Affordable Transit Oriented Development

Running Head: Affordable Transit Oriented Development Along Madureira Rail

Proposal For Transit Oriented Development with Affordable Housing and Street-level Mixed-Use Components In The City of Madureira, Rio de Janeiro

Bernard Asagai 2012 Green MBA Candidate

Urban Planning Fundamentals: SUS 561 Professor Paul Schultz Marylhurst University March 20th, 2011

Affordable Transit Oriented Development Along Madureira Rail

[Timeline & Process: The decision to construct urban planning projects in the city of Rio de Janeiro is extremely political. Elections, which are set every four years, can dramatically change policies and projects within the built-environment. Therefore, urban planning decisions, which have been made for the entire region, can be changed overnight after an election. Timelines for projects normally only last as long as a government remains in power. When a new government comes to office, they normally bring their own people with them. If that government likes the proposal of a project, it normally acts hastily to get it constructed while that government is in power. ] The Timeline would therefore be: 1.

A Proposal To Government Representative

2.

Could Be A Review of The Proposal By City Planning or, A Direct Order For Construction By The Mayor

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If Accepted, Construction Would Take Place While Current Government Is In Power

To:

Office of Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Rua Afonso Cavalcanti, 455 / 13ยบ andar Rio de Janeiro, Brasil CEP: 20211-110

RE:

Affordable Transit Oriented Development Within The City of Madureira

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Affordable Transit Oriented Development Along Madureira Rail

Introduction: This proposal seeks to use the tools and components of affordable housing and mass transit to improve the lives of citizens within Rio de Janeiro whose economic status ranges from the economic median, as well as economic strata below it.

This proposal does not in any way seek the construction of public housing. This proposal seeks to draw the city’s attention to areas within it which can be improved by the construction of dense market rate housing structures, which include components of affordable housing within ¼ / ½ mile distances from mass transit infrastructures within the city. This proposal seeks to elevate walkability, seeks to increase ridership on such mass transit infrastructures near the area of proposed construction, increase the rate of street-level goods and service choices, and overall, to increase the economic mobility and sustainability within this sector of the city. Such actions could assist in alleviating the economic disparity gap within the city, as well as increase the level of affordable housing in the city.

Summary:

The central business district (CDB) and various residential locations that

surround it are very compact and dense. Such locations have high degrees of livability and vibrancy, which help to make them very pleasant to visit and sustain their high property values in those neighborhoods. But outside of the CDB and those surrounding areas, life is altogether different. Issues surrounding transportation, mixed-use zoning, long distances from goods and services, as well as the regulation of proper land-uses are all major challenges outside of the prime real estate market areas within the city.

The purpose of this proposal is to assist in the alleviation of many of these challenges by the construction of Transit Oriented Developments in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Transit Oriented Developments also known as (TOD’s) are locations that concentrate highdensity housing choices in and around multi-modal mass transit infrastructures. This proposal seeks not only to use the benefits of such construction around mass transit infrastructures, but also seeks to incorporate the components of affordable housing and

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Affordable Transit Oriented Development Along Madureira Rail inclusionary zoning to ensure that such construction within the built environment is beneficial to all of the city’s residents, independent of their income strata, or class representations.

This proposal seeks to construct a test location for this project in the city of Madureira.

The location could assist the government’s strategy to provide clear direction regarding its policies for present and future population growth along the corridors of mass transportation infrastructures, as well as the importance and model needed to help developers construct sustainable affordable housing.

Introduction: Transit oriented developments provide a functional relationship between housing and mass transit. Concentrating a high degree of goods, services and amenities within walking distances in such locations can enhance this functional relationship. One of the key elements to the success of such locations is the physical distances of concentrated housing options, in relation to multi-modal direct right-of-way mass transit choices.

In order to compete competitively with other forms of living choices, transit oriented developments should always ensure that mass transit infrastructures and high-density housing developments are never more than a ¼ of a mile or at most, a ½ a mile apart.

Such distances ensure that citizens can access interrupted mass transit choices by taking a simple brisk walk from their homes. Providing such a method of transit options decreases the chances of citizens becoming automobile statistics due to an accident, as well as elevates comprehensive sustainability within the city due to decreased CO2 emissions.

Other elements that are necessary for the successful construction of such developments are a mix of land-uses concentrated in and around such high-density locations. Having a mix of land-uses in close proximity to housing and mass transit ensures that citizens of such locations can access the basic needs for their daily lives. Needs such as schools, day care centers, libraries and other government services as well as amenities in the form of

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Affordable Transit Oriented Development Along Madureira Rail restaurants, cafés, and banks within close distances insurers that residents can attain the basic needs for their lives through the mode of walking, biking or through the use of mass transportation. Such a scenario not only ensures that communities remain vibrant, but also plays a tremendous role in enhancing property values, as well as neighborhood security.

Affordable housing, as well as a mixture of land-uses in conjunction with direct right-ofway mass transit options play a central role in helping cities transform themselves into locations that fully access the benefits of mixed-use, high-density living centered around mass transit.

Why Madureira?

The choice of the location of the City of Madureira for a TOD was

done because the location’s land-value is low, and it is direct accessibility to mass transit via the modes of rail and bus can be accessed throughout various locations within the city.

Another reason for the city’s choosing, is that it is a location which is in need of affordable housing and transit options which can allow its residents to access the upward economic mobility options which can be found in the central business district. Such a proposal would not only be beneficial to residents of the development, but also the businesses that surround the area too! Increased density, means, increased economic wealth within the region that normally reveals itself in increased disposable incomes.

Madureira could be transformed if given such an option.

Policy Adoption & Fast-Tract Approvals Though a public policy for the adoption of transit oriented developments in and around the city would normally fall under the direction of the Mayor, private developers seeking to build TOD’s should have their projects fast-tracked through the various regulatory procedures for building constructions within the city. By adhering to fast-tracked policies for such projects, the city can entice developers and direct them to build more multi-use developments around mass transit infrastructures in high-density formats. The interplay which is required for successful TOD’s goes beyond land-uses mixes, density, and multi-

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Affordable Transit Oriented Development Along Madureira Rail modal transit services, but also includes, governmental incentives which make the process of construction and all of the various documentation phases, eased for building in such a manner.

Need For Government Direction Within In Affordable Housing Transit oriented developments are a terrific match for the provision of affordable housing within the city. Providing high-performance affordable housing within half a mile and quarter of a mile distances from direct right-of-way mass transit services is a tremendous method for assisting that citizens whose current economic status which maybe below the median income for a city, are provided with services which can assist them as they seek to lift themselves out of poverty. Providing services and amenities in and around housing and transit, ensures that families can sustain lives that are not automobile-dependent which can translate into parents spending more time with their children, and increased savings for families in need. Providing examples that mesh both components of transit and housing together is a tremendous opportunity for the government to demonstrate its commitment to elevating the economic conditions of all of its citizens, by way of housing and transit.

In closing, transit oriented developments provide a tremendous opportunity for the government of Rio de Janeiro to demonstrate its commitment to lowering the cities carbon footprint, providing affordable housing options for all of its citizens, creating new high-density neighborhoods which provide various goods and services within walking distances, as well as the setting of a new pattern and direction for sustainable land-uses within the city. Providing such provisions within the city can have a profound effect upon the city, and the region as a whole.

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Affordable Transit Oriented Development Along Madureira Rail

References

Brazil - Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Urban and Housing Project [Policies for planning and managing territorial growth ]. (2011, February). Retrieved February, 2011, from The World Bank website: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/0,,contentMDK:2285803 1~menuPK:64282138~pagePK:41367~piPK:279616~theSitePK:40941,00.html Katter, R. (2009, October). Transit- oriented development [an opportunity to shape SEQ’s communities of tomorrow].

Retrieved October 2009, from ictcsociety.org website: http://www.ictcsociety.org/papers/katter.pdf PASTOR, M., & TURNER, M. (2010, January 15). REDUCING POVERTY & ECONOMIC DISTRESS AFTER ARRA [POTENTIAL ROLES FOR PLACE- CONSCIOUS STRATEGIES]. Retrieved January 15, 2010, from The Urban Institute website: http://www.urban.org/events/upload/Panel-5-Presentation-1.pdf POVERTY ALLEVIATION [Transportation For New Urbanization Changes ].

(2010). Retrieved 2010, from Institute for Transportation & Development Policy website: http://www.itdp.org/index.php/key_issues/detail/poverty_alleviation/ Social and Affordable housing building blocks of new communities [Affordable housing]. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2008, from sinnfein.ie website: http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/13685 Turner, M. (n.d.). Transit Oriented Development Revitalizes Chicago Neighborhood [Case Studies and Solutions]. Retrieved from Urban Habitat / Race Poverty and the Environment website: http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/343 Zoning Practice: Practice Transit-Oriented Development. (2004, August).

American Planning Association, (Issue Number Eight), 2-11. Retrieved from http://www.planning.org/zoningpractice/2004/pdf/aug.pdf

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