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.
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.
Distribution of Jobs in the Tri-State Area
Access to employment via transit modes strongly aligns with travel time to the CBD, underscoring the importance of workers’ access to Manhattan. With over 270 jobs per acre, the concentration of jobs in Manhattan’s Central Business District is unparalleled and by far the greatest within the Tri-State. Even important regional centers, including Newark, Jersey City, Trenton, New Haven, and Mineola, have an average density of 39 jobs per acre. High-density mixed and Local Downtown areas have densities of 26 and 8 jobs per acre, respectively.
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.
