Sean O’Gorman presents to DuPage Mayors & Managers Conference

Sean O’Gorman was among the presenters at a Transit-Oriented Development Workshop put on by the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference earlier this month.

DuPage County’s maturing communities continue to experience increased traffic congestion as well as a depletion of places to accommodate new homes and businesses. According to the DMMC, municipal leaders are increasingly taking note of ways to stimulate TOD development.

“This urban planning tool encourages vibrant, livable, sustainable, car-optional communities for residents of all ages and incomes,” the group said. “With an evolution in mobility upon us, including an ever-changing ride-sharing industry, a continual desire from residents to be less reliant on their car for transportation, as well as a future that could see autonomous cars, TOD allows communities to meet these changes with compatible land use to help them thrive.”

Sean presented the group with two case studies that demonstrate a wide range of TOD strategies: the four-story, 42-unit 229 Park Avenue in Clarendon Hills and a larger, more dense 359-unit mixed-use project with 30,000 square feet of retail currently being proposed on Chicago’s North Side. In both cases Sean outlined the ways formal TOD ordinances and general advantages enhanced the developments and provided additional opportunities in development and design.