The price of long commutes can't just be measured in lost hours. Income segregation, job sprawl, and the resulting negative feedback on families eats into overall economic and social well-being.
"Working multiple jobs is one way to have less time with your kids; a long commute is another." In this article, Whet Moser explores the economic losses that go hand-in-hand with that social truth. Income segregation and job sprawl are the main challenges.
The Metropolitan Planning Council's Marisa Novara remarked, "When low-wage workers have to pay a huge amount of their paycheck just to get to work, or when they're located in places that public transit doesn't go, it's not just a detriment to an individual low-wage worker, it actually negatively impacts the whole economy. Higher skill work needs the lower skill work in order to thrive."
Moser pulls from work by the economist Raj Chetty, who concludes that poor access to jobs directly hinders social mobility. "By Chetty's numbers, commute time is up there with the fraction of single parents in terms of correlation [...] But among the factors he did study—family structure, race and income segregation, school quality, social capital—[commute time] doesn't get a lot of attention for its effects on social outcomes."
Read the full story: Bad Commutes Make an Economy Worse
Poor Suburbs Struggle with Job Sprawl
Although unemployment has declined, according to this report commutes are getting longer. "Job sprawl" often plagues minority and poor areas where housing is more affordable.
Twin Cities Commutes Faster Than Pre-Pandemic
Workers who have returned to in-person jobs are still experiencing less traffic congestion than in 2019.
How Transportation Technology Determines the Footprint of Cities
The Marchetti Constant, the willingness of people to travel for about a half an hour to get to and from work, explains the size of cities in history, and the metropolitan areas of today.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello