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Entries (RSS)The launch of CNT’s new Housing + Transportation Affordability Index website has lead to news stories from Boston to Seattle and from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Austin. On Monday, NPR did a story on what it costs to commute in the D.C. area. CNT talked to individuals across the country who live in compact transit-rich neighborhoods about why they choose to live there. Here’s a sampling of their stories.
Update! The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index has received lots of attention around the country. From bloggers to the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal to other industry professionals, here’s what people are saying.
CNT’s new Housing + Transportation Affordability Index interactive mapping tool has just launched; the new website - http://htaindex.cnt.org - will enable planners, policy-makers, housing and transit advocates, and individuals to calculate the true costs of housing and transportation in cities across the United States.
Over the course of the past year, CNT and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership have held a series of webinars and workshops aimed at educating transportation advocates, government officials, developers, and citizens on the transportation planning process. These have been part of a larger project whose goal is to improve the quality of public involvement during transportation planning.
And you thought Kenosha, Portland, Little Rock and San Francisco had nothing in common.
“Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century”, published by Reconnecting America, chronicles the rise of the streetcar in such seemingly distinct urban cities like Kenosha and San Francisco, referencing the history of streetcars all the way up to their newfound role in the 21st century. CNT President Scott Bernstein writes the chapter that explains the important role streetcars have played throughout history.
Every year, the Congress for the New Urbanism recognizes projects that best exhibit and advance the Charter of the New Urbanism. The Charter Awards set a high standard for urban design and development and serve as powerful examples for future development. Along with specific projects, city plans, and single structures, awards are given to publications that portray the principles of New Urbanism, and this year “Street Smart” was one of the publications that received a 2007 Charter Award.
The ‘retro’ appeal of streetcars is not the only reason cities are reviving them. Streetcars are a viable and attractive mass transit option offering a more flexible approach to many of the transportation issues that urban areas face. What sometimes prevents heavy-rail development—infrastructure and costs—makes streetcars more appealing. Light-rail is easier to build, less expensive and, as is the case now, often does not require federal funding. Instead, private funders see it as a sustainable way to attract commercial and residential development around transit zones.
In line with the principles of New Urbanism, “Street Smart” demonstrates the power of streetcars—more than other forms of transportation—to promote compact, high-density New Urbanist development and high-quality pedestrian-friendly streetscapes. Other honorees this year include several strong examples of Gulf-Coast recovery projects, as well as projects that repair urban contexts, provide affordable housing, and promote sustainable growth and development.
To order a copy of “Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century”, please fill out an order form here and email or fax back.
Last week’s “Innovation + Integration” event, presented by CMAP, focused on linking jobs, housing and transportation, and it was evident that Chicago is glaringly behind other U.S. cities in a key component to this: transit planning and funding. Lead speaker, Shelly Poticha of Reconnecting America, put the challenge out to Chicago planners and leaders to take advantage of the enormous asset that transit can be to our city. Speakers throughout the day highlighted how other cities such as Los Angeles and Atlanta are organizing themselves to make the most of their transit systems while it appears that Chicago continues to let its infrastructure fall behind in funding, maintenance and improvement.
The purpose of “Innovation + Integration” was to highlight best practices for linking transit assets with jobs and housing in the region. Yet it seems that the first step for us in the Chicago area is to demonstrate to our State leaders how important transit is to the economy and quality of life throughout the region.
Across the country, transit ridership is on the upswing, according to Poticha. With the combined “perfect storm” of congestion, gas prices, and cost of owning and operating a car, residents of metropolitan areas are demanding that transit be a viable option for commutes to work, households errands, and accessing recreation and entertainment amenities. And, despite Chicago’s extensive system, ridership is actually on the downswing in the region.
A new report CNT released finds that acres of surface parking lots in suburban Cook County located near Metra train stations could be redeveloped to capture millions of dollars in new tax revenue, while also accommodating the growing demand for housing near transit.
The study, entitled Paved Over: Surface Parking Lots or Opportunities for Tax-Generating, Sustainable Development?, looks at parking lots near transit in nine communities in the Chicago region and compares typical costs to support the parking lots as they are today with revenue that could be generated from the redevelopment of some portion of the lots for a mix of uses.
Since 1993, CNT has been working to promote transit-oriented development (TOD) as one tool for sustaining urban communities. In their current state, these parking lots are robbing our region of economic value because there is a higher and better use for the land.
The redevelopment potential of parking lots is especially high when they are near transit because – when developed according to TOD principles – the lots can support densities that generate greater public revenues for the city, state, and county. Demand for housing near transit is growing and these sites can play a key role in a community’s efforts to meet that demand and achieve a more sustainable region.
Paved Over builds off of recent research at CNT that revealed that combined housing and transportation costs determine a location’s affordability.
And check out an article by the Chicago Tribune covering this new report, here.
As hundreds of transit activists assembled in Chicago for the 2006 Rail~volution conference, which ended on Wednesday, CNT released a new report highlighting the growing demand for diverse housing near transit, in conjunction with Reconnecting America and Strategic Economics –the partners in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
The study reveals the significant diversity – economically and racially – currently present in transit-served neighborhoods, or transit zones, and suggests that additional development of mixed-income, mixed-race housing in these areas would respond to growing demand for affordable and livable communities while also providing numerous benefits to cities, regions, and the environment.
The study of 41 regions ─ 32 regions with transit and 9 regions planning it ─ entitled Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods was funded by the Ford Foundation and highlights data on neighborhoods near transit today and the demand for such neighborhoods by 2030.
The current picture reveals a presence of diversity by race and/or income in transit neighborhoods – whether urban or suburban – that surpasses the diversity of the surrounding neighborhoods and overall regions. Projections to 2030 indicate that 16 million households – compared to 6 million currently living near transit in 2000 – will want to live near transit and that low-to-moderate income households represent a significant portion of the future demand.
For more information on the new report, you can read the press release and fact sheet here and the Summary Report of Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods here.
The National Housing Conference hosted its 75th Policy Summit in Chicago Wednesday and Thursday. This year’s theme focuses on future policy with the aptly titled, “Fulfilling the Dream: Shaping Housing Policy for Future Generations”. Much like CNT, the NHC links housing policies to issues like transportation, health and education and this year, the Housing & Transportation Affordability Index, co-developed by CNT and CTOD, is an important linkage presented and discussed at the event by CNT’s Peter Haas, Ph.D, and Reconnecting America’s Mariia Zimmerman.
The Index was used to conduct a study of working families in 28 major metropolitan areas. That study was released yesterday in conjunction with the NHC Summit. Click on the link to read the new paper, “Housing + Transportation Cost Trade-Offs and Burdens of Working Households in 28 Metros”.
The newly revealed combined costs of housing and transportation in determining affordability of a place is a national issue, relevant to any metropolitan area, and is evident by the media coverage this event and the associated reports, are commanding.
Read yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article here
Read yesterday’s Reuter’s article here
The Affordability Index has received much attention of late from policy makers for its planning and advocacy benefits. By mid-fall, we will have the Index developed for use in 50 metropolitan areas. The maps and index results will be online and available by spring 2007.
**UPDATE: New Crain’s Chicago Business article covering the Affordability Index**
Over 150 regional leaders gathered on June 29 for the Housing + Transportation: Moving the Region Toward Greater Affordability forum to discuss how housing and transportation affect the overall affordability of the Chicago region. The forum was co-sponsored by CNT and the Chicago Rehab Network. CNT presented new research about the relationship between housing and transportation costs, including a new tool called the Affordability Index to quantify these.
John McCarron, a contributing writer at the Chicago Tribune, led a great discussion of the challenges and opportunities our region has available for achieving affordability for all. Check out his editorial published the day after the event. And Representative Julie Hamos had some thoughtful insights on how we can better frame the issues of housing and transportation affordability with respect to policy making.
We’ve published our Power Point presentation given at the fourm as well as the Affordability Index brief, published by the Brookings Institution Urban Markets Initiative. Also, the Chicago Rehab Network has some great information on housing, including their fact book.
Thanks to everyone who made it out. And very special thanks to the Fannie Mae Foundation for their wonderful accomodations. If you missed it and would like more information from the forum and follow-up activities, contact Annette Stahelin.
Stay tuned for our next event. We’ll keep you updated.
CNT has long been a proponent of transit-oriented development TOD. TOD
seeks to maximize access to mass transit and non-motorized transportation
through the location of relatively high-density, mixed-use development near
transit stops. As a way to build knowledge about TOD, CNT collaborated on
The New Transit Town.