance)

Budget • Ensure tax policies and fees

support TOD and infrastructure (Density, diversity, design)

o value capture program o tax incentives

• Levee impact fees on development in non-preferred areas if infrastructure cannot be withheld entirely. (Density, destinations)

• Establish local funding programs to support property owners Priority Development Areas Example: Sidewalk repairs, façade improvements, landscaping. (Diversity, design)

Regulations MADS

• If Environmental Impact documents required, include impacts of urban expansion and traffic congestion (Density,

• Set an urban growth boundary, contiguity requirements and infrastructure concurrency requirements (Density, destinations)

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Categories of Action

National Ministries Departamentos y Ciudades

demand management) Hacienda

• Regulate sale of public lands to conform to urban development plans (Density)

• Establish initial or updated zoning, subdivision and building codes (Density, design, distance)

• Align annexation and infrastructure extension policies with comprehensive plan growth expectations (Density, destinations, distance)

• Ensure urban design standards promote walkability and sense of place (Design, distance) o pedestrian design

standards o open spaces and public

buildings o shade o sidewalk width o setbacks

Transport • Ensure parking regulations do

not encourage excessive parking (Demand management) o maximum and minimum

requirements per square metre

o consider fees o promotion of parking

garages • Review or modify

transportation performance standards to support transit and non-motorized levels of service. (Demand management)

Budget • Consider requiring tax burden

analysis or fiscal impact analysis as part of large development plans. (Density, distance)

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Next Steps Technical experts at CIUDAT (Centro para Intervenciones Urbanas de Desarrollo Avanzado al Transporte, housed within FINDETER) are currently conducting policy analyses and developing a TOD policy road map to advance replication of TOD across Colombian cities. CIUDAT is also developing recommendations for harmonization of policies across national ministries to advance national policy goals on urban transportation, housing, environment, economic development and social equity.

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