Todd Litman's blog

Self-Fulfilling Automobile Dependency

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Submitted by Todd Litman on June 2, 2015 - 6:00am

Common planning practices create automobile-dependent communities where driving is convenient and other forms of travel are inefficient. It's time to recognize the value of transportation diversity.

Well Done Vancouver! Well Done Planners!

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Submitted by Todd Litman on May 25, 2015 - 1:15pm

In Vancouver, British Columbia, dramatic reductions in automobile travel and resulting benefits demonstrate that integrated TDM and smart growth policies can help create cities that are healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Welcome To Our Neighborhood: A Manifesto for Inclusivity

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Submitted by Todd Litman on May 4, 2015 - 8:00am

Housing policy is not just about houses, it is also about people, and the determination of who may live in a community. We challenge communities to proclaim, “Yes in our backyard! We welcome new neighbors. We favor more diversity.”

Public Policies For Optimal Urban Development

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Submitted by Todd Litman on April 13, 2015 - 9:00am

What amount of expansion, population and vehicle densities, housing mix, and transport policies should growing cities aspire to achieve? This column summarizes my recent research that explores these, and related, issues.

Communicating Transit Benefits: We Can Do Better

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Submitted by Todd Litman on March 19, 2015 - 5:00am

Planners can do a better job communicating the benefits of high quality public transit and transit-oriented development. We can learn from marketing professionals—it's time to channel Don Draper.

How Not to Evaluate Public Transit Risks

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Submitted by Todd Litman on March 5, 2015 - 10:50am

Randal O'Toole claims that light rail transit is more dangerous than bus or automobile travel, but he fails to account for exposure or overall safety benefits. This is a good example of bad statistical analysis.

More Critique of Demographia's International Housing Affordability Survey

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Submitted by Todd Litman on January 22, 2015 - 5:00am

The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey contains significant biases and errors. It is important that anybody working with the survey's results be aware of these problems.

New Transit Safety Narrative

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Submitted by Todd Litman on January 7, 2015 - 10:00am

Conventional traffic safety programs emphasize ways that individuals can help reduce their risk, but new research indicates that safety depends largely on community planning decisions that affect how and how much people drive.

Land for Vehicles or People?

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Submitted by Todd Litman on November 21, 2014 - 11:00am

Automobile-oriented planning requires that cities devote signifiant amounts of space to roads and parking—under many conditions each vehicle requires more land than is devoted to housing per capita.

Climate Change Targets? No Problem! We Have Win-Win Solutions

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Submitted by Todd Litman on November 13, 2014 - 9:00am

Ambitious new emission reduction targets can be met with strategies that also help achieve other economic, social, and environmental objectives.

Dallas City Council Approves Urban Forest Master Plan

$75 Billion 'Connect US' Plan Would Expand Amtrak Service All Over the Country

Opinion: Detroit Area Stunted by Lack of Regional Transit

Maryland Beltway Project Tentatively Moves Forward

Not So Fast! Slower Is Often Better

Will Planners Lead the New Urban Agenda?

The Changing Risks of Coastal Communities

Answers to 12 Questions About California Assembly Bill 1401

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Todd Litman's blog

Self-Fulfilling Automobile Dependency

Well Done Vancouver! Well Done Planners!

Welcome To Our Neighborhood: A Manifesto for Inclusivity

Public Policies For Optimal Urban Development

Communicating Transit Benefits: We Can Do Better

How Not to Evaluate Public Transit Risks

More Critique of Demographia's International Housing Affordability Survey

New Transit Safety Narrative

Land for Vehicles or People?

Climate Change Targets? No Problem! We Have Win-Win Solutions

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