The US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) is launching the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Institute — a national planning initiative to promote and accelerate the roll-out of walkable, mixed-use communities around rail stations.

The institute will be working to increase the supply of new TODs and rail systems across America and will be holding a series of national and local events bringing together business and political leaders with planners and experts to advance knowledge sharing and project deal making.

The institute will also be working to spread the ideas and lifestyles of TOD to a wider audience helping to increase excitement across America.

The Transit Oriented Development Institute builds upon the extensive TOD work of others to help spread the word and promote the concept far and wide and will promote increased TOD as well as high quality design standards that deliver the best results for the users, the community, the developers and the rail systems.

The first national conference of the TOD Institute will take place this October in Washington D.C. The conference will focus on successful projects, best practices, and the steps to get projects going both from a public and private perspective. A number of project tours will be included in the conference for a first-hand look at exemplary successful projects. For more on the institute and the event, click here.