Cities you can readily and affordably get to without a car are PRIME locations for a Two Towers project.
This means rail, intercity commercial buses and commuter buses are your best shots. There may be some edge cases, like a bike path from a rail station in a nearby city but initial attempts to identify good locations should just start by looking for rail stations, bus stations and commuter bus routes.
Real world example of a city with a rail station near its downtown but technically in a different city: Fairfield, California. For many years, Solano County's ONLY Amtrak station was in the tiny town of Suisun City and readily reached by bus, bike or on foot from parts of Fairfield.
Ideally, you want a piece of land near a transit center or frequently serviced stop that gets you to the transit center readily, in walking distance of a grocery store or one you can easily get to via bus or similar, with at least a few eateries in walking distance and/or delivery services that go there.
If it is an area with parking demand that would readily support paid parking spaces in a commercial parking garage: Bonus points!
If not: I am thinking you may be able to cut a deal with a car-sharing service as one potential means to make this work nearly anywhere. They get a place for their cars, you get the flexibility you need to make this project work.
Distressed "historic" downtowns DESIGNED to be pedestrian-friendly and mixed use which are currently being strangled by parking minimums are probably the IDEAL scenario as that is the scenario that inspired this project.
These tend to be blighted areas with low property values -- aka "bargains" -- where zoning supports residential above commercial in buildings but there is little to no residential in practice. When you walk around the area, there may be plenty of commercial development but the upper floors are probably mostly empty and the streets are not alive with lots of pedestrian traffic.
Half a mile is the standard for walking distance to transit. Closer is better.
Directly on a STOP that will take you to a nearby hub is probably better than a location where you MUST walk to get to transit even if that walk takes you to a hub/station, especially if that walk is over a quarter mile. Then go look in person of course.
This means rail, intercity commercial buses and commuter buses are your best shots. There may be some edge cases, like a bike path from a rail station in a nearby city but initial attempts to identify good locations should just start by looking for rail stations, bus stations and commuter bus routes.
Real world example of a city with a rail station near its downtown but technically in a different city: Fairfield, California. For many years, Solano County's ONLY Amtrak station was in the tiny town of Suisun City and readily reached by bus, bike or on foot from parts of Fairfield.
Ideally, you want a piece of land near a transit center or frequently serviced stop that gets you to the transit center readily, in walking distance of a grocery store or one you can easily get to via bus or similar, with at least a few eateries in walking distance and/or delivery services that go there.
If it is an area with parking demand that would readily support paid parking spaces in a commercial parking garage: Bonus points!
If not: I am thinking you may be able to cut a deal with a car-sharing service as one potential means to make this work nearly anywhere. They get a place for their cars, you get the flexibility you need to make this project work.
Distressed "historic" downtowns DESIGNED to be pedestrian-friendly and mixed use which are currently being strangled by parking minimums are probably the IDEAL scenario as that is the scenario that inspired this project.
These tend to be blighted areas with low property values -- aka "bargains" -- where zoning supports residential above commercial in buildings but there is little to no residential in practice. When you walk around the area, there may be plenty of commercial development but the upper floors are probably mostly empty and the streets are not alive with lots of pedestrian traffic.
Suggested Process
I would do an internet search for "public transit (my state)" or "commuter bus routes (my state)" then check if they can be gotten to from some larger network, like regional rail or greyhound. Look at their networks and stops and look for available property nearby those stops or on local transit routes that readily get you to one of the commuter bus stops.Half a mile is the standard for walking distance to transit. Closer is better.
Directly on a STOP that will take you to a nearby hub is probably better than a location where you MUST walk to get to transit even if that walk takes you to a hub/station, especially if that walk is over a quarter mile. Then go look in person of course.