Housing, Transport, and the Fight for Equitable Cities

This article discusses growing efforts to link affordable housing with transit-oriented development (TOD), which has the potential to reverse the isolation of poverty and contribute to the fight against climate change. In cities in developing countries, strategic TOD can create more sustainability and offer better access to jobs, schools, fresh food, and health services. Affordable housing and TOD initiatives in Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa and the United States are profiled in this article. The U.S. currently has 28 states that either require projects wishing to receive the low-income housing tax credit to be located near transit or give preference to those projects with proximity to transit. India is making efforts to increase density around their new transit corridor. South Africa is using TOD to redress spatial inequality stemming from planning during the apartheid era. Mexico is pursuing parking reform, while Brazil is implementing bus rapid transit. These countries all recognize that affordable housing can be provided along with the possibility of upward mobility and a bright future for residents.