Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)

SEPTA’s Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Guidelines are a groundbreaking planning document for the Authority that redefines how SEPTA engages with communities, local governments, and regional stakeholders to promote equitable, walkable, and transit-supportive development. The Guidelines provide the foundation for SEPTA’s TOC program and justify SEPTA’s participation in land use, zoning, and development as a stakeholder, landowner, developer, and advocate.

The Guidelines are built around a typology of station areas and corridors, with tailored recommendations for land use, access, public realm design, and housing. They emphasize that TOC is context-sensitive, shaped by transit frequency, multimodal access, and community character.

SEPTA’s TOC Guidelines represent a shift in how transit agencies can approach land use. Rather than reacting to outside development proposals, SEPTA is using the Guidelines to lead growth around its system. SEPTA is already participating in zoning remapping, local code reform, and regional housing advocacy.

These elements are already translating into action. SEPTA is implementing TOC at demonstration sites in Ambler and Germantown and conducting planning at multiple others. By grounding TOC in agency operations and prioritizing implementation from the outset, the Guidelines are helping the agency generate long-term lease revenue and increase ridership potential through land use reform and equitable, mixed-use development.

These results show that the Guidelines are both timely and impactful; already delivering measurable results for SEPTA and the region. They equip SEPTA and its partners with the tools to respond to urgent challenges, housing affordability, climate resilience, access to opportunity, and to do so in a way that centers equity, walkability, and long-term community benefit.