The tri-state area is currently at a crucial moment in its development. As we face a persistent housing shortage, rising costs, and the growing impacts of climate change, the strategy of building Transit-Oriented Communities (TOCs) has moved from a theoretical ideal to a policy necessity. By leveraging our region’s extensive rail network—by far the largest in the nation—and realizing the full potential of capital projects, we are witnessing transformative connections between transit systems and intelligent land-use. Recent land use policies and reforms, along with transit-oriented programs, show a promising shift toward more integrated planning and smart growth; however, progress across the tri-state area remains inconsistent.

New Jersey has accelerated its commitment to TOCs by focusing on one of its greatest assets: the land surrounding its transit hubs. The state has also continued to embed transit-oriented development in housing policy and statewide planning efforts.

• NJ Transit’s LAND Plan: This initiative aims to facilitate development on NJT-owned property through competitive bidding and streamlined information resources. The agency estimates the plan could increase municipal revenues by up to $1.6 billion and deliver between 14k and 20k new housing units over the next decade. To increase transparency and encourage private partnerships, the agency recently launched the NJT-owned real estate web map, which identifies potential development sites across the state.

• Statewide Policy Alignment: The State Development and Redevelopment Plan (SDRP) was adopted in December 2025, outlining a modern roadmap for ​“smart growth” over the next 25 years. Recent analysis from RPA showed that during the previous state plan, New Jersey added approximately 176,000 homes near transit stops, representing 39% of the state’s total between 2000 and 2020. The recently adopted SRDP plan will continue to promote ​“smart growth,” primarily in the Metropolitan (PA1) and Suburban (PA2) Planning Areas, as well as other designated Centers.

• Fair Share Housing: The codification of Fair Housing Obligations in 2024 also helps ensure that towns will be more proactive in advancing transit-friendly planning. The method for calculating housing obligations prioritizes transit-accessible locations and assigns greater weight to units built in these areas. The estimate also depends on the amount of underdeveloped land available, partly defined by the Planning Areas created under the SDRP. Together, these measures help ensure that the 2025–2035 fourth round prioritizes places where residents can thrive without car dependency.

• Municipal Support: Continuation and expansion of place-based planning efforts, namely the Transit Village Initiative (DOT) and Transit Friendly Planning (NJT). These programs offer technical assistance, guidance, and funding to towns seeking to facilitate transit-oriented planning. This includes recent technical and design support from RPA staff to Mahwah Township, continuing the organization’s long-time involvement in supporting transit villages in New Jersey.

Within the five boroughs, the focus shifted toward modernizing citywide zoning and advancing localized planning efforts in key neighborhoods, with transit-oriented principles as guiding factors. New opportunities lie ahead with ambitious new plans to increase capacity

• City of Yes for Housing Opportunity: Key components of this critical citywide zoning amendment, adopted in 2024, were based on transit-oriented planning. The adopted zoning changes greatly expanded the city’s Transit Zone areas, reducing parking requirements for as-of-right development and providing density bonuses for qualifying properties within that geography. The City of Yes zoning amendments also legalized new buildings with up to 4 stories of housing above a commercial ground floor (i.e., town center zoning) across most of the city’s commercial corridors.

• Neighborhood Plans: Strategic neighborhood plans and zoning updates further aligned transit infrastructure with land use. All five neighborhood plans adopted by the previous administration were grounded in transit-oriented principles, including the Bronx Metro-North station area, Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use, Midtown South Mixed Use, Jamaica Neighborhood, and OneLIC. Together, these plans leveraged transit-rich areas and new transit capacity to facilitate the creation of tens of thousands of new homes.

• Zoning for Transit Accessibility: An initiative partnering the MTA and City Planning to improve subway accessibility by encouraging developers to build station upgrades. It uses zoning tools—transit easements and bonuses—to integrate station improvements, such as elevators, into new, high-density developments near stations. Since the zoning initiative was adopted in 2021, this citywide, policy-driven approach has resulted in the approval of 10 projects.

While these advancements are encouraging, they also highlight the need for a more unified approach across the entire region. In many parts of the New York suburbs, including Nassau County and the Hudson Valley, significant opportunities exist to better integrate land-use policies with public investments and transit systems. Rather than relying on fragmented, localized planning, these regions would benefit from a more integrated planning process supported by robust state capacity.

The policy initiatives outlined above—from NJ Transit’s LAND Plan to the strategic alignment of statewide policies and neighborhood planning efforts—represent a significant leap forward in the region’s commitment to Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC). While these programs and policies reflect substantial progress in leveraging transit assets for sustainable growth, agencies and stakeholders across the tri-state area must now focus on developing integrated programs that bridge the gap between policy and implementation.

Success will depend on two critical priorities: first, identifying the exact levels of planning support and infrastructure funding required to ensure every station area can become fully transit-oriented; and second, pinpointing specific locations where flexible land use regulations and streamlined administrative procedures can be deployed to unlock much-needed housing near transit hubs. By providing the technical and financial resources necessary to modernize land-use regulation, we can ensure that every community in the tri-state area benefits from the economic and social vitality that transit-oriented living provides.