When Suburbs Go to War With Transit

I came back to Lutherville because there’s a battle raging about its future. A local developer has bought the ailing mall and proposed a mixed-use project on the 13-acre site, with 400 apartments, offices, retail and green space, all cheek-to-jowl with the light rail station. This kind of transit-oriented development, or TOD, would finally make this site the envisioned hub. While a network of rail lines is necessary for an effective transit system, better land use at stations is equally important. Adding nearby housing and jobs not only boosts ridership but helps address multiple other problems, including long commutes, lack of affordable housing, surplus retail space, and the triple crisis of air pollution, climate change and inequity.