Development Near Transit Too Pricey? Build More Transit

Charlotte, North Carolina's new Lynx light rail system has proven to be tremendously popular. So popular that as each new rail segment is built out, it has spurred a boom in real estate development. The result has been an urbanist's dream of transit-oriented growth in many ways -- density, mixed uses, walkability.

Mary Newsom, a columnist with an urbanist bent at the Charlotte Observer, has taken issue with the scale of new development near Lynx, saying the tall buildings and high prices drive out small businesses.

According to Network blog The Overhead Wire, however, Charlotte's problem isn't the height of its new buildings, it's that the pace of transit-oriented development isn't sufficient to meet demand:

The Overhead Wire goes on to theorize that Denver and Houston, which are building multiple transit lines simultaneously, will see more affordable development near the new stations.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Psystenance suggests that the language we use to identify people who use different types of transportation may be hurting the movement for a multi-modal system. Spacing Toronto condemns a proposal to build a tunnel for car traffic, pointing out that the money might be better spent improving the city's light rail and and local bus service, which are currently the modes of choice for a majority most commuters to the city. And The Infrastructurist admires the work of German photographer Christoph Gielen, whose captivating aerial images of sprawl were recently featured in the New York Times.