Many transit agencies own property near rail stations or bus routes These often underutilized resources constitute valuable investment opportunities for the private sector The leasing or sale of these properties to the private sector for the purposes of transit oriented development is commonly referred to as joint development Recent changes in federal guidelines have helped to overcome obstacles that previously limited the sale or leasing of these properties Transit agencies can now modify the criteria that they use to evaluate development proposals to place more emphasis on the potential role of development in smart growth