In a previous post, I introduced the concept of a HITOD (Highway Interchange Transit Oriented Development) and suggested several potential benefits of implementing HITODs in American infrastructure. Even though no fully implemented HITOD exists, examples of individual components of HITODs are found in particular places around the world:
On the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway, concrete shells for commercial and transit infrastructure were constructed and can be observed while riding on the expressway.
In Columbia, MD, two parking lots are integrated into a highway interchange, illustrating the HITOD principle of more efficiently using land that is typically underutilized within an interchange.
The O’Hare Oasis is a commercial development spanning a highway and connecting two parking lots. However, this example is missing the critical integration with the local road network and community, and like the Columbia, MD example, is not oriented towards walkability.
Commercial development underneath the Manhattan approach to the Queensboro Bridge motivates the HITOD principle of efficient land use by filling in elevated roads with commercial development.
This photograph of a commercial center in Japan shows a discrete elevated roadway . Only the street lamps give any indication that a road, rather than a simple flat roof, sits above the commercial development.
