Mobility and Land Use
While vast public investment in transportation has profoundly changed our society, it has also created problems such as air and water pollution, scenic degradation, loss of open space, excessive flooding, and fractured communities.
Many say the extent of road building and widening must slow down. There are studies that show traffic congestion actually increases when highways are expanded, and decreases when highway lanes are removed. Other studies suggest further highway expansion will come at a cost greater than the benefit.
Federal transportation dollars increasingly go toward public transit, particularly buses and rail systems, and expanding opportunities for pedestrians and bicyclists. Innovations in public transit are coming very fast, with Europe leading the way.
Cities like Toronto have successfully emphasized clustered, high-density, mixed use development within easy walking distance of transit stations. In Toronto, 17 percent of all travel and 31 percent of all work commuting in the city are by public transit. Fifteen percent of all residents of downtown Toronto walk to work, and 80 percent of all people attending events at the Sky Dome arrive by transit.
But the growing centerpiece of mobility policy in many regions in the United States is the idea of limiting all transit demand by tying transportation and land use together to produce systems in which it is not necessary to make so many trips requiring motorized vehicles.
When homes, jobs, schools, shops, services, and recreational facilities are far apart and not related to public transit systems, the only option is to drive a car (which is increasingly becoming a truck). Smart growth, new urbanism, and sustainable development all argue that the obvious way to reduce transit demand is to bring homes and services closer together where possible. Further, increasing density and services around transit stops encourages use of public transit systems.
“Transit stop” increasingly means “light rail stop”, but there are other successful systems such as the stops for Portland’s bus system, which are large, covered art deco-like spaces with high tech computer-displayed maps and route information inside. They are real places, havens in the rain, and activity clusters around them. (Next Section)
Economy, Community, Environment
Smart Growth Trends
Strong Central Cities
Mobility and Land Use
Clusters
Community & Place: Revitalizing Neighborhoods
Greenspace and Natural Resources
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