Trail-Oriented Development (TrOD) is a planning and development approach that focuses on integrating trails with nearby communities, businesses, and transportation systems. Similar to Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), TrOD encourages mixed-use, walkable, and bike-friendly environments centered around trail networks rather than transit hubs.
Trail-oriented development is an urban planning approach that integrates trails with nearby residential, commercial, and parks development. Trail-oriented development attempts to enhances connectivity, supports local businesses, and creates transitions between trails and adjacent properties through expanded amenities.[1] [2] [3] Developments using a trail-oriented development approach may include bike and pedestrian features (such as additional bike parking), design their development to compliment the trail or trail users, focus on serving trail users, or simply focus on providing users transportation options.[4] [5] [6]
An Urban Land Institute study found that trail-oriented development can have positive health outcomes and support real estate development with an overall positive return on investment.[7] A study on the Mon River Trails System found that while trails can stimulate economic growth, they can also drive demand to a level that becomes a barrier for small businesses and suggests proper planning should focus on not just whether a trail will bring economic activity, but on the scale and type of that activity.[8]
