Cities Connect! How Urbanity Supports Social Inclusion Todd Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute Metropolis Toronto, Canada - 14 June 2006 Cities Connect People with people. People with jobs. People with services. Businesses with customers. Businesses with businesses. People with social activities. Neighbors with neighbors (community cohesion) 2
Social Inclusion Social and economic opportunities for people who are physically, economically or socially disadvantaged 3 Basic Mobility Emergency services (police, fire, ambulances, etc.). Health care. Essential shopping. Education and employment (commuting). Public services, mail, and freight distribution. A certain amount of social and recreational activities. 4
Paradigm Shifts Growth - expanding, doing more. Development - improving, doing better. Mobility - physical movement. Accessibility - obtaining desired goods, services and activities. 5 Transportation Diversity A more diverse transportation systems helps achieve equity objectives: A fair share of public resources for non-drivers. Financial savings to lower-income people. Increased opportunity to people who are physically, socially or economically disadvantaged. Basic mobility. 6
Land Use Impacts On Travel Traffic Deaths Per 100,000 Pop. Percent Trips 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Kings County, NY New York County, NY Bronx County, NY Least Urban Moderately Urban Most Urban Urban Index Rating Traffic Risk 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Smartest Growth Most Sprawled Queens County, NY Hudson County, NJ San Francisco County, CA Suffolk County, MA Philadelphia County, PA Baltimore city, MD Richmond County, NY Miami County, KS Stokes County, NC Davie County, NC Isanti County, MN Yadkin County, NC Walton County, GA Fulton County, OH Goochland County, VA Clinton County, MI Car Transit Walk 7 Geauga County, OH 8
Affordability Index $1,800 Monthly Household Expenditures $1,600 $1,400 $1,200 $1,000 $800 $600 $400 $200 Transport Housing $0 Exurban Outer Suburb Inner Suburb Urban 9 Sprawl Is Costly Increased infrastructure and public service costs. Reduces housing options (particularly multi-family) Reduced travel options. Increased transportation and delivery costs. Environmental costs. 10
Current Transport Planning Current planning tends to be reductionist: each problem is assigned to a single agency with narrowly defined responsibilities. For example: Transport agencies deal with congestion. Environmental agencies deal with pollution. Welfare agencies deal with the needs of disadvantaged people. Public health agencies are concerned with community fitness. Etc. 11 Reductionist Decision-Making Reductionist planning can result in public agencies implementing solutions to one problem that exacerbate other problems facing society, and tends to undervalue strategies that provide multiple but modest benefits. 12
Win-Win Solutions Put another way, more comprehensive planning helps identify Win-Win strategies: solutions to one problem that also help solve other problems facing society. Ask: Which congestion-reduction strategy also reduces parking costs, saves consumers money, and improves mobility options for non-drivers. 13 How Do We Do It? No single strategy will increase transport efficiency. It requires an integrated program. 14
Conventional Planning Measures Traffic Traffic speeds and congestion delay Roadway Level-of-service Vehicle operating costs Vehicle crash rates Parking convenience This helps justify roadway improvements. 15 Reform Planning Practices Multi-modal. Measure people, not just vehicles. Comprehensive. Consider all costs and benefits. Least-cost. equal funding for mobility management solutions. 16
Smart Growth (Density,, Design, Diversity) More compact, infill development. Mixed land use. Increased connectivity. Improved walkability. Urban villages. Increased transportation diversity. Better parking management. Improved public realm. More traffic calming and speed control. 17 Location-Efficient Development Locate affordable housing in accessible areas (near services and jobs, walkable, public transit). Diverse, affordable housing options (secondary suites, rooms over shops, loft apartments). Reduced parking requirements. Reduces property taxes and utility fees for clustered and infill housing. 18
Walking and Cycling Improvements More investment in sidewalks, crosswalks, paths and bike lanes. More traffic calming. Bicycle parking and changing facilities. Programs to encourage safe walking and cycling. 19 Walking Undercounted Mode Split NMT Transit Auto If, instead of asking, What portion of trips are only by active transport? We ask, What portion of trips involve some active transport? the portion of active transport typically increases 2-6 times. Conventional Comprehensive 20
Improve e Public Transit Quality service (convenient, fast, comfortable). Low fares. Support (walkable communities, park & ride facilities, commute trip reduction programs). Parking pricing or cash out. Convenient information. Positive Image. 21 Bus Rapid Transit Grade-separated right-of-way Frequent, high-capacity service (less than 10-minute headways). High-quality vehicles, easy to board, quiet, clean and comfortable. Pre-paid fare collection. Convenient user information Quality, safe stations. Excellent customer service. 22
Carsharing Automobile rental services intended to substitute for private vehicle ownership. 23 Road & Parking Pricing Charge motorists directly for using roads and parking facilities. Higher rates during peak periods. Use electronic pricing systems. Dedicate revenue to transport improvements. 24
For more information www.vtpi.org Cities Connect Evaluating Transportation Equity Online TDM Encyclopedia Win-Win Transportation Solutions Much more. 25