Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) Centers Anti-Displacement

Across U.S. cities, investments in transit-oriented development (TOD) have too often triggered displacement, gentrification, and rising rents in low-income communities and communities of color-undermining the benefits of public transit investments and exacerbating racial and economic inequities. To address this, Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) shifts the focus of TOD toward anti-displacement strategies by integrating affordable housing, tenant protections, and community wealth-building into transit planning. Cities like Chicago, Denver, San Jose, and Atlanta have implemented locally tailored ETOD initiatives-such as affordable housing trust funds, community benefits agreements, and land acquisition programs-that ensure development near transit serves and stabilizes vulnerable residents rather than displacing them.