Great things can happen when communities work together to achieve successful projects — and ultimately, livable communities. Building livable communities requires understanding and cooperation among all participants — citizens, government agencies, transit agencies and developers. Successful projects all over the country continue to benefit from public and private partners who combine their expertise and who leverage each partner’s assets. This session explores how partnerships are formed, how to reduce risk for all partners, ways to achieve success, and lessons learned.

Moderator: Lynn Flint Shaw, Boardmember, DART Board of Directors, Dallas, Texas
Daniel Meyers, Senior Transportation Planner, URS Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Richard Petersheim, Partner, LandDesign, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina
Troy Russ, Principal, Glatting Jackson, Orlando, Florida
Anna Apostolos, Program Manager, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, Los Angeles, California

View Meyers presentation (26 pages / 3.0mb)
View Apostolos presentation (28 pages / 1.7mb)

Learn how to create and promote pedestrian, bike- and transit-friendly communities. Creating the livable community requires transportation options that are safe, convenient, attractive and sensitive to the community setting. Encouraging more people to bike, walk and take transit requires both well designed facilities and well thought out strategies. What really affects the way people travel? Is good infrastructure enough? Learn how good design and well-scaled facilities combine with car sharing, parking management, individualized marketing and other strategies to provide the optimal mix.

Moderator: Lavinia Gordon, Transportation Options Division Manager, City of Portland, Oregon
Rex Burkholder, Councilor, District 5, Metro, Portland, Oregon
Sharon Feigon, CEO, I-GO Car Sharing, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago, Illinois
Richard Hayden, Principal, DLK Civic Design, Chicago, Illinois

View Gordon presentation (5 pages / 0.3mb)
View Burkholder presentation (33 pages / 1.1mb)
View Feigon presentation (19 pages / 0.4mb)
View Hayden presentation (19 pages / 0.9mb)

Find out what innovative strategies transit agencies are using as they implement effective joint development. Joint development is a subset of transit-oriented development — occurring in a manner that is project-specific and on, or adjacent to, a public agency’s land (usually a public transit agency). However, the small parcels of land normally owned by transit agencies have severely limited good, effective TOD potential. This session addresses some of those challenges and how communities can still rise to the occasion with joint development.

Moderator: Marsha Kaiser, Urban Planning and Public Policy Practice Leader, PB PlaceMaking, Baltimore, Maryland
Bill Sirois, TOD Manager, RTD FasTracks Team, Denver, Colorado
Nat Bottigheimer, Director of Planning and Project Development, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, DC
Jeff Ordway, Department Manager, Joint Development, Real Estate Services, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Oakland, California

View presentation (59 pages / 2.2mb)

The session focuses on innovative public-private finance tools for transit systems or TOD including: tolling, special assessment districts, a new federal pilot program, and joint development techniques.

Moderator: Kim Delaney, Growth Management Coordinator, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, Stuart, Florida
Mary Jo Morandini, General Manager, Beaver County Transit Authority, Rochester, Pennsylvania
Edward Fishman, Partner, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP, Washington, DC
Art Guzzetti, Director of Policy and Advocacy, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Jack Kanarek, Senior Director, Project Development, NJ Transit, Newark, New Jersey

Avoid misunderstandings and project delays by learning what different stakeholders mean when they use similar-sounding words. What do other people hear when words such as “TOD,” “planning” and “implementation” are used? This session includes discussion among a “values” pollster, an elected official, a technical expert in TOD typologies, and an agency official. They will discuss how planning can be used to facilitate and broker agreement and to assist in decision-making — as long as everyone is on the same page with effective communication strategies.

Moderator: Ellen Vanderslice, Transportation Project Manager, City of Portland, Oregon
Donald Halligan, Assistant Director, Office of Planning, Maryland Department of Transportation, Hanover, Maryland
Dee Allsop, Group President, Harris/Wirthlin Brand & Strategic Consulting, Reston, Virginia
M. David Lee, Principal, Stall and Lee, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts
Mary Ann Smith, Alderman, 48th Ward, City of Chicago, Illinois

View Allsop presentation (17 pages / 0.3mb)

Learn about the unique urban form associated with streetcars. See whether the streetcar is the right technology for your community and how to plan and zone for the best streetcar-oriented development. The streetcar is uniquely suited to promote a high-density, high-quality “New Urbanist” environment because it typically stops at every corner, integrates seamlessly into the streetscape, and generates an intensity of development and uses that makes for the best pedestrian neighborhoods. However, because streetcars stop so often, serve shorter trips, attract more non-work trips, and because the ’stations’ are so minimal, the kind of urban form they promote is different — more linear than the clustered development around other rail modes.

Moderator: David Taylor, National Director, Transit Oriented Design, HDR, Tampa, Florida
John Carroll, Principal, Carroll Investments, Portland, Oregon
GB Arrington, Principal Practice Leader, PB PlaceMaking, Portland, Oregon
Ed Crawford, Public Liaison, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, Tampa, Florida
Keith Jones, Executive Director, Central Arkansas Transit Authority, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Ethan Melone, Project Manager, City of Seattle, Washington

View presentation (31 pages / 3.5mb)

Learn new strategies for developing multi-modal transportation systems. This workshop looks at the planning and implementation strategies required for developing a successful multi-modal transportation center, particularly on working with existing infrastructure and enhancing existing communities and neighborhoods.

Moderator: Rick Harnish, Executive Director, Midwest High Speed Rail Association, Chicago, Illinois
Eric Anderson, Lead Design Manager, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Denver, Colorado
Darrel Babuk, Senior Associate, DLK Civic Design, Chicago, Illinois
William Baumgardner, Associate, Arup, San Francisco, California
Tam Kutzmark, Transportation Project Manager, DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, Oak Brook, Illinois

View Anderson presentation (39 pages / 3.7mb)
View Baumgardner presentation (22 pages / 1.1mb)
View Kutzmark presentation (28 pages / 0.6mb)

The session focuses on sustainable practices, design principles and green initiatives in transportation infrastructure such as transit facilities and streets. How do you incorporate sustainable practices in your city’s transportation facilities? What are the obstacles and benefits of “going green?” Attend this session and learn about cutting-edge projects and initiatives that have risen to the green design challenge — and that have exceeded expectations.

Moderator: Diana Mendes, Manager, Transit Rail West - Senior Vice President, DMJM+Harris, Fairfax, Virginia
Bonnie Richardson, Architect/Principal Planner/LEED AP, City of Tempe, Arizona
Lisa Padilla, Principal, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, Los Angeles, California
Bert Gregory, CEO, Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners, Seattle, Washington

View presentation (131 pages / 9.0mb)

This innovative plenary will present the latest information about the latest trends in the ways that cities are shaping and reinventing themselves. Internationally renowned experts will participate in a panel discussion about how the latest demographic information and livability trends are affecting — both in a positive and negative way — how cities and metro areas are growing and changing. Topics up for discussion include: demographic trends, the effects of changing demographics on today’s cities and metros, the latest changes in how urban and suburban areas define themselves and function together, the changing role of middle-income neighborhoods, racial and poverty issues facing cities, and the role of downtown revitalization efforts.

Moderator: Harriet Tregoning, Executive Director, Smart Growth Leadership Institute, Washington, DC
M. David Lee, Principal, Stull and Lee Inc., Boston, Massachusetts
Karen Lado, Denver Office Director, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., Columbia, Maryland
Robert Puentes, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Urban Center, Washington, DC

View Puentes presentation (32 pages / 1.6mb)

Join this lively discussion with FTA and DOT experts, offer your perspectives and share lessons learned — with a goal of helping to shape the guidelines as a resource for planning new rail projects. Successful new rail transit projects have deep roots — in systems planning at the scale of the metropolitan area by transit agencies collaborating with MPOs and other partners. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is developing guidelines to improve key areas of systems planning that lay the foundation for major capital transit investments, including New Starts. These guidelines cover areas such as: identification of regional needs, a regional framework for land use, technical analysis and demand forecasting, early consideration of environmental issues, and financial planning.

Facilitator: Darin Allan, Community Planner, Office of Planning and Environment, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC
Melissa Laube, Senior Transportation Planner, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, US DOT / Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Cambridge, Massachusetts
William Lyons, Senior Project Manager, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, US DOT / Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Cambridge, Massachusetts

View Allan presentation (19 pages / 0.8mb)

Join these visionaries as they explore the possibilities and reality of making our cities great places to walk, to bike . . . and to live. Can American cities ever be as bicycle-friendly as Copenhagen, Denmark, where one-third of trips are made by bike? Will Chicagoans linger year-round at street cafes and pedestrian plazas as they do in Copenhagen? Jan Gehl played a key role in the transformation of his decidedly northern-tier hometown of Copenhagen during the past 30 years and has a vision for creating more human-scale cities in the future. Robert Wislow is a man who can help make that vision come true. A Chicago real estate developer, as well as Chairman of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, he believes passionately in the critical role of cities. Wislow has a history of financing, building and selling the infrastructure that affects the walking and bicycling environment.

Facilitator: Andy Clarke, Executive Director, League of American Bicyclists, Washington, DC
Jan Gehl, Principal, Gehl Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark
Bob Wislow, Chairman, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Chicago, Illinois

Join members of transit agencies from across the country in an informal session to talk about development deals. Find out what has worked and what hasn’t in a broad range of communities. Swap stories and learn from one another’s successes and challenges. Most importantly, pick up some savvy tips for that next big deal that is no doubt around the corner.

Facilitator: Jeff Ordway, Manager of Property Development, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Oakland, California

Learn the skills and tools for navigating through the federal legislative and regulatory process while also building federal agency partnerships. Finding your way though the federal regulations implementing SAFETEA-LU can be a challenge for even the most experienced agency. This session brings in the experts — from the FTA and STPP — to explain the process, including the latest regulatory and guidance developments for both transit and joint development. The session will help both newcomers as they learn about the transit development process and also seasoned practitioners as they review implementation of federal legislation.

Moderator: Gary Thomas, President / Executive Director, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Dallas, Texas
Anne Canby, President, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, Washington, DC
Brigid Hynes-Cherin, Associate Administrator for Policy and Environment, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC

View Canby presentation (14 pages / 0.3mb)
View Hynes-Cherin presentation (28 pages / 0.3mb)

Expand your understanding of TOD and even learn how to recognize it when you see it! Experts have learned over the years that proximity of development to transit simply is not enough when it comes to creating a successful TOD. Instead, TOD projects must have three fundamental characteristics to enhance transit ridership: a mix of moderate to high intensity land uses, a physical or functional connection to the transit system, and design features that create a pedestrian-friendly environment. This workshop explores the properties of TOD and discusses ways to promote the most attractive and effective TOD for your community.

Moderator: Paul Morris, Managing Principal, PB PlaceMaking, Portland, Oregon
Stephen Antupit, Urban Design Strategist, Mithun Architects, Seattle, Washington
Jillian Detweiler, Land Development Planner, TriMet, Portland, Oregon
Catherine Cox-Blair, Principal City Planner, City/County of Denver, Colorado
Thomas Cluff, Strategic Planner, Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake City, Utah
Mark Garner, Senior City Planner, City of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Learn how parking can increase access to transit and support neighborhood needs, yet also serve TOD objectives. Parking is a perpetual paradox when it comes to building communities with transit. Even the most transit-oriented community requires parking for residents and businesses. Transit agencies also are faced with providing access for people not living near transit. Buried or structured parking can bankrupt the TOD project and exceed the scope of the transit project. But parking can be shared and managed in ways that mitigate some of these challenges. This workshop explores the various dimensions of parking near transit — development, financing, shared use, management and conversion.

Moderator: Jeffrey Tumlin, Principal, Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, San Francisco, California
Gerard Walters, Principal, Fehr and Peers Associates, Walnut Creek, California
Todd Litman, Executive Director, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

View Walters presentation (45 pages / 1.5mb)
View Litman presentation (30 pages / 1.8mb)

Learn about examples of how pre-development planning can increase project quality and accelerate project delivery. Introducing dense, mixed-use development into existing communities is fraught with risk and uncertainty for the development community. This session looks at effective pre-development strategies local governments have used in reducing the risk and getting developers to the table.

Moderator: Karyn Romano, Metro Strategies, Inc., Chicago, Illinois
Marilee Utter, President, Citiventure Associates LLC, Denver, Colorado
Sam Bradner, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, Baltimore, Maryland
Heather Tabbert, Project Manager, Regional Transportation Authority of Northeastern Illinois, Chicago, Illinois
Doug Wrenn, Principal, Rodgers Consulting, Inc., Germantown, Maryland

View Utter presentation (17 pages / 0.6mb)
View Bradner presentation (7 pages / 1.0mb)
View Tabbert presentation (14 pages / 1.2mb)
View Wrenn presentation (14 pages / 0.6mb)

Hear from communities that are hanging their hats on TOD as an effective means of creating a better future. The City of Opa Locka and several neighborhoods in Baltimore will soon welcome rapid transit extensions. These emerging communities have faced immense adversity and are hoping to create better futures for their citizens with TOD as a key part of the strategy. Now that the TOD plans are in place and ready to move forward, join this session for a roundtable discussion about what steps are needed to implement the plans.

Moderator: Shelley Poticha, President and CEO, Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit Oriented Development, Oakland, California
Octavian Spanner, Director of Planning, City of Opa Locka, Florida
Donald Halligan, Assistant Director, Office of Planning, Maryland Department of Transportation, Hanover, Maryland

View Halligan presentation (28 pages / 4.4mb)

Learn strategies and tools for using sustainable and green practices as a foundation for effective transit planning and mobility. The session provides a wealth of information about tools and policies to help improve a transit facility’s sustainability and “green” street infrastructure, while also helping to provide access to transit services. Included will be a presentation on developing a sustainable checklist to help guide decision makers on green practices in planning, constructing and operating facilities. In addition, the session includes a discussion of policies and practices that help communities build “complete streets” for equitable uses by pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users.

Moderator: Mike Townes, President / CEO, Hampton Roads Transit, Hampton, Virginia
Randy Neufeld, Chief Strategic Officer, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, Chicago, Illinois
Janet Attarian, Project Director, Chicago Department of Transportation, Chicago, Illinois
Cathy Strombom, Principal Professional Associate/Senior Planning Manager, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Seattle, Washington

View Townes presentation (20 pages / 1.1mb)
View Neufield presentation (43 pages / 1.6mb)
View Attarian presentation (23 pages / 1.3mb)
View Strombom presentation (17 pages / 0.4mb)

Examine new transit corridors with a focus on development integration, land use and transportation planning, and use of supportive and effective policy. This workshop looks at new and existing transit line extensions in the Bay Area, Long Island and Chicago. The focus in this session will be on corridor development, land use and transportation planning, and policies designed to support and stimulate corridor land use. Explore examples of ways to identify and develop corridors, integrate appropriate land use with station area plans, enhance access for pedestrians and cars, and integrate public involvement effectively in the planning and development process.

Moderator: Stephen Miller, Associate Principal, DLK Civic Design, Chicago, Illinois
Jeffrey Sriver, General Manager, Strategic Planning, Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago, Illinois
Trent Lethco, Associate, Arup, Chicago, Illinois
Steve Friedman, President, SB Friedman & Company, Wheeling, West Virginia
Mark Walbrun, Principal/Vice President, Passenger Rail and Transit Division, TranSystems Corporation, Chicago, Illinois
Susan Herre, AIA AICP, Office of Engineering, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC

Learn how communities are viewing BRT in a different light as an integral infill component to help get the most out of their transit systems. Bus Rapid Transit often is considered as an alternative to more expensive fixed guideway rail systems. But when considered in its own right as part of a multi-modal system, BRT can fulfill a number of other important functions to promote sustainable transportation.

Moderator: Kenneth Sislak, Associate Vice President, DMJM+Harris, Cleveland, Ohio
Joseph Calabrese, General Manager, Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority, Cleveland, Ohio
David Wohlwill, Lead Transit Planner, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Kathleen Sanchez, Planning Manager, Metro, Los Angeles, California
Jim Hamre, Senior Planning Manager, Corridor and Bus Program, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, DC
Lynn Montei, Lynn Montei Associates, Elmhurst, Illinois
David Vozzolo, Senior Associate, HDR Inc., Alexandria, Virginia

View Sislak presentation (18 pages / 0.7mb)
View Wohlwill presentation (29 pages / 2.5mb)

Get the latest thinking on how to integrate TOD design guidelines into standard local practices, codes and regulations. This session will provide an in-depth discussion about how transit investments and high performance development are mutual prerequisites to creating livable communities. This workshop will review the latest trends in developing TOD-related design guidelines that can integrate both form and function for all transit modes and all development intensities.

Moderator: Theresa O'Donnell, Planning Director, City of Dallas, Texas
Chris Augenstein, Transportation Planning Manager, Valley Transportation Authority, San Jose, California
Peter Albert, Long Range Planning Manager, San Francisco MTA, San Francisco, California
Dennis Wilson, Principal, Townscape, Inc., Dallas, Texas

Learn how to identify funding sources, work with institutions, develop creative packaging and get the help you need to turn plans into reality. Financing is a key question for transit and TOD. This core topic covers funding sources and options available to communities to help implement transit and TOD projects. Experts provide information about the latest techniques that can provide the most TOD bang for the buck. Also examined are trends in regional decision making that promote TOD development, as well as how community vision can build local support and success at the ballot box for transit and community-building programs.

Moderator: Jeffrey Boothe, Partner / Chair, Holland and Knight / New Starts Working Group, Washington, DC
Paul Marx, Senior Economist, US DOT, FTA Office of Policy Development, Washington, DC
Dan Walsh, Vice President, Bank of America, Chicago, Illinois
Andy Cotugno, Director of Planning, Metro, Portland, Oregon

View Marx presentation (11 pages / 0.3mb)
View Walsh presentation (15 pages / 0.5mb)
View Cotugno presentation (29 pages / 2.6mb)

Participate in this conversation with investors, developers, transit agencies and cities as they discuss whether the real estate market can realistically sustain more TOD. Private capital is looking for a piece of dirt, and the real estate market has come to recognize the value of property near transit. For the past two years the respected ULI/PricewaterhouseCoopers “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” report ranked locations near transit as the No. 1 real estate choice, and in the past year a dozen TOD investment funds have been announced. Is there really enough deal flow to sustain investor expectations? Can projects really produce the short-term profits that investors expect? Is there no patient capital? Will the abundance of capital lead to more TOD or simply more frustration?

Moderator: Gloria Ohland, Senior Editor, Reconnecting America, Los Angeles, California
Chris Leinberger, Visiting Fellow, Metropolitan Policy, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
Lee Norris, Managing Director, Cherokee Investment Fund, Raleigh, North Carolina
Lawrence Pelosi, Executive Director of Acquisitions, Morgan Stanley Real Estate, San Francisco, California

This session addresses how to move TODs away from a mostly “vanilla” demographic and toward a mix of families, income levels and racial diversity. In this session, we will explore the demographic trends around TOD and see if there is room for more diversity. Most TODs are geared toward young professionals or empty nesters. But what about couples with children, people who need affordable housing, and members of different ethnic groups? Can we have more diversity in TODs, and if so, what can we do to make it happen? Hear different perspectives from a market developer, an affordable housing advocate and a community activist.

Moderator: Fred Arnold, Acting AGM of Planning & TSD, Sacramento Regional Transit District, Sacramento, California
M. von Nkosi, Director of Mixed Income Housing Initiative, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Atlanta, Georgia
Karen Lado, Denver Office Director, Enterprise Community Partners, Denver, Colorado
Nancy Smith, Consumer Committee Chair, AARP National Policy Council, Ocean Pines, Maryland

Join this session with representatives from a state DOT, a transit agency, a private developer and a land use planner as they discuss how to get community support and advocacy behind a transit project. Success isn’t measured by being right — it’s measured by positive results. To get the needed agency and private sector support, it’s important to think about what the transit agencies, businesses and citizens want, need and value. This important principle has long range implications that affect funding, control of street access, density and design, and whether a community will support a development-friendly environment.

Moderator: Nat Bottigheimer, Director of Planning and Project Development, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Scott Kasprowicz, Deputy Secretary, Virginia Department of Transportation, Richmond, Virginia
Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Washington, DC
James Corless, Senior Planner, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Oakland, California

View presentation (34 pages / 2.5mb)

Learn about issues developers are facing these days as they try to implement TOD — and why they are on board with this type of development. Developers are becoming more and more interested in investing and building transitoriented development. Why? Do they see this type of development as the next new positive trend? Do TOD investments provide greater returns, sustain their value longer, or both? Find out why some developers are putting money into TOD.

Moderator: David Knowles, VP, Planning and Development, David Evans and Associates, Portland, Oregon
Victoria Ranney, President, Prairie Holdings Corporation, Grayslake, Illinois
Frank Arthur, Investment Broker, Tricommercial, Oakland, California
Deborah Castles, Vice President, McGrath Properties, Inc., Oakland, California
George Ranney, President and CEO/ Chief Executive, Metropolis 2020 / Prairie Holdings Corporation, Chicago, Illinois

In this session, the speakers will profile how rail construction projects have been integrated into existing communities. Speakers will profile construction and design mitigation measures that have been used for successful rail project. Development oriented transit is crucial to the success of both rail and the community. While engineering consideration generally drive project design, transit agencies should consider how the rail project would enhance and integrate in an established neighborhood.

Moderator: Paul Wojciechowski, Director, Department of Public Works, City of Clayton, Missouri
Kammy Horne, Director of Environmental Services, West, DMJM Harris, Phoenix, Arizona
Katie Hatt, Executive Director, Longfellow Community Council, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lisa Padilla, Principal, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, Los Angeles, California

Learn how form-based codes can be used to help your community. This workshop will provide insight into how form-based codes can be used to weave infill development into existing neighborhoods. Discussion will focus both on the process of developing the code by working with the neighborhood residents and businesses and on the specific code provisions.

Moderator: Steve Dotterrer, Principal Planner, CIty of Portland Bureau of Planning, Portland, Oregon
Kevin Gardiner, Principal, Kevin Gardiner and Associates, San Francisco, California
Katherine Cornwell, Principal City Planner, Denver Community Planning & Development, Denver, Colorado

View Gardiner presentation (36 pages / 2.2mb)
View Cornwell presentation (30 pages / 1.8mb)

Throughout the conference, visit booths and displays from 26 exhibiting companies. The trade show reception provides a great opportunity to spend time with representatives from the country”s leading firms.