Learning from others: A framework for choosing cases for cross-national comparison of transit oriented developments (TOD) corridors: World Planning School Congress 2011

Successfully implemented transit-oriented development (TOD) does not happen overnight. TOD literature is typical in the use of case studies, which are generally descriptive and randomly chosen. This article seeks to be a first step in understanding the role of institutional incentives and the processes of institutional innovation that have led to successful TOD. This paper proposes a framework to understand this very interplay of institutional path dependence and innovation by starting with a quick-scan survey of TOD ‘best practices’ across the world to eventually allow for selection in-depth case studies for that very purpose. The selection criteria based on initial hypotheses will help to negate the anecdotal nature of ‘best practices’ case studies in which the role and process of institutional incentives controlling and allowing for success are not readily discernible. The framework for case selection aims to contribute to an understanding of the role of institutional incentives in leading to TOD through institutional learning and transfer.