Walkable Oriented Development
An opportunity for an American Renaissance
Since the 1950s the focus of suburban development has largely been on the separation by function: residential from commercial and office. This has included a strong bias towards travel by automobile with minimal or no consideration given to walkability, especially to run errands.
These trends combined with overly restrictive zoning and land use laws have driven up the cost of land and created a severe rental and owner housing shortage. As a result, most additions to housing supply have consisted of either single-family detached and attached units or multifamily development of 50+ units. AEI Housing Center research has shown that nationally around 20% of existing housing units are already located in both pre- and post-1950 Walkable Oriented Development (WOD) areas – areas within a 10 minute walk of a set of existing commercial amenities. It may also include a transit station.
Modestly increasing residential density in such areas even from a 1- to a 2-unit structure would result in a much needed and meaningful addition to our housing supply, enhance the vibrancy of commercial areas, and yield a significant boost in property tax revenue. WOD would bring housing closer to service jobs thereby reducing transportation and housing costs, while freeing up time for other activities such as recreation and child care.
Nationally, the AEI Housing Center estimates that a focus on WOD has the potential to add 2 million private homes over 10 years to our housing stock while taking advantage of existing developed land and infrastructure at little taxpayer cost.
Walkable Oriented Development Map
Source: AEI Housing Center, SafeGraph, Traveltime, U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics Data, First American, Spotcrime
Special Briefing on Walkable Oriented Development
10th Annual Housing Conference Panel on Walkable Oriented Development
Download the Walkable Oriented Development Map Data
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