Tucson Norte-Sur: Exploring a Path for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development
Background
In January 2022, the City of Tucson kicked off an initiative called Tucson Norte-Sur to develop an equitable transit-oriented development (eTOD) strategic plan. The plan will identify opportunities for equitable reinvestment and access along a future 15-mile long North-South transit corridor that stretches from the Tucson Mall/ Tohono Tadai Transit Center in the North to the Tucson International Airport in the South.
Since you’ve made your way to our blog and started reading this, let us tell you a little bit more about TOD vs. eTOD. According to the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, transit-oriented development (TOD) is “a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other commercial development and amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a 1/2-mile of quality public transportation.”
Transit-oriented development promotes:
Walkability: Pedestrian-friendly elements make walking a safe and comfortable experience while creating vibrant and active spaces.
Mixed-use and compact development: Compact development near transit stops supports transit infrastructure. A mix of land uses make it possible for people to live close to shops, services, and other destinations, reducing travel needs and allowing them to meet their eveyrday needs locally in their neighborhoods.
Transit: Frequent, fast, and reliable transit connects people to jobs, services or other regional destinations located further out.
While TODs can offer many benefits by increasing transit ridership, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding access to destinations, and fostering walkable, vibrant, and connected neighborhoods, new transit investments can increase rents and home prices leading to gentrification and displacement. Therefore, it is important to bring an equity lens to TOD efforts to make sure that TOD benefits are distributed equitably and people who live or own businesses in TOD areas can remain in place.
Policy Link defines equitable transit oriented development (eTOD) as “TOD efforts that are undertaken with an explicit commitment to achieve equity goals through dedicated strategies that ensure low-income residents and residents of color benefit from – and are not displaced by – the new development. With strategies in place to preserve and expand affordable housing, protect tenants from rising costs and displacement, connect residents to jobs and economic opportunities, stabilize and support small and local businesses, and more, eTOD can foster equitable development, creating healthy, opportunity-rich neighborhoods.”
What is LSA’s Role?
LSA was selected as part of a consulting team to develop the Tucson Norte-Sur eTOD strategic plan. Our role is focused on a very specific set of community engagement activities with an emphasis on meeting people where they are and amplifying the voices of people who live, work, or travel in the Tucson Norte-Sur study area to make sure that the plan reflects their wishes and priorities. We’re excited to bring our community engagement leanings from our Complete Streets work to create engagement spaces that foster connection and elevate lived experience just as much as technical expertise. Our community engagement toolkit includes two types of activities to supplement the City’s more traditional, open house-style engagement events.
Community Dialogues are small-group workshops hosted at times and spaces that are convenient for the group. Community Dialogues are built upon an Appreciative Inquiry approach which allows participants to share stories, work together to articulate their vision for the study area, and arrive at shared themes and recommendations to guide the Strategic Plan. We’ll be hosting Community Dialogues with a variety of groups who are affiliated with the study area with a particular emphasis on communities or geographies where traditional public meetings/open houses tend to fall short.
Pop-Up Events are pop-up engagement stations set up at everyday destinations where people are already convening or at community events that are already taking place with a focus on meeting people where they are and broadening avenues for engagement. We’ll be hosting pop-ups at transit centers, in front of grocery stores and during community events and engage people in conversations about Tucson Norte-Sur as they go about their daily loves.
An integral part of our community engagement strategy is a Community Ambassador Program. We’re working with 13 Community Ambassadors who are diverse group of people with deep ties to the various communities across the study-area. They have been recruited based on their breadth of knowledge, community involvement, and valuable perspectives in order to carry out a variety of on-the-ground engagement activities.
The Ambassadors have recently completed a three-part training and orientation program and will be supporting our engagement efforts by hosting 12 community dialogue workshops and 12 pop-up engagement events throughout the study area. They also bring their own talents and creative connections to this project whether it’s getting people to fill out surveys while serving them out of a food truck or hopping on a bus and engaging the riders about the plan. Community Ambassadors are working closely with Selina Barajas, the Lead Community Ambassador, who’s overseeing the program and supporting the ambassadors in their outreach and engagement efforts.
Community Ambassador Welcome Event and Training
We encourage you to visit the project website to learn more about Tucson Norte-Sur and take the project survey if you live, work or travel in the study area.
