Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

TOD in the DC Metro area

TODs have had a long and rich history in our region. Click on the timeline below to learn about the progressive growth of TOD in the DC Metro area.

  1. 1862
  2. 1960
  3. 1976
  4. 2004
  5. 2014
  6. Today

  1. 1862-1900

    From Horsecars to Streetcar Suburbs

    While L’Enfant envisioned the layout of the capital city, its growth was facilitated by the transit networks of the era. The region’s first horsecars began service in 1862 amidst Washington's wartime population growth. Starting in 1888, electric streetcars took over the rails and rapidly expanded beyond the old city limits, pushing past the hills that had been too challenging for horses. Through the Second World War, the growth patterns of the region largely followed streetcar lines. Private developers marketed investment opportunities near streetcars. Some streetcar lines were even built by private real estate interests to service new development.

  2. 1960

    Car-centric

    Fueled by an influx of Federal funds, new highways opened up the periphery for suburban development. City centers and transit, meanwhile, suffered from a lack of investment. While some benefited from new affordable homes and fast freeway commutes, the region began to recognize the downsides of auto-oriented development patterns through increased congestion and vehicle pollution.

  3. 1976

    Metro Opening

    The first segment of Metrorail opened in 1976 to fanfare and Metro’s first joint development opened two years later above the Farragut North station entrance. As the system grew, transit offered the region more than just convenient commutes. Leaders in the public and private sectors invested in new and existing communities near Metro, like in Silver Spring (station opened in 1978) and the Arlington Orange Line corridor (stations opened in 1979), establishing national models for transit-oriented development.

  4. 2004

    The First Infill Station

    NoMa-Galludet U, the first Metrorail infill station, opened in November 2004. Funded by the District of Columbia, the Federal Government, and private investment, NoMa station shows how a jurisdiction can leverage transit to unlock the development potential of a neighborhood. Since 2004, the NoMa neighborhood has seen a 200% growth in built square feet, over 12,000 residential units, 12 million square feet of office, 900,000 square feet of retail, and almost 3,000 hotel rooms added.

  5. 2014

    Growth of TOD Corridors

    In 2014, the first phase of the Silver Line opened to Tysons and Reston in Virginia, launching a new wave of development in areas where traffic congestion had, in the absence of rapid transit, become a constraint on growth. Fairfax County contributed funding for the project by creating a Transportation Improvement District to tax commercial and industrial properties (a similar tool was leveraged for Phase 2 of the project). Development along the corridor surged in anticipation of high-frequency transit and after project completion, especially at the McLean (Capital One Headquarters) and Wiehle-Reston East stations.

  6. Today

    Joint Development Momentum

    In 2022, Metro published its. 10-Year Strategic Plan for Joint Development. The plan sets a goal for 20 additional Joint Development Agreements by 2032 and lays out strategies that Metro is taking to get there, including through partnering with local jurisdictions, right-sizing transit facilities, increasing development readiness, and minimizing implementation risks.