Transit-Oriented Development Research Based On City Comparison Between China And America

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a term first used by the American plannerPeter Calthorpe in1993. To address the urban sprawl caused by too much car use and thedisappearance of community centers, Transit-oriented development proposed integratingland use on a regional scale and encouraging public transit use. It became the theoreticalfoundation of the movement known broadly as New Urbanism.TOD principles have also been introduced to China in order to address the urbandevelopment problems there over the past several years. But both the current conditionsand backgrounds are different in Chinese and American cities. At first, the thesis beganwith “urban sprawl”, a world wild urban development issue, studied in TOD principle withcontrast method based on characteristics in United States and China. Secondly, itresearched modes, locations and types, land use types in TOD community. Then, itanalyzed the research results and summarized the relationship among land use, transit andbehavior. At last, it got the solution by reviewing the whole thesis. This thesis willcompare the current conditions and backgrounds in China and America. It aims to findhowthe TOD principles proposed by Calthorpe may work in the urban planning of China.