A Critical Deconstruction of the Concept of Transit Oriented Development (TOD)

The concept of Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, has generated much interest in Europe over the last decade. Because the term “TOD” originated in the United States, this model is often assumed to be a recent import from North American cities. This paper examines how planning policies in three European capital city-regions – Amsterdam, Stockholm and Vienna – have been shaped by the ideas and principles underlying TOD since the Second World War. All three case studies are located in countries with mature systems of spatial planning: the Netherlands (Western Europe), Sweden (Northern Europe), and Austria (Central Europe). The paper illustrates that TOD, albeit called by other names or not named at all in policy, has been an intrinsic principle of planning in Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden and in their respective capitals for decades. Far from being a recent North American invention, TOD has its roots in Europe and dates back many decades. Clearly, the enthusiasm with which TOD in its recent embodiment has been received in the US and Canada has done much to highlight and promote the concept over recent decades in Europe