Miami Tops When it Comes to Roadway Efficiency

"Which of the 12 statistical areas in the United States with more than 5 million inhabitants has the greatest number of people per mile of arterial roads?", asks Dickersin-Prokopp. "That honor goes to the Miami Metropolitan Area, perhaps not by choice but rather by geographic necessity, tightly bound by ocean to the east and the Everglades to the west."

"In contrast, the Atlanta Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the most sprawling of the 12 regions, has roughly the same population as Miami, but its roads total a distance nearly 3 times as long," he adds. "Wouldn't it be great if we could spend all the money that goes to maintaining those unnecessary miles of road on something more productive?"