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April 14, 2022 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #TCRP, #ETOD, #affordable housinig, #ElevatedChicago, #MTC, #BART, #FTA, #KCRide, #ValleyRideBoise, #MARTA

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Snapshots of regional coordination of affordable housing and public transportation: Five Case Studies

Following on the release last month of TCRP Synthesis 162 authored by MZ Strategies that examines the coordination of public transit services and investments with affordable housing policies, this blog post provides a deeper dive into the five case studies. Atlanta, Boise, Chicago, Kansas City and the San Francisco Bay Area provide a spectrum of approaches and challenges in these regions, but also replicable to other parts of the country.

March 21, 2019 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #eTOD, #TOD, #Planning, #RacialEquity, #Redlining, #SPARCC, #ElevatedChicago, #FTA

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Coming to Racial Terms with Trickle-Down Urbanism: A personal TOD journey (Part II)

Tranist Oriented Development is a field within urban planning that promotes mixed-use development near transit as a way to revitalize communities and improve the efficiency of our transportation system. It often involves strategies to create more housing, improve walkability and create more places for shopping, gathering, working and enjoying urban life. Last month I wrote about my own personal journey in understanding how cultural racism had influenced my work over the last twenty years on equitable Transit Oriented Development (eTOD). This month I delve into some ways that racism is baked into our systems, structures and institutions making it an incredible (but not insurmountable) challenge to correct if we are to truly realize EQUITABLE TOD that works for people of all races and income levels.

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December 19, 2018 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #VienTruong, #GRTC, #RVARapidTransit, #Enterprise Community Partners, #FamilyHousingFund, #FTA, #SPARCC, #APA, #Planning, #6PIC, #RVAGroundworks, #METRO, #Portland, #CASA, #ManuelPastor, #johnapowell, #PLCC, #ECOnorthwest

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Reflecting Back on an Impactful 2018

Another year ends, and it is with deep gratitude that I look back over 2018 to reflect on all the amazing accomplishments achieved by the array of incredible local and national community leaders, thought partners, and funders that I have had the privilege to work with to make America’s communities thrive. As someone who cut her teeth working at the federal level, it has been beyond depressing to see the vitriol, decay and lack of leadership by Congress and this administration. Yet against this backdrop, innovation and a commitment to greater racial and economic equity is exploding at the local level. Read the MZ Strategies post to see some of the highlights!

March 15, 2018 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #SUMC18, #FTA, #MODSandbox, #RobinChase, #APTA, #AVs, #AutonomousVehicles, #sharedmoility, #SharedUse, #Brookings, #EquitiCity

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Our Mobility Future May be More Autonomous, but Will it be More Equitable?

So, will autonomous vehicles be a panacea or another pandemic for low-income households and communities of color? Only time will tell, but so far, most discussions of a brave, new autonomous future fail to happen within broader discussions of economic and racial disparities that exist today, much less are they being considered within a broader regional context of housing and land use policy. We all need to recognize the interconnections between transportation, housing and equity.

October 10, 2016 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #transit, #transit oriented development, #equitableTOD, #equitable development, #FTA, #jointdevelopment, #FordFoundation, #MileHighConnects, #LISC, #Enterprise Community Partners, #CCFC, #LAMetro

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New Publication by MZ Strategies, LLC: Advancing Equitable Transit-Oriented Development through Community Partnerships and Public Sector Leadership

Over the past four years, MZ Strategies has worked with numerous communities to advance equitable development strategies ranging from specific policy initiatives and funding programs, to strengthening multi-sector coalitions, and updating regulatory approaches. Today, we are excited to release a new publication, "Advancing Equitable Transit-Oriented Development through Community Partnerships and Public Sector Leadership." The new report spotlights strategies being used in four regions to create more inclusive communities near transit, and discusses federal tools available to support development of transit real estate assets for affordable housing.

February 26, 2016 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #FTA, #T4America, #CFTE, #virginia tech, #Buehler, #transit, #transit finance

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We Get What We Ask For: Why America’s Transit Experience Lags Behind

A recent study published by the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center (co-authored by Ralph Buehler, Kyle Lukacs and Mariia Zimmerman) compares two major transit regions in the US with several European counterparts. The authors found that money -- both the lack of it and the strings attached to it -- is a key reason as to why transit in the United States isn’t better.

March 09, 2015 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #FTA, #transit, #USDOT, #new starts, #affordable housinig, #equitableTOD

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Transit as an Affordable Housing Tool? The Feds Think So!

Transit can be a powerful catalyst. Transit advocates like to argue about the positive economic development impacts that a new rail line can have on adjacent property. Community advocates argue against transit as a gentrification tool. In reality, both may be right and the latest "Annual New Starts Recommendations" issued in February by the Federal Transit Administration at USDOT asks communities wanting federal funding for their transit project to consider these trade-offs. Public funds are simply too scarce to not ensure that we are getting multiple benefits and maximum efficiency from every dollar invested. The latest MZ Strategies policy brief, Creating and Preserving Affordable Housing Through the Federal Transit Capital Investment Program, offers examples of how some communities are threading this needle.

January 10, 2014 By: Mariia Zimmerman

Tags: #War on Poverty, #HUD, #USDOT, #FTA, #income inequality, #community development, #Fair Housing, #transit, #urban planning, #poverty

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Looking Back and Looking Ahead on 50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty

In reflecting on notable achievements from 2013, I am struck by three separate federal actions that received little fanfare but are important to the War on Poverty’s arsenal. Each respond to one of the most profound lessons we have learned over the past 50 years -- the causes of poverty are often inter-related and cannot be successfully addressed by only focusing on housing, or education, or employment. Rather, integrated approaches are needed.