Several cities located in the Northeast, especially in the New York region, saw a significant increase in the number of car-free households.
Although car ownership is increasing as the economy improves following the Great Recession (that is, fewer American households are car-free), there are exceptions to that trend to be found in a surprising kind of place—the country's medium-sized cities.
"Several mid-sized cities recorded notable increases in shares of car-free households when averages from the 2015 and 2016 American Community Surveys are compared with those for 2009 and 2010," according to an article by Mike Maciag.
The list of medium-sized cities with an increasing number of car-free households include:
- Paterson, New Jersey
- New Haven, Connecticut
- Davenport, Iowa
- Elizabeth, New Jersey
- Peoria, Illinois
The article includes additional data about car-free households, along with some helpful infographics to presenting the trends in visual form.
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Journal of the American Planning Association