Dismantling Myths About Suburban Sprawl

Ted Balaker and Sam Staley, authors of "The Road More Traveled: Why the Congestion Crisis Matters More Than You Think, and What We Can Do About It," explain that while "public transit still has an important role" in American society, a drive for wealth and personal space has kept us in our cars:

"Many officials say we should reconfigure the landscape -- pack people in more tightly -- to make it fit better with a transit-oriented lifestyle. But that would mean increasing density in existing developments by bulldozing the low-density neighborhoods that countless families call home. Single-family houses, malls and shops would have to make way for a stacked-up style of living that most don't want. And even then the best-case scenario would be replicating New York, where only one in four commuters uses mass transit."

Thanks to Dan Reed