'When we discuss the demand in downtowns like Washington's for more office space, we sometimes make an assumption that the transport network will be able to handle whatever is thrown at it. In fact, there is a direct relationship between a downtown's growth and the transportation provided to it. In general, businesses want to locate their offices in places that are accessible and that provide the benefits of agglomeration, and this sometimes means downtown, but not always. If the trip to and from the center - by whatever mode - becomes too arduous, there are significant reasons to locate outside of it. How does this fact apply to a place like Washington?"
This piece argues that as central business districts grow, too often cities focus on land use issues and ignore the impact of increased transportation demand.
Comments
Here we go again
This is the argument that's been used to fight density for decades: we can't have density downtown because density = congestion, so let's fight congestion by making everyone move to the suburbs. I think we've tried this experiment and all we've gotten for it is congested suburbs and pollution everywhere.