Overview of San Francisco Transit-Oriented Communities Policy

Sprawl and inequitable access to housing and transit have limited the Bay Area's ability to build inclusive, transit-supportive communities. Decades of car-centric planning have led to high housing costs, long commutes, and disinvestment in communities of color and low-income residents. While major transit investments have been made across the region, many transit station areas remain underutilized, reinforcing patterns of exclusion and low-density development. To address this, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission adopted the Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Policy in 2022 to guide equitable, dense, and multimodal development around transit. The policy outlines specific requirements for land use density, affordable housing, parking reform, and transit access improvements within a half-mile of high-capacity transit stops.