Part of the strategy of encouraging light rail use is to locate public buildings and subsidized development along the route. The Oregon Department of Transportation, the State of Oregon, Metro, Bonneville Power, the Port of Portland and other governmental agencies have built or renovated offices along the route. The city's economic development agency was a major player in Pioneer Place and some of the other projects along the routes. Property owners in each location formed a local improvement district to provide the local match for funds to upgrade sidewalks and street pavements and to provide benches and artwork. Merchants have supported these projects because they have received much more in improvements than they spent.
Pedestrians benefit from a pleasant environment in which to walk, shop and wait for transit.
The lessons learned about transit-oriented development on the eastside are now being applied to the westside project. This line has more opportunities to develop transit-supportive communities because there are four tracts of 100 to 400 acres of vacant land along the route. A public-private master planning effort is being used to develop master plans for some of the large vacant parcels. These plans include site designs and market analysis for actual projects. While planning has been taking place, interim zoning was adopted to prohibit certain auto-oriented uses, require minimum densities, limit parking supplies and orient any development that occurs to the stations.