[1] His research has spanned the topics of induced demand, transit-oriented development (TOD), transit villages, paratransit, car sharing, and suburban growth.

Findings from a study led by Cervero on the influence of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system on the San Francisco Bay Area's urban development patterns[12] were challenged on the grounds that BART provided few accessibility gains and built environments are largely unmalleable.

[13] Charging motorists more to reflect the environmental and congestion costs they imposed, it was countered, would significantly increase the land-use impacts of metro-rail investments like BART.

[23] Research by him and others has linked TOD to reduced car ownership and usage, and correspondingly high ridership levels among those living and working near transit.

[24] Paul Mees, among others, has argued that the quality of transit services is more important in drawing people out of cars and into trains and buses than the location or density of development.

[25][26] Such debates aside, others point to other reasons for advancing TOD including increasing housing choices, physical activity, and social interaction.