'Can Transit Tame Sprawl?' Some Have Doubts

"Housing and transportation costs are inversely related. In outlying settlements, households with more than one worker usually need two or more vehicles to get everyone to their jobs. That increases their transportation costs. Because their homes tend to be built on lower-cost rural land, however, their housing costs are relatively low. Conversely, in denser urban areas that are well served by public transit, households with two or more workers can get by with one vehicle — or even none. For these households, transportation costs are likely to be a lower percentage of their budget than their rural counterparts. But urban land is usually valuable real estate, so their housing costs are likely to be steeper."