TOD - Transit Oriented Development: a sustainable tool towards smart living Carmelina Bevilacqua Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy e-mail: cbevilac@unirc.it Francesco Cappellano Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy e-mail: francesco.cappellano@unirc.it Luciano Zingali Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy e-mail: luciano.zingali@unirc.it Abstract The paper intents demonstrate how TOD (Transit Oriented development) can be considered as a Best practice towards smart and eco-friendly urban living. The research starts from the analysis of the main sustainable principles taken into account during the planning and implementation process of two TODs in US, and one in EU. Results prove how the correct management of TOD delivers a significative smart growth. Keywords: Smart Growth, Public Transit, Community Development, Urban Regeneration, Urban Living, Introduction By definition, the TOD is a "mixed-use community, that encourages people to live near transit services and to decrease dependence on their driving" (Still 2002, Bernick and Cervero 1997), and also the practice of developing or intensive residential land use near rail stations and housing, along with complementary public uses, jobs, retail and services, are concentrated in mixed-use developments at strategic points along the regional transit systems (Calthorpe 1993, Boarnet and Crane 1998, Salvensen 1996). The aim of the work is to demonstrate whether Transit Oriented Development might be considered a tool toward Smart Growth. In Making Smarth Growth Work, Porter states “Smart Growth calls for building communities that are more hospitable, productive, and physically and environmentally responsible than most of the communities that have been developed in the last century...[It] seek to identify a common ground where developers, environmentalist, public officials, citizens, and others can all find acceptable ways to accommodate growth (Porter 2002, p.1)”. Porter describes six key principles of smart growth:  Compact, multiuse development;  Open-space conservation;  Expanded mobility;  Enhanced livability;  Efficient management and expansion of infrastructure;  Infill, redevelopment, and adaptive reuse in built-up areas . TOD has recently become a popular tool to promote Smart Growth because it have been hailed as a model for integrating land use with transportation in the interest of smart growth (Calthorpe, 1993; Cervero, 1998; Newman and Kenworthy, 1999; Renne and Newman, 2002; Renne and Wells, 2004). According to Cervero et al., “TOD has gained currency in the United States as a means of promoting smart growth, injecting vitality into declining inner-city settings, and expanding lifestyle choices” (2004, 3). The New Transit Town: Best Practices in Transit-Oriented Development (Dittmar and Ohland, 2004) states that TOD is an essential part of the healthy growth and development of regional economies.