Connecting Communities and Mass Transit: Transit-Oriented
Development Prototypes for the RTA
1997
In response to Metra’s plans to extend commuter service along the
Wisconsin Central Line, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has sought
to spur interest in ‘transit-oriented developments’ (TOD’s)
- denser, mixed use developments around transit hubs - for the new commuter
stations. TOD is a town planning model that encourages pedestrian activity
and mass transit use, hence conserving land and energy resources. Upon
the request of the RTA, the City Design Center organized a graduate architecture
design studio to develop proposals for TOD’s in five Lake County,
Illinois communities - Vernon Hills, Mundeleine, Libertyville, Round Lake
Beach, and Lake Villa - that address issues, including: density, zoning
for mixed uses, traffic circulation, parking, community identity, view
corridors, parks and village greens, and the transit stations. These five
schemes, along with case studies of other TOD’s around the country,
have been published by the RTA in a monograph, “Transit-Based Development:
Designing Transit-Based Communities Along the North/Central Rail Line,”
for use in their presentations to local communities.
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Map of Chicago with project location
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City Design Center Affiliated Faculty
Ken Schroeder, Professor, School of Architecture
Collaborating Organization
Regional Transit Authority
Funding
Regional Transit Authority
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