Transit-oriented development (TOD) or development-oriented transit (DOT): how does it matter for sustainable urban growth?

Urban growth patterns occur in various ways with tangible practical consequences. A key dilemma with regard to development and transportation revolves around whether the former follows the latter or vice versa. This study assessed this nexus with transit-oriented development (TOD) and development-oriented development (DOT) cases by using the land use/land cover (LU/LC) classification technique in a developing country example of a city in Turkey. Spatial data included high-resolution Sentinel 2A, Rapid Eye, and two SPOT satellite images and CORONA air photos acquired in 2021, 2013, 2000, 1989, and 1979, respectively, within three buffer zones (500, 750, and 1000 m) for both development forms. While the study acknowledges unorthodox TOD selection criteria and generalizability concerns, the results demonstrate that the TOD drastically reduced green areas (as opposed to ideal TOD requirements), while the DOT excessively grew commercial land uses and street networks. Both developments commonly impaired agricultural, vacant, and water land use. Such transformations direct local governments, transit agencies, and city planners to resolve ideal sustainable urban growth patterns by using remote sensing data and quantitative analysis.