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The Geography of How We Get to Work
Topic Started: Jul 13 2011, 11:14 AM (255 Views)
big al
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Bull-Carp
Some bullet points...

Population density increases public transportation usage, but has no effect on walking and biking.

Weather and climate do play a role, but not necessarily what you'd think. People are more likely to drive to work where the weather is warm and/or wet. Public transit use as well as walking and biking are more common in drier climes but also in places with colder January temperatures.

The longer the commute (based on the average commute time), the more likely people are to use public transit, but--not surprisingly--the less likely they are to bike or walk.

The type of housing development matters. The share of housing units built between 2000 and 2006 is negatively associated with the percentage of people who bike, walk or take public transit to work. Rapidly growing cities of sprawl - those which built the most houses during the height of the bubble - remain much more car-dependent than other places.

Finally, and perhaps most interesting, the way we get to work is associated with the kinds of work we do. The share of workers in the creative class--scientists, engineers, techies, innovators, and researchers, as well as artists, designers, writers, musicians and professionals in healthcare, business and finance, the legal sector, and education--is positively associated with the percentages of people who take public transit or walk or bike to work. In fact this creative class variable was the largest of all.

The top 15

1 :: New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
2 :: Ithaca, NY
3 :: Boulder, CO
4 :: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
5 :: Jacksonville, NC
6 :: Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
7 :: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
8 :: Champaign-Urbana, IL
9 :: Eugene-Springfield, OR
10 :: Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
11 :: Honolulu, HI
12 :: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
13 :: Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA
14 :: Iowa City, IA
15 :: Bellingham, WA

Source

So, can we wean the American commuter from their car?

Big Al
Location: Western PA

"jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen."
-bachophile
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
It would take a massive restructuring of land use and radical changes in zoning laws and trillions in new building costs to wean the American commuter from their cars. Not impossible, but unlikely.
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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big al
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Bull-Carp
Isn't that one of the aims of the community you're designing, IT? (That's not a snarky question; it's a serious one.)

Big Al
Location: Western PA

"jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen."
-bachophile
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
I live 8.5 miles from where I work and I have exactly three alternatives; Drive my car, ride a bike or motorcycle, walk.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


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From The Lion in Winter.
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
I live zero miles from work.

I WANT my car to go WHEREVER and WHENEVER I WANT! :P
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Copper
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big al
Jul 13 2011, 11:14 AM

So, can we wean the American commuter from their car?

I'm not sure wean is the right word.

It's more like can we tell them the right way to get to work?

Because they are just too dumb and selfish to figure out they shouldn't be driving a car.
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
big al
Jul 13 2011, 11:25 AM
Isn't that one of the aims of the community you're designing, IT? (That's not a snarky question; it's a serious one.)

Big Al
Yes, it is and it is something I am very interested in. Going forward we can certainly make better planning decisions that create more sustainable developments that are more pedestrian and mass transit oriented. I think that is particularly important as the south and the west continue to develop. My only point is that so much of the existing infrastructure across the nation -- including the sort of neighborhood I now live in -- is not conducive to it, and would be difficult and incredibly expensive (as well of dubious environmental and economic value) to transition to different transportation patterns for vast sections of the residential population in the US.
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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ivorythumper
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Mark
Jul 13 2011, 01:12 PM
I live zero miles from work.

I WANT my car to go WHEREVER and WHENEVER I WANT! :P
Same here. I think home based businesses make a lot of sense. They certainly have improved my quality of life. :P
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
Copper
Jul 13 2011, 01:16 PM
big al
Jul 13 2011, 11:14 AM

So, can we wean the American commuter from their car?

I'm not sure wean is the right word.

It's more like can we tell them the right way to get to work?

Because they are just too dumb and selfish to figure out they shouldn't be driving a car.
Says the guy who takes a plane to work. ;)
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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Dewey
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HOLY CARP!!!
I live 62.5 miles from one of my jobs, 18 miles from another, and 14 miles from a third (yes, a third one that I haven't mentioned yet). And I live 12 miles from my school.

You will have to pry my car keys from my cold, dead fingers. ^_^
"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685.

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Mikhailoh
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This is what we aspire to?

Posted Image
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
ivorythumper
Jul 13 2011, 11:20 AM
It would take a massive restructuring of land use and radical changes in zoning laws and trillions in new building costs to wean the American commuter from their cars.
Or $12 gas.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
jon-nyc
Jul 13 2011, 03:01 PM
ivorythumper
Jul 13 2011, 11:20 AM
It would take a massive restructuring of land use and radical changes in zoning laws and trillions in new building costs to wean the American commuter from their cars.
Or $12 gas.
I doubt it. If someone drove 1000 miles/mo / 20 mpg x $12/gal = $7200/year, that would not even begin to offset the massive changes in property values or new infrastracture costs that such a restructuring would entail.
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
Well, 2 cars per household (2.28, akshually) takes that to 14,400. Median household income is <50k. I think in such a scenario quite a bit of weaning would take place, and yeah, suburban property values would feel the effect.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
Actually my view is $12 gas will accelerate the shift to electric cars, rather than shift us away from cars.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
jon-nyc
Jul 13 2011, 03:46 PM
Actually my view is $12 gas will accelerate the shift to electric cars, rather than shift us away from cars.
Agreed .... Anything more fuel efficient will replace gas at those prices long before making people want to move and losing massive amounts of equity to save fuel costs.
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
I agree, Jon. But at some point we will have to face up to the limitations of any number of materials we have assumed will always be available.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Copper
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Shortstop
Mikhailoh
Jul 13 2011, 04:38 PM
I agree, Jon. But at some point we will have to face up to the limitations of any number of materials we have assumed will always be available.

Yes, so we look back to the stars and go to work in rocket anti-grav ships.

The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Catraoine
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Junior Carp
I am not sure if you have these kinds of options in America, but here we can save hundreds of dollars a year in insurance costs by not using the car so much…as I work from home and my husband has always used public transport for work we are lucky if we clock up more than 3,000 k a year on our car. Our yearly fully comprehensive insurance was $945. Now we only pay $308 a year because we do less than 4,000k a year, for every kilometre under that 4,000 it is then transferred over to the following year increasing our initial 4,000k limit. Every three years we get %10 back of the three years premium..people need a financial incentive to look at other possible travel alternatives, more and more people are now taking up this kind of incentive with their car insurance here.
Hatred is often felt by those that cannot understand why you are so loved.
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Copper
Jul 13 2011, 04:43 PM
Mikhailoh
Jul 13 2011, 04:38 PM
I agree, Jon. But at some point we will have to face up to the limitations of any number of materials we have assumed will always be available.

Yes, so we look back to the stars and go to work in rocket anti-grav ships.

I also think that forward is the way to go - not back. I think we will find recycling and other solutions to our raw materials problems.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
ivorythumper
Jul 13 2011, 02:15 PM
My only point is that so much of the existing infrastructure across the nation -- including the sort of neighborhood I now live in -- is not conducive to it, and would be difficult and incredibly expensive (as well of dubious environmental and economic value) to transition to different transportation patterns for vast sections of the residential population in the US.
Agreed. I think it's vital we start planning our new communities differently, but I don't think we can go back and retrofit everything. We just need to not repeat our mistakes.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
Catraoine
Jul 13 2011, 05:00 PM
I am not sure if you have these kinds of options in America, but here we can save hundreds of dollars a year in insurance costs by not using the car so much…as I work from home and my husband has always used public transport for work we are lucky if we clock up more than 3,000 k a year on our car. Our yearly fully comprehensive insurance was $945. Now we only pay $308 a year because we do less than 4,000k a year, for every kilometre under that 4,000 it is then transferred over to the following year increasing our initial 4,000k limit. Every three years we get %10 back of the three years premium..people need a financial incentive to look at other possible travel alternatives, more and more people are now taking up this kind of incentive with their car insurance here.
:thumb: I like that.
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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