THE ARLINGTON COUNTY CASE STUDY: ROSSLYN-BALLSTON CORRIDOR. IN: THE NEW TRANSIT TOWN: BEST PRACTICES IN TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT

This case study deals with a transit-oriented development (TOD) initiative carried out over 3 decades in a low density commercial corridor in Arlington County, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The government of Arlington County became an early proponent of TOD as a strategy that could be used to retrofit the 3-mi-long corridor--a commercial center that had never been incorporated as a city--in order to reverse major declines in both population and commercial activity. Once consensus on the redevelopment plan was reached with all stakeholders, the county established and refined a consistent and supportive policy framework over the next 30 years, creating stability that engendered trust in the county government among developers and the community. The story of how the county succeeded in retrofitting its low density commercial corridor, detailed in this chapter, is instructive for other jurisdictions involved in planning for station area development.