From potential to practice: Transit-oriented development along the Rockport/Newburyport rail corridor in Massachusetts

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master_Huber_Patrick_2025.pdf (1.85 MB)

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School of Engineering | Master's thesis
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2025-11-07

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Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering

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Master's Programme in Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering
Maankäytön suunnittelun ja liikennetekniikan maisteriohjelma
Magisterprogrammet i planläggning och trafikteknik

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en

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80

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Abstract

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a core strategy in urban planning for reducing car dependence and supporting sustainable growth by aligning land use with high-quality transit. Interest has grown, particularly in the US, as regions seek to meet housing demand, climate goals, and accessibility targets while improving the fiscal productivity of urban land. Prior research has established foundational concepts such as the Node-Place model, the 3Ds or 5Ds of the built environment, and created several multi-criteria indices that assess the various traits of successful TOD. Recent research has additionally focused on market value as an important factor in the success of TOD projects. While TOD is normally focused on more urban environments with frequent service, US commuter-rail contexts remain underexamined: service is infrequent, zoning is fragmented, and policy reforms often permit multifamily housing without ensuring mixed-use form or implementation capacity conditions that can yield transit-adjacent development rather than true TOD. By evaluating TOD potential along the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Rockport/Newburyport commuter-rail corridor under Massachusetts’ Section 3A framework address this gap. A two-stage method is used. First, a corridor-wide TOD Suitability Index integrates indicators of transit frequency, socioeconomic features, general housing and household typologies and current market conditions to map opportunity patterns. Second, six station areas, Lynn, Beverly, Montserrat, Gloucester, Ipswich, and Rowley, selected as a representative sample of stations along the line, are assessed in detail. Findings very substantially. Lynn and Beverly exhibit the strongest alignment of service, urban form, and permissive zoning, approaching effective TOD conditions. Northern stations are constrained by infrequent service, restrictive zoning, and limited developable land, procuring primarily transit-adjacent outcomes. Overall, the corridor shows a variety of TOD conditions: advancing it will require coordinated service improvements, mixed-use zoning integration, and stronger intergovernmental delivery capacity.

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Stead, Dominic

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transit-oriented development, commuter rail, zoning, land use, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, section 3A

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202512159150

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