Quantavia Smith, after years of homelessness and staying with friends, received a studio apartment in Los Angeles, which included a significant advantage: convenient access to public transportation.
TL;DR
- Quantavia Smith, formerly homeless, now lives in an affordable LA apartment near a subway station.
- This transit-oriented development provides convenient access to public transportation for residents.
- Cities like LA, Boston, and DC are building housing near transit to address affordability and congestion.
- States are enacting legislation to curb restrictive zoning and promote multi-family housing near transit.
The 38-year-old feels like she went from a life where “no one cares” to one where she has a safe place to begin rebuilding her life. And the metro station the apartment complex was literally built upon is a lifeline as she searches for work without a car.
“It is more a sense of relief, a sense of independence,” said Smith, who moved in July. She receives some government assistance and pays 30% of her income for rent — just $19 a month for an efficiency with a full-market value of $2,000.
“Having your own space, you feel like you can do anything.”
Metro areas from Los Angeles to Boston have taken the lead in tying new housing developments to their proximity to public transit, often teaming up with developers to streamline the permitting process and passing policies that promote developments that include a greater number of units.
City leaders contend that constructing residences close to public transportation revitalizes underserved areas and offers cost-effective housing solutions. This approach also guarantees consistent passenger numbers for transit networks and decreases greenhouse gas emissions by limiting vehicle usage.
“Transit-oriented development should be one of, if not the biggest solution that we’re looking at for housing development,” said Yonah Freemark, research director at the Urban Institute’s Land Use Lab, who has written extensively on the topic.
“It takes advantage of all of this money we’ve spent on transportation infrastructure. If you build the projects and don’t build anything around the areas near them, then it’s kind of like money thrown down the drain,” Freemark said.
Transit housing projects from DC to LA
Smith's residence at the Santa Monica and Vermont Apartments is included in a large-scale initiative by The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority aiming to construct 10,000 homes close to transit hubs by 2031. This program provides developers with reduced land costs in return for the creation of affordable housing and other community advantages.
Since 2022, Washington D.C.'s transit agency has finished eight developments, resulting in close to 1,500 housing units and one million square feet of commercial space. Roughly half of these were collaborations with Amazon, who pledged $3.6 billion in favorable loans and grants for affordable housing initiatives in Washington, Nashville, Tennessee, and the Puget Sound region of Washington state. The vast majority are situated within a half-mile radius of public transportation.
“Big cities face the greatest challenges when it comes to traffic congestion and high housing costs,” Freemark said. “Building new homes near transit helps address both problems by encouraging people to take transit while increasing housing supply.”
Of Boston's completed developments, the Pok Oi Residents in Chinatown is conveniently located a 10-minute stroll from the subway and close to six bus stops. This accessibility appeals to Bernie Hernandez, who relocated his family from a Connecticut suburb when his daughter enrolled in a Boston university.
“The big difference is commuting. You don’t need a car,” said Hernandez, who said he can walk to the grocery story and pharmacy. His 17-year-old daughter takes the subway to school. Now, his car mostly sits idle, saving him money on gas and time spent in traffic.
“You get to go to different places very quickly. Everything is convenient,” Hernandez said.
States take aim at zoning regulations
Numerous states, from Massachusetts to California, are enacting legislation aimed at curbing restrictive zoning rules that have, for many years, prevented the construction of multi-family housing and exacerbated housing shortages..
Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a state law allowing taller apartment buildings on land owned by transit agencies and near bus, train and subway lines.
“Building more homes in our most sustainable locations is the key to tackling the affordability crisis and locking in California’s success for many years to come,” said State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who authored the bill.
California is following the lead of Colorado, which mandates that municipalities permit an average of 40 housing units per acre within a quarter-mile radius of transit stations, and Utah, which sets a requirement of approximately 50 units per acre. This year, Washington's governor approved legislation that permits taller housing structures in commercial areas zoned for mixed-use development close to transit.
“We want to ensure that there are mixed-income, walkable, vibrant homes all around those transit investments and that people have the option of using cars less to improve the environmental health of our communities,” said Democratic Rep. Julia Reed, who authored the Washington bill.
“It’s about giving people the opportunity to drive less and live more.”
Housing takes center stage in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has made housing a priority.
Among her most potent tools is a 2021 law that requires 177 towns or communities nearby to create zoning districts allowing multi-family housing. The state provided nearly $8 million to more than 150 communities to help create these zones, while threatening to cut funding for those that don’t. More than 6,000 housing units are in development as a result.
“You put housing nearby public transit” Healey said. “It’s great for people. They can literally get up, leave their home, walk to a commuter rail and get to work.”
Lexington was among the initial entities to comply, greenlighting 10 initiatives, such as a $115 million development featuring 187 residences and commercial areas.
Earlier this year, project manager Quinlan Locke passed by earth-moving equipment and dump trucks at the construction site and remarked: “This is a landscape yard. It’s commercial. It’s meant for trucking.”
However, he continued, within “two years from now, it’s going to be meant for people who live here, work here and play here. This is going to become someone’s home.”
Opposition to zoning changes
Advocates contend that the ambitious objectives of transit housing are not being met because of strong local opposition and insufficient financial backing and assistance from federal and state authorities.
A 2023 Urban Institute study indicates that elevated mortgage interest rates, increased government regulations, escalating building expenses, and insufficient investment at transit hubs have collectively fueled a concerning pattern: over the last twenty years, nine times as many housing units have been constructed away from public transit compared to those built close to it.
Nineteen communities in Massachusetts have yet to establish new zoning districts. While some attempted to legally block the legislation, others saw residents vote against proposed zones. Following resident objections, Lexington reduced its zoning area from 227 acres to 90 acres.
“If we allow the state to come in and dictate how we zone, what else are they going to come in and dictate?” Said Anthony Renzoni, a selectman from the town of Holden, which sued the state and is drawing up a new zoning map after residents rejected the first one.
New housing, a new life
The six-story building where Smith resides in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, has welcomed 300 new occupants since its February debut. This development is breathing new life into the vicinity of the metro station, with plans for a Filipino grocery store, a medical clinic, and a farmers market to launch early in the coming year.
Seventy-five percent of the 187 apartments are set aside for individuals previously experiencing homelessness, such as Smith. She had been residing in a dilapidated motel, funded by a voucher, and prior to that, she was unsheltered. A case manager has been allocated to her, and she's receiving support for essential life competencies, financial planning, and job acquisition.
Equally important: Smith, who can’t afford a car, doesn’t need one.
“I’m very very fortunate to be somewhere where the transit takes me where I want to go,” she said. “Where I want to go is not that far.”