Abstract: Low-altitude transportation technologies are driving urban transportation systems from two-dimensional networks toward three-dimensional structures. As an extension of transit-oriented development (TOD) into the low-altitude dimension, vertical-oriented development (VOD) integrates urban functions around vertical take-off and landing facilities, offering a new pathway for high-density cities to alleviate congestion and optimize spatial structure. By constructing a three-dimensional analytical framework of space, institution, and industry, this study examines differentiated international paths, including Osaka's air-rail integration, Paris's corridor coupling, Dubai's platform empowerment, and Coventry's transferable pilot. It identifies challenges in China's local practice, such as airspace planning coordination, cross-departmental governance barriers, weak business-model resilience, and limited social acceptance. It then proposes a systemic path of spatial restructuring, institutional innovation, and industrial synergy, emphasizing the transition of VOD from conceptual validation to system integration through modernized airspace governance, networked spatial organization, and diversified industrial ecosystems. The study expands the theoretical connotation of traffic-led development and provides theoretical support and practical references for high-quality development of China's low-altitude economy and urban spatial restructuring.