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TransFormation Alliance Aims to Promote Equitable Transit-Oriented Development

Posted on: Aug 29, 2016

This rendering demonstrates the developer’s idea of how transit-oriented development might look near the King Memorial MARTA rail station.

Transit-oriented developments, or TOD, are a popular concept: pedestrian friendly, mixed-use communities built around rail stations that help increase transit ridership and offer improved access to employment centers and services.

But a key question looms as MARTA prepares to bring TODs to a number of its transit stations: how to ensure that these projects are developed in an equitable fashion, so as not to price out lower-income residents who are most in need of access to transit and good jobs.

Enter the TransFormation Alliance, a collaborative effort made up of private, public and nonprofit groups, including the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), MARTA and Enterprise Community Partners. The Alliance, staffed by ARC and co-led by Enterprise, is dedicated to creating thriving, mixed-income communities anchored by transit and linked to all the opportunities and amenities that make the Atlanta region a great place to live.

The TransFormation Alliance recently updated its website, atltransformationalliance.org, to include in-depth profiles of each MARTA rail station along with a range of demographic and economic data about the surrounding neighborhoods around each station. This arms MARTA, community leaders and developers with data to help them design a project that has a positive impact on the community.

Station profile segment for the King Memorial MARTA rail station.

The profile data focuses on the neighborhood within a half-mile of each station, including but not limited to:

  • population
  • median household income
  • percentage of employed residents
  • average rental rates
  • average travel time to work

The website also describes the work being done by the 17 partner organizations and four sponsors. This work includes:

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33°n
CDAP
Community Planning Academy
ConnectA
Empowerline
Georgia Commute Options
Green Communities
LCI
LINK
MARC
Metro Atlanta Speaks
MNG Water Planning District
RLI
State of the Region
UASI
WorkSource GA
33°n
CDAP
Community Planning Academy
ConnectA
Empowerline
Georgia Commute Options
Green Communities
LCI
LINK
MARC
Metro Atlanta Speaks
MNG Water Planning District
RLI
State of the Region
UASI
WorkSource GA