Creating climate change resiliency and affordable housing are two of society’s most pressing challenges. Our interdisciplinary research team is exploring how to address these challenges together by studying transit-oriented communities (TOCs). TOCs are designed for dense housing and support multiple modes of sustainable transportation. Through this design they can support climate resilience by reducing urban sprawl and reliance on autos. They can also support greater housing equity through expanding the supply of affordable housing in accessible locations. This project examines how statewide policies in the US are supporting TOCs, the impact of TOCs on climate resiliency and affordable housing, the barriers to creating them, and how to engage the communities that are most heavily impacted in decisions about TOC development.
The research will occur over 5 years, through a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems (DISES) Program.
The overarching goal of this research project is to assess how can decision makers simultaneously promote greater climate resilience and housing equity through TOCs. This research involves three main aims over the next 5 years:
Understanding what enables or constrains climate resilient and equitable TOC housing policies (Years 1-3)
Characterizing the impacts of TOCs on climate resilience and housing equity (Years 2-4)
Building transformative capacity for TOC development through knowledge co-production with diverse stakeholders (Years 4-5)
This research will provide evidence to policymakers and interested communities on the urban designs and policies that can support climate-resilient and equitable TOC development. It will also create tools to support policy learning and adaptive policy designs.
Geography and Environmental Sciences
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
(co- Principal Investigator)
Computer Science and Engineering
College of Engineering, Design and Computing
(Senior Personnel)
Urban and Regional Planning
College of Architecture and Planning
(co- Principal Investigator)
Civil Engineering
College of Architecture and Planning
(co- Principal Investigator)
Urban and Regional Planning
College of Architecture and Planning
(co- Principal Investigator)
Work with us or reach out with questions.
Prof. Tanya Heikkila, Principal Investigator
Email: tanya.heikkila@ucdenver.edu