On the other hand, transit-oriented development is an effective long term political strategy for building a more urban voting bloc. Toronto politics seem to have essentially flipped from being dominated by NIMBY suburbanites, to being dominated by people who live packed in high rises around transit. From that position, it’s way easier to expand transit, build bike lanes, and continue to reform zoning.
Sure, do it all at once if you can. If you can’t though (which is the case in most North American metros), doing transit oriented development first is what gives you the best chance of being able to do the rest later. If you want an urbanist voting majority, you can either try to convince a bunch of suburbanites, or you can just build a hell of a lot more housing around the expectation of an urban lifestyle.
On the other hand, transit-oriented development is an effective long term political strategy for building a more urban voting bloc. Toronto politics seem to have essentially flipped from being dominated by NIMBY suburbanites, to being dominated by people who live packed in high rises around transit. From that position, it’s way easier to expand transit, build bike lanes, and continue to reform zoning.
Sure, do it all at once if you can. If you can’t though (which is the case in most North American metros), doing transit oriented development first is what gives you the best chance of being able to do the rest later. If you want an urbanist voting majority, you can either try to convince a bunch of suburbanites, or you can just build a hell of a lot more housing around the expectation of an urban lifestyle.