A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership . A TOD neighborhood typically has a center with a rail or bus station, surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower-density development spreading outwards from the center. TODs generally have a diameter of one-quarter to one-half mile (0.4 to 0.8 km), as this is considered to be an appropriate scale for pedestrians.
Many of the new towns created after World War II in Japan, Sweden, and France have many of the characteristics of TOD communities. In a sense, nearly all communities built on reclaimed land in the Netherlands or as exurban developments in Denmark have had the local equivalent of TOD principles integrated in their planning.
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