What Does Inclusive Transit-Oriented Development Mean to You?

The NUA consolidates the linkages between urbanization and sustainable development. Urban planning and design is a fundamental priority to achieving sustainable urban development and an essential technical part of the urbanization process in relation to the physical layout of the building and public space. The New Urban Agenda needs to be grounded upon inclusive transit-oriented development (TOD) and sustainable mobility in order to be achieved.

Back in 2013, ITDP developed the TOD Standard as a powerful tool to help shape and assess urban development focusing on maximizing benefits of public transit and non-motorized mobility in a human-scale. The TOD standard outlines eight core principles of urban design and land use, each supported by specific performance objectives and easily measurable indicators or metrics in order to promote safe, balanced and vibrant neighborhoods.

At Habitat III, ITDP launched the latest version of the TOD Standard with a greater focus on inclusiveness. We partnered with five other constituencies representing women, children, elderly people, disabled, and slum-dwellers to discuss how TOD affected their rights, social inclusion, access to urban services, education, health care and means of economic development and improving their quality of life.

At the WUF in Kuala Lumpur, we will announce a policy brief series on what effectively inclusive TOD means, precisely, for specific groups that experience specific forms of exclusion. ITDP and the Women's Environment and Development Organization are working on Engendering TOD, the first of these policy briefs. We will also discuss similar issues with other constituencies on how inclusive TOD would benefit children, the elderly, the disabled or people that live in settlements with lack of accessible infrastructure. We want to work to create sustainable cities for all!