TOD Web Applications
The Development Trends Along Transit (DTAT) application was created by the Metro Transit TOD Office to showcase the DTAT data in relation to existing and planned high frequency transit facilities across the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota. This app provides transparent public access to the same data processed for the annual DTAT Report.
Search, view, analyze, and share publicly-owned parcel data across portions of the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. Users can also view publicly-owned parcels in relation to Metro Transit facilities.
Recent TOD studies
Land Value Taxation - 2026 Update
Property taxes are a significant and rising burden for households and businesses across Minnesota. Land value taxes (LVT) can help relieve that burden by shifting property taxes from improvements (buildings) to land, thus reducing the tax burden of improving land and the incentive for land speculation. To evaluate the impact of Land Value Taxation locally, model LVT districts were applied in ten case studies across the Twin Cities in areas served by high-frequency transit.
Based on these studies, this paper finds that land value taxation can encourage the following outcomes:
- More productive use of vacant and under-developed parcels.
- Improved housing affordability.
- More efficient use of public infrastructure investments.
- Lower climate emissions and traffic from new growth.
- Greater equity in property taxes.
These benefits include (but are not limited to) encouraging more efficient use of transit investments through transit-oriented development.
View the full report
TOD at the Regional Scale: A National Review of Peer Agency Policies and Programs
The TOD at Regional Scale report examines how the Council's current TOD policy and program compare to a peer set of twenty-seven metropolitan planning organizations and twenty-six transit agencies across the United States. Comparisons in this report draw on the Council's policy objective alignment with peers and engagement in six major TOD program components: communication, convening, and coordination; data tools and technical assistance; development on agency land; evaluation and project reporting; grant programs; and land use guidance for TOD.
Overall, the Council is meeting or exceeding its peers in program components commonly observed at MPOs. However, it lags in several important TOD program components common at transit agencies. Areas of strength for the Council include TOD grant support, internal research, and data products. Areas for improvement include policy goal alignment, support systems for local TOD efforts in the region, coordination with local partners, and guidance for development on publicly-owned land.
TOD at Regional Scale Handout
TOD at Regional Scale Full Report
Development Trends Along Transit - 2025
The success of a region depends in part on the quality of its connections. Together, robust high frequency transit and Transit Oriented Development efficiently tie housing, jobs, shopping, and more. Recognizing this, the TOD office studied the patterns of permitted and planned developments in the Twin Cities, with a focus on those developments along high frequency transit.
In the 15 years between 2009 and 2024, permits have been issued for over $56 billion throughout the region. This includes projects that have been completed since being permitted, and ongoing projects. Developments located near high frequency transit have been permitted for just under $21.7 billion. Of that $21.7 billion, $13.7 billion is located within one half mile of a light rail transit (LRT) station, $11 billion is located within a half mile of a bus rapid transit (BRT) station, and $3.6 billion is served by high frequency local bus routes outside areas with direct LRT or BRT service. All told, the permitted value of development within transit corridors represents 39% of the development that has been permitted for the region, on just 4% of the region’s land area.
This report reveals that $21.7 billion in development has been permitted along high frequency transit between 2009 and 2024, including:
- 44% of the region’s multifamily development by permit value
- 44% of the region’s commercial development
- 36% of the region’s public and institutional development
- 5% of the region’s industrial development
The Council also tracks regional development news, identifying potential future developments through media coverage and other sources. Based on this tracking, 66% of the planned developments are anticipated to be near high frequency transit.
View the full report here.
Property Value Tax Analysis
In 2023, the TOD office also began an analysis of property tax values near high frequency transitways in the region. This analysis was shared with the Metropolitan Council (view meeting video here) and will be shared through a web application, currently under development.
The property tax value analysis found that parcels near high frequency transit account for just 2% of the taxable parcels in the region but generate over 25% of the region’s property tax revenue. Tax revenue from properties within ¼ mile of transit increased much faster than properties further from transit and this increase is heavily driven be new infill development.
The following exhibits show 3D mapping of property tax values over time near different transit lines. Simply scroll through the documents to see property tax value over time.
- Property Tax per Acre 2006-2023
Transit-Oriented Development and Zoning in Cities with High-Frequency Transit
Building on the 2021 Comprehensive Land Use Planning in High Frequency Transit Corridors report, this study explores the relationship between transit oriented development (TOD) and zoning codes in 20 cities with high frequency transit lines in the Twin Cities region. First, this analysis compares the planned density along high frequency transit lines with the actual current zoning codes of each city. Differences in zoning codes are compared to levels of qualifying transit oriented development to better understand the impact of zoning on TOD. Finally, the study brings together this analysis with interviews with city planners and developers actively working on TOD in the region, discussing the challenges of building TOD, and contextualizing zoning as a piece of the puzzle.
View the full report