The analysis highlights how sprawl and a lack of transit investment perpetuate car dependency for most Americans.
An analysis from the Urban Institute reveals that just 10% of American homes are located within half a mile of frequent, reliable public transit.
According to an article by Jared Brey in Governing, big, dense cities like New York, Chicago and Boston have the highest share of residents living near transit. At the bottom end, just 1% of households in Miami, Tampa and Detroit are near frequent transit. "At the state level, Mississippi has the smallest share of homes near any transit, at 10 percent, and California has the highest share, at 73.4 percent."
The analysis shows how U.S. infrastructure and urban design perpetuate car dependency. But the tide is starting to turn: "States like California and Massachusetts have recently adopted new transit-oriented development policies, allowing taller, denser buildings in neighborhoods served by trains and buses. And according to the report, since the year 2000, every urban area in the country has concentrated more of its new housing near transit than in the decades prior."
The report recommends that cities continue supporting zoning policies that allow denser housing near transit and invest in frequent transit and quality-of-life improvements in transit-adjacent areas that can attract new development.
FULL STORY: Where Do States Rank on Access to Public Transit?
Yes, another thing that car dependency makes worse: DUIs
In the land of the free (and the cars), design incites drinking and driving.
Cost of living too high? Planners to the rescue!
Excessive costs of living force many people to work more than optimal hours, leaving less time for family and fun. Local policies that favor affordable housing and transportation increase freedom, opportunity and happiness.
Zoning for Good
A new book highlights the power of zoning to change communities for the better.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association