In trying to figure out just how we’re going to better address the issues of sustainability, its easy to get lost in the big picture. That is, we need to develop better transportation systems, encourage ride-sharing, decrease vehicle miles traveled, eat more local, etc. etc. Some answers seem better than others, some more salient, and some more urgent. But no matter the answer, it’s important to see the answer as a part of a menu of options– with some options needing to be addressed sooner than others.
For many transportation planners, transportation oriented development (TOD) is the answer. TOD puts people near the places they need to go, thus keeping them out of their cars or, at the very least, on buses, trains or bikes. TOD is good, it’s great, but it’s an answer, and it’s an answer that cannot be realized everywhere. That is, TOD is great, but what about those places that cannot support TOD? Are we doing enough to provide answers to the challenges we face right now?
Take for example, the transportation disadvantaged. These are people who need cars to fulfill the fundamentals of daily life, and they can’t wait for cities to finally, maybe actually address their needs via a better public transportation system. True, increasing the minimum wage might just be the answer we’re all looking for (because it would allow low-income individuals to buy cars or move to areas with better transit) but in the meantime, we have people without a means to get to their jobs or to move effectively around town. Perhaps we should give low-income individuals cars? A provocative, semi-ludicrous idea, but as millennials eschew cars and as people downsize and move to center cities, perhaps the cars they once owned could go to those in need, who can’t afford (literally and figuratively) to live without one?
The point here is that there are many different options, and that it’s important to think about short term and long term solutions, as well as how the solutions we propose impact and make life better for people of all different classes and income levels. It’s time we get a bit more creative and willing to push the envelope that much more. It could produce the best solution yet.
