Transit-oriented housing in Chicago is back on track

The Residents of Orland Park Crossing apartment building is walking distance from the village’s Metra Rail station.

Real estate developers and urban planners increasingly are casting their glances backward to create communities for tomorrow.

Starting in the mid-1800s, when trains became the primary mode of transportation, American cities clustered around railways. Cars didn’t exist, so cities were necessarily compact, with all manner of goods and services within walkable distances. After World War II, city dwellers drove their newly acquired automobiles to far-flung subdivisions, regional shopping centers and corporate office parks. They put down roots there despite traffic jams and road construction while downtowns everywhere deteriorated.

Today, a philosophy known as “transit-oriented development” is reinvigorating cities across the country…Please click here to read Pamela Dittmer McKuen’s story in the Tribune.