An SNI Conference on “TOD (Transit Oriented Development) – Urban Planning Around Accessible Rail Transit, was held on March 9, 2010. The conference was organized by Prof. Daniel Gat (Technion), Dr. Yodan Rofe (Ben Gurion Univ.) and Prof. (emer.) Shlomo Maital (SNI). This volume summarizes the presentations.
The opening article by Avi Bar-Eli is reprinted by The Marker, and shows how traffic on the approach roads to Tel Aviv is approaching stagnation, with an average rush-hour speed of only 7 kms. per hour, suggesting a new approach to transporting people to and from work that does not rely on automobiles is urgently needed.
Prof. Yehuda Hayut (SNI, formerly Haifa U. President) discusses the development of Israel’s rail system, in the framework of Israel’s national infrastructure strategic program.
Prof. Peter Katz, the keynote speaker, surveyed American experience with TOD and provided many practical examples of successful urban development around train stations, some of which he has personally designed and led.
Dr. Yodan Rofeh discussed the key principles of TOD – development around train stations in the Israeli context.
Prof. Daniel Gat’s presentation extended Dr. Rofeh’s analysis, examining the planned Ashkelon-Beersheba train line and outlining some interesting innovative directions for rethinking urban development built around train stations in central cities and towns, rather than sited on the outskirts.
Prof. Shlomo Maital examined TOD in the context of innovative ideas driven by major social needs and showed how TOD challenges fundamental assumptions of urban planning, just as management guru Peter Drucker recommended.
