As America's VMT returns to record highs, more of the miles are coming from cities than ever before.
"Urban driving is up 33 percent in that time; rural driving has fallen 12 percent," Henry Garbar writes for Slate. That is a huge change in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and, while it's tempting to look for reasons in the classification of roads or in demographic change, those only account for part of the jump. "America’s cities (by which I mean, mostly, their sprawling exurbs) have grown by 19 percent in that time—meaning that bigger cities account for just 58 percent of the urban driving mileage increase," Garbar reports.
The missing 42 percent is hard to account for. It could be a result of transit decline, which is concentrated in cities, it could be that city drivers drive more when gas costs are lower, or it could have to do with the kinds of cities that are growing. "We know that urban growth—especially over the past few years—has been concentrated in sprawling Sun Belt metropolises, so it would make sense for driving to outpace urban population growth," Garbar writes.
Urbanists have long touted less need to drive as an advantage to city life. If cities and the way we use them continue to follow this trend, some of that advantage may whither away.
FULL STORY: Urban America Is Driving More. Rural America Is Driving Less. What Gives?
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.