Grow Smart RI Study Outlines Transit-Oriented Development Potential to Address RI’s Housing Shortage
Thursday, February 14, 2019
John Flaherty with Grow Smart RI appeared on GoLocal LIVE where he spoke to the recently published study estimating the capacity for accommodating up to 73,000 new housing units and 25,000 new jobs in transit-oriented development areas located in five cities and towns across Rhode Island.
Flaherty spoke to how transit-oriented development, or TOD, is a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a half-mile of high-quality public transportation.
The year-long TOD study was conducted by 40 graduate students in the Roger Williams University School of Architecture under the direction of Professor Ginette Wessel and in collaboration with Grow Smart RI, HousingWorks RI and planners in the five communities studied. Independent transit consultants Roger Leaf and Peter Brassard also provided extensive pro bono counsel to the effort. The estimates for accommodating housing and jobs are based on the highest of three density scenarios outlined by the students.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn 2016, HousingWorksRI published a report detailing Rhode Island’s housing shortage and projecting the need for up to 40,000 new housing units by 2025, based on only modest population growth and the continued decline in average household size. “Due to a variety of building constraints, permits for new housing in Rhode Island are being granted at the rate of about 750 per year, less than a quarter of the rate needed to meet the demand”, said Brenda Clement, Executive Director of HousingWorksRI, a housing policy research organization at Roger Williams University.
The report, Evaluating the Potential for Transit Oriented Development in Rhode Island, examined the opportunities, constraints and challenges of transit oriented development (TOD) at specific sites along Rhode Island’s rail corridors and/or high-frequency bus routes in Woonsocket, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Westerly and Newport. The cities of Pawtucket/Central Falls, Providence and Warwick have already conducted professional TOD analyses, made necessary zoning changes and are in various stages of implementation.
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