National Institute for Transportation and Communities

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. have exhibited an upward trend over time similar to that observed for gross domestic product (GDP) and personal income (PI). While conventional wisdom suggests that economic growth leads to more driving and thus higher VMT, it is theoretically possible that the causation could also be the other way around. If causation is from VMT to GDP, then legislation such as the Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act of 2009’s directive to annually... Read More

Expenditures on transportation have increased from the sixth largest share (less than 2%) of household budgets in 1917 to the second largest share (over 20%) since the 1970s. Under this circumstance, transit-oriented development (TOD) has gained popularity worldwide as a sustainable form of urbanism by concentrating developments near a transit station so as to minimize auto-dependency and maximize ridership. A TOD project should give people more transportation options and decrease their trans... Read More