TRANSIT-LED PRECINCT PLANNING IN THE CITY OF JOBURG

SACN 14 August 2008

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“Our wealth did not create our transport infrastructure; it is our transport infrastructure which created our wealth” (JFK)

• If public transport is to work properly, it has to be supported by appropriate land use management policies, plans and instruments.

• In Johannesburg, our goal is to reconstruct the City around public transport networks (traditional rail, Gautrain, BRT)

• The guiding concept we have adopted is Transit Oriented Development (TOD)

• TOD is supported by a range of tools – various layers of spatial plans, design guidelines, mechanisms to incentivise development, etc

• TOD as a planning approach needs to support and link with community activism to reclaim space

Introduction

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Introduction – Why TOD?

PREPARING FOR THE POST-OIL AGE AND RESPONDING TO GLOBAL WARMING

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Why TOD?

A RESPONSE TO THE TORTURE OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION

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RESPONDS TO A PRO-POOR AGENDA TOD opens access within the City

Why TOD?

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What is TOD?

Who is TOD? I am not sure, but I hear a lot of people talking about him/her/it

– response to a survey question in Portland, Oregon

TOD is a moderate to higher density development, located within an easy walk of a transit stop, generally with a mix of residential, employment and shopping opportunities, designed for pedestrians, without excluding the auto. (State of California, 2003)

Compact, mixed use community development around a transit station that, by design, invites residents, workers and shoppers to drive their cars less and ride mass transit more. (Bernick & Cervero, 1997)

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What is TOD?

TOD normally occurs within the radius of a five minute walk, i.e. 400-600 meters of a transit stop

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• A station of some sort as a focal point of a neighbourhood • Tapering of densities and buildings away from the station • Mixture of office, residential, retail and civic uses • A variety of feeder transit systems – taxis, buses, bicycles, scooters,

rollerblades, etc. • Pedestrian friendly environments, walkways converging on the station • Reduced provision for parking (maximum rather than minimum parking

ratios) • High-quality urban design (attractive urban environment)

TOD - Key Features

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TOD - Key FeaturesArlington, Virginia, USA

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• Station is a vibrant iconic feature of the neighbourhood • The station as a destination in itself • The station as a landmark • The station linked to public spaces

• Get the land use mixes right (precinct plan and zoning) • Ensure that land uses promotes greater transit ridership • Ensure that the mix supports 24-hour activity • Discourage non-transit related uses, e.g. warehouse distribution

• Get the density right (a mix of incentives) • Highest density closest to the station • Densities high enough to generate sufficient transit trips and the mix of

activities

How to make TOD happen

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• Promote pedestrian connections (design frameworks) • Avoid barriers, e.g. gated developments • Short and direct pedestrian routes linking to the entrances of the station • Well designed, clearly marked and safe pedestrian routes linked to public

spaces such as parks and piazzas • Good use of lighting, landscaping and signs

• Ensure high quality urban design (design guidelines and controls) • Interesting and energy efficient architecture • High quality streets with landscaping, trees and street furniture • All-season design (e.g. design for highveld storms)

• Manage parking (ratios, shared parking) • Limit the availability of parking (enough, but not too much) • Avoid large park and ride facilities • Convenient drop-off zones (kiss-and-ride) and feeder systems • Convenient and secure bicycle parking and storage

How to make TOD happen

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Where do we find TOD?

London High Streets as an example of the organic development of TOD

Curitiba, Brazil as one of the first examples of deliberately planned TOD – best examples of consensus-based, partcipatory transit-led precinct planning (picture) (1970’s)

Toronto, Canada – Yonge Street subway system. 20 000 condominium units built along the lines. (1980’s)

Portland, Oregon (USA) – along the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) (1990’s)

Bogota, Colombia – TransMilenio (late 1990’s)

Calgary, Canada – the Bridgeland Station development (2000’s)

! In South Africa? (Along traditional rail systems, e.g. Cape Town and Durban) but severly undermined by the advent of the shopping mall

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Where do we find TOD?

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TOD Does Work

International studies show that :

•People living near a station in Californian cities are 5 times more likely to use public transport than those that don’t.

•Property values around the station are about 10-20% higher than the norm.

•In Bogota, for every 5 minutes of reduced walking to a BRT station, property values are 6-9% higher.

•In Portland, Oregon, 30% of residents in TOD communities use MAX at least once a week (2x more than the average population).

•In Washington D.C., there is a 7% drop in the usage of public transport for every 1000 metres further away from the station.

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TOD IN JOBURG

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Spatial disjunctures…

•Apartheid divides persist (but some blurring of the edges) •Low density sprawl (19.6 persons/ ha compared with 92 for Mexico City, 96 for New York, and 47 for London) •A growing north-south divide with development in the north & poverty traps in the south •Major challenges in terms of mobility across the city with mass daily commute from south to north •Rapid decentralisation of economic activity, with the rise of a polycentric city & of a city-region •A City of roads and shopping malls, rather than pedestrian links and public spaces •A city of walls and enclaves with gated communities, cluster developments, office parks, and enclosed malls

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Spatial disjunctures…

Less than 5kms distance

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Proactive absorption of the poor

Balanced & shared growth

Social mobility and equality

Settlement restructuring

Sustainability & environmental justice

Innovative governance solutions

• Collectively, the principles of the Development Paradigm reaffirm the City of Johannesburg’s commitment to the objects and duties of local government outlined in the Constitution. Our 6 principles help us think through the complex challenges facing us, and state our approach to solving them

The development paradigm: Joburg GDS

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•A vision of urban restructuring around transit-oriented corridors (new rapid rail & BRT) •New housing along transit corridors •Densification policies and an urban edge to compact the City •Regularisation of 180+ informal settlements •Demand management to preserve scarce resourse (waste, energy, water)

•Targeted & prioritised investment in infrastructure (Growth Management)

•Programmes to build integrated and sustainable human settlements •Policies to increase the mix of income groups, housing typologies, land uses

•Inclusionary housing requirements (20-30%)

Reshaping a City?

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• Vision Construction and Participatory Process • Growth Management Strategy • Spatial Development Framework • Regional Spatial Development Frameworks • Urban Development Frameworks (for local

areas/precincts) • Special Incentives (e.g. TIF, density bonus)

INSTRUMENTS FOR SPATIAL CHANGE

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Vision Construction & Participatory Process

• Spatial change requires government action and citizen activism

• Building coalitions to transform space is as important as the making of plans

• Joburg still falls far short of the ‘collaborative ideal’ but there are some significant initiatives – Ward-based planning processes (the beginning of

‘participatory budgeting’? – Community-initiated precinct planning (but the equity problem – Annual review of spatial plans through participatory process

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Growth Management Strategy

What is growth management?

“Growth management is an approach that is now widely used internationally to ensure that growth in population and the economy is supported by the necessary services and infrastructure and at the same time meet spatial and socio-economic objectives.”

A clear choice …

Business as usual: • Increase intensity and frequency of

infrastructure problems • Growing public discontent as

development is not supported by base infrastructure

• City growth targets are not attained as infrastructure bottlenecks constrain development

• New public transportation systems are not viable as the required densification along corridors does not happen

Growth management led development: • Prioritisation, clear targeting and

programming of capital expenditure • A strong link between public transport and

residential & business development • A radical departure in the way

development applications are dealt with • A range of new mechanisms to influence

patterns and pace of development • Strong emphasis on reduction of demand • Land assimilation and location of new

housing aligned to spatial priorities

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Sunninghill / Witkoppen / Rivonia

Sandton

Rosebank

Naturena

Inner City

Brixton / Mayfair

Nasrec

Jabulani

Witpoortjie / Princess

Growth Pressure > 50 units/ha

North Western belt of development represents a disjuncture from the desired development pattern

Spatial trends2. Current & future trends

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Regions

Current Sub-Station Capacity%

0 - 24

25 - 64

65 - 95

96 - 133

134 - 200

Disjunctures between infrastructure capacity and growth trends

Growth pressure areas

Power deficit areas

Water deficit areas

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Growth Management Strategy

Five functional Growth Management Areas:

High Priority - Public Transport Priority Areas - Marginalised Areas Medium Priority - Consolidation Areas - Expansion Areas Low Priority - Peri Urban Areas

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SERVICES • Services backlogs and

transportation capacity on key growth areas to be regarded as priority to create capacity for future growth

Risk of Eskom supply needs to be assessed

Public Transport Growth Estimate Areas

Public Transport Priority Areas

Significant Industrial Areas

Water Hotspots

City Power Hotspots

A targeted investment and housing programme

Key Growth and Development Factors

? Eskom

? Eskom

Randburg

Princess

Priority Intervention

Jabulani

Inner City

Midrand

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GAUTRAIN RAPID RAIL LINK

•Station precincts as ‘opportunity areas’

•Fundamentally restructure the City of Joburg

•Urban Development Frameworks for the 5 stations

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What is a station precinct?

Catchment area

Area of influence

Impact area

Station precinct

Station rail operation area

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KEY ELEMENTS OF PRECINCT PLANS

CORE COMPONENTS OF THE JOBURG TOD PRECINCT PLANS

• Interchange design principles

• Participatory Approach (dedicated slide)

• Pedestrian movement

• Mixed income housing opportunities

• Human scale streetscapes and urban design guidelines

• Land Use Management Schedules

• Indicative Capital Budgets for Implementation

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Sandton Gautrain Station Construction

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Sandton UDF

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Midrand UDF

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Midrand UDF – Proposed Zoning Table

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TOD APPLIED IN JOBURG

A Gautrain Bias? •Station Precinct Initiative

•Equal focus on traditional rail

•Addressing the City’s pro-poor agenda by paying equal attention to traditional rail precincts around the City, specifically in marginalised and/or declining areas

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Langlaagte and Paarlshoop UDF

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Community-Led Planning• Gautrain Stations

– Resistance to increased density – Fear of re-creating the Pruitt-Igoe model, i.e. the ‘projects’, the

Bronx – Bulk Infrastructure Implications – Height controls – privacy, on-looking – Environmental degradation

• Traditional Rail – Connectivity of neighbourhoods (communities separated by rail

reserve)

• BRT – There’s no space! Where are the cars going to go?

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Public transport the backbone of the urban restructuring

• Rea Vaya: the Bus Rapid Transit System (120km and 150 stations by 2010)

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• Higher land use densities generate pedestrian (commuter) traffic, who use public transportation.

• BRT needs at least 80u/ha

Land Use Density

20 u/ha

40-60 u/ha Public Transport Route and Terminus

80-100 u/ha400m radius

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Retail centre/ clinic/ post office

Medical offices/ library

2-3 bedroom flats (sectional title)

1-2 bedroom flats (rental)

Gym/ crèche

Commuter Railway Station

Retail centre/ medical offices

1-2 bedroom flats (rental)

FLATS WALK-UPS

• A land use mix increases the number of reasons for being in a specific node along a BRT route, thus increasing the use of a BRT station.

Land Use Mix

Land Use Management

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“A Density Bonus is an incentive-based tool that permits developers to increase the maximum allowable density on a property (as permitted by the property zoning) in exchange

for assisting a municipality in achieving its public policy goals, such as providing a social amenities and a housing typology

mix.”

This tool works best in areas where growth pressures are high and land availability is limited.

Fixed Density Approach

Density Incentive ApproachVS

Incentive Approach

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• Housing Typology Mix Density bonuses permit developers to increase the floor area of a

development if they agree to restrict the rents or sales prices of a certain number of units within their development.

• Social Amenities Increasing residential densities using density bonuses inevitably increase

the need for social amenities. To address this, density bonuses can be granted in exchange for providing building space for social amenities.

• Pedestrian Facilities Density bonuses can be granted for providing public-access pedestrian

facilities.

• Vehicle Access Density bonuses can be granted for providing suitable vehicle accesses

or providing parking a park and ride facility. Linked to density bonuses is a reduction in parking requirements.

Density Bonus Objectives

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• Can the BRT work without density bonus? • Yes - but not achieving the level of

development quality • Fixed density zoning does encourage land

use mix, which is important for functioning of BRT.

Value of Density Bonus

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JOBURG IS USING THE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY EXISTING AND NEW PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEMS AS A MEANS TO

RESHAPE A CITY THAT SUFFERS THE LEGACY OF INEQUITABLE SPATIAL FORM

• Integrated into all levels of City planning • Acknowledge the contribution that is making to sustainability • Create the conditions, the enabling environment by way of land use and

transport integration • Transit corridors enable us to restructure cities • Supporting community activism to reclaim space • LOCAL RESPONSE TO GLOBAL CHANGES

CONCLUSION

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Non-motorised transport (NMT)

• Key concern – mindset/behavioural change, especially of the middle class

CONCLUSION – WHAT’S NEXT?

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THANK YOU