Transportation Burden
This article looks at transportation burden, the amount of income spent traveling to work.
The cost of commuting places a disproportionally heavy burden on the working poor--some of whom pay as much as 75% of their income on transportation.
Compare this to rent burden.
GAO found that in 2017, 48% of renter households were cost burdened, paying more than 30% of their household income on rent. [---8<---] Similar trends existed for renters experiencing severe cost-burden – or paying more than 50% of their household income on rent.
Now math isn't my best area, but even I can tell that if someone pays 75% of a pittance on transit, they only have 25% to pay for housing; and if they're paying over 30% for housing -- let alone over 50% -- then they don't have 75% to pay for transit. These numbers by themselves make it literally impossible for many people to have both a job and a home.
Households in the bottom fifth of income groups pay an average of 33.9% of their income toward health care, while families in the highest-income group pay 16% of their income toward health care. The analysis finds that households in the middle three income tiers pay between 19.8% and 23.2% of their income toward health care.
Well, that explains why so many poor people don't have health care, and why health care causes so many bankruptcies. Note that even "middle class" people, who probably spend a third on housing (if not rent burdened) also have to pay nearly another third for health care. Throw in transit and they're broke too.
This is before anyone gets to buy other essentials like food, clothing, and the internet required to participate in modern society. If your citizens can't meet their basic needs, then your society is a failure.
Happily, there are lots of things we could do about this.
* Fixing the mass-transit service is difficult and expensive, but necessary for functional cities. This is a long-term project to push.
* Public transit can be assisted by semi-public transit.
-- If a large business has many workers at the same apartment complex across town, they should have a shuttlebus to take workers to and fro.
-- If an apartment complex owns a shuttlebus, it can visit shopping centers, downtown, health centers, parks, etc. thus minimizing the need for cars.
-- Facilities such as churches, community centers, etc. benefit from a shuttlebus to pick up their patrons. This is especially crucial for the elderly, disabled, and other people who have a hard time getting out.
-- A business or a neighborhood can establish a motorpool with some vehicles that are needed less often, so people don't all need to own a big everyday vehicle. Smaller ones are cheaper to run. Some communities have minimized car use and gone to golf carts for internal transit, which is fantastically cheaper and safer.
* Affordable housing is also difficult and expensive, but essential, thus another long-term project. Cities need to build many more modest units, preferably close to work.
-- In large cities, a very promising model is the cityscraper: a skyscraper with one or more floors of retail at street level, some business floors in the middle, and apartments above.
-- Smaller cities may prefer midrise mixed-use buildings of 6-12 floors.
-- In towns, there are live-work buildings with an office or store at street level and 1-3 floors of living space above.
-- Trailer courts are popular cheap housing in many small cities and towns. Include a community storm shelter or storm porches for safety. Put in workspace like office trailers, a woodshop, a craft room, etc. and hire residents for community upkeep.
-- Try to put masses of housing and work close together for types of work that don't emit noxious fumes or racket. A huge office building or hospital should have apartments or rowhouses nearby for its workers.
-- Encourage small developers. These are people who like to build little live-work units, rowhouses, multiplexes, and other affordable housing. They will eagerly solve your housing/transit problem for you if you just get the fuck out of their way.
-- Cram housing along your main transit corridors. This is a good place to put big mixed-purpose buildings with street retail under apartments.
-- Make sure your largest employers are connected to your mass-transit system.
* Another option is to add workspace where people live.
-- In most neighborhoods, you could drop in a modular office building with little offices people can rent cheaply.
-- If there's an apartment complex, add some workshops or storefronts beside it.
-- Consider adding a community computer room. Lots of businesses need a computer, and so does homework.
-- Make sure the spaces match the local needs. Often the only slots are too big and/or expensive. Startups and small businesses need little, cheap spaces. An excellent option is to break up that empty anchor at the local mall and turn it into small business stalls.
* To combat sprawl as well as housing/transit problems, support the development of neighborhood businesses. Favor things that meet everyday needs. This simultaneously reduces the need to leave the neighborhood for errands and creates jobs within walking/biking distance.
* Promote education toward careers that don't require much travel, things that can be done at home, in a park, in a rented room, etc. Talk to your community college or community center about how to help people learn these skills so they don't have to drive to work.
https://www.wanderingwoods.org/blog/2019/5/30/ten-jobs-you-can-do-from-your-van
https://www.backpackinglikeaboss.com/remote-jobs-digital-nomads-anyone
https://bethebudget.com/make-extra-money-on-the-side
http://ibcham.org/Documents/EDC/50%20plus%20Best%20Home%20Based%20Business%20Ideas%20for%20Housewives.pdf
* For absolutely no money, any municipality can change local regulations to help people solve this problem. If your residents are skittish about change, identify the areas with the worst problems and pitch these as possible solutions, since desperate people will try damn near anything. Test solutions on a small scale -- a few blocks or a neighborhood -- and try different ones in different parts of town. After a year or two, analyze what's working best and expand it. Cancel anything that didn't work and try it elsewhere or try something new.
-- Allow small businesses in the home (e.g. a craft room or garage workshop).
-- Allow homeowners to construct an accessory commercial unit or accessory dwelling unit.
-- Allow business owners to tack on an apartment or accessory dwelling unit.
-- Allow mixed-use zoning. In particular, where there's a cluster of units (e.g. cottages or rowhouses) it helps to have workshop or office space for residents to rent.
-- Allow cross-conversion between business and residential use. An old warehouse can become loft apartments; an old house can become an antique store. Some conversions are super easy and excellent, like changing an old hotel or motel to a boarding house since the suites already have a bathroom.
-- Revive historically cheap housing types such as boarding houses and owner-occupied rental properties.
The cost of commuting places a disproportionally heavy burden on the working poor--some of whom pay as much as 75% of their income on transportation.
Compare this to rent burden.
GAO found that in 2017, 48% of renter households were cost burdened, paying more than 30% of their household income on rent. [---8<---] Similar trends existed for renters experiencing severe cost-burden – or paying more than 50% of their household income on rent.
Now math isn't my best area, but even I can tell that if someone pays 75% of a pittance on transit, they only have 25% to pay for housing; and if they're paying over 30% for housing -- let alone over 50% -- then they don't have 75% to pay for transit. These numbers by themselves make it literally impossible for many people to have both a job and a home.
Households in the bottom fifth of income groups pay an average of 33.9% of their income toward health care, while families in the highest-income group pay 16% of their income toward health care. The analysis finds that households in the middle three income tiers pay between 19.8% and 23.2% of their income toward health care.
Well, that explains why so many poor people don't have health care, and why health care causes so many bankruptcies. Note that even "middle class" people, who probably spend a third on housing (if not rent burdened) also have to pay nearly another third for health care. Throw in transit and they're broke too.
This is before anyone gets to buy other essentials like food, clothing, and the internet required to participate in modern society. If your citizens can't meet their basic needs, then your society is a failure.
Happily, there are lots of things we could do about this.
* Fixing the mass-transit service is difficult and expensive, but necessary for functional cities. This is a long-term project to push.
* Public transit can be assisted by semi-public transit.
-- If a large business has many workers at the same apartment complex across town, they should have a shuttlebus to take workers to and fro.
-- If an apartment complex owns a shuttlebus, it can visit shopping centers, downtown, health centers, parks, etc. thus minimizing the need for cars.
-- Facilities such as churches, community centers, etc. benefit from a shuttlebus to pick up their patrons. This is especially crucial for the elderly, disabled, and other people who have a hard time getting out.
-- A business or a neighborhood can establish a motorpool with some vehicles that are needed less often, so people don't all need to own a big everyday vehicle. Smaller ones are cheaper to run. Some communities have minimized car use and gone to golf carts for internal transit, which is fantastically cheaper and safer.
* Affordable housing is also difficult and expensive, but essential, thus another long-term project. Cities need to build many more modest units, preferably close to work.
-- In large cities, a very promising model is the cityscraper: a skyscraper with one or more floors of retail at street level, some business floors in the middle, and apartments above.
-- Smaller cities may prefer midrise mixed-use buildings of 6-12 floors.
-- In towns, there are live-work buildings with an office or store at street level and 1-3 floors of living space above.
-- Trailer courts are popular cheap housing in many small cities and towns. Include a community storm shelter or storm porches for safety. Put in workspace like office trailers, a woodshop, a craft room, etc. and hire residents for community upkeep.
-- Try to put masses of housing and work close together for types of work that don't emit noxious fumes or racket. A huge office building or hospital should have apartments or rowhouses nearby for its workers.
-- Encourage small developers. These are people who like to build little live-work units, rowhouses, multiplexes, and other affordable housing. They will eagerly solve your housing/transit problem for you if you just get the fuck out of their way.
-- Cram housing along your main transit corridors. This is a good place to put big mixed-purpose buildings with street retail under apartments.
-- Make sure your largest employers are connected to your mass-transit system.
* Another option is to add workspace where people live.
-- In most neighborhoods, you could drop in a modular office building with little offices people can rent cheaply.
-- If there's an apartment complex, add some workshops or storefronts beside it.
-- Consider adding a community computer room. Lots of businesses need a computer, and so does homework.
-- Make sure the spaces match the local needs. Often the only slots are too big and/or expensive. Startups and small businesses need little, cheap spaces. An excellent option is to break up that empty anchor at the local mall and turn it into small business stalls.
* To combat sprawl as well as housing/transit problems, support the development of neighborhood businesses. Favor things that meet everyday needs. This simultaneously reduces the need to leave the neighborhood for errands and creates jobs within walking/biking distance.
* Promote education toward careers that don't require much travel, things that can be done at home, in a park, in a rented room, etc. Talk to your community college or community center about how to help people learn these skills so they don't have to drive to work.
https://www.wanderingwoods.org/blog/2019/5/30/ten-jobs-you-can-do-from-your-van
https://www.backpackinglikeaboss.com/remote-jobs-digital-nomads-anyone
https://bethebudget.com/make-extra-money-on-the-side
http://ibcham.org/Documents/EDC/50%20plus%20Best%20Home%20Based%20Business%20Ideas%20for%20Housewives.pdf
* For absolutely no money, any municipality can change local regulations to help people solve this problem. If your residents are skittish about change, identify the areas with the worst problems and pitch these as possible solutions, since desperate people will try damn near anything. Test solutions on a small scale -- a few blocks or a neighborhood -- and try different ones in different parts of town. After a year or two, analyze what's working best and expand it. Cancel anything that didn't work and try it elsewhere or try something new.
-- Allow small businesses in the home (e.g. a craft room or garage workshop).
-- Allow homeowners to construct an accessory commercial unit or accessory dwelling unit.
-- Allow business owners to tack on an apartment or accessory dwelling unit.
-- Allow mixed-use zoning. In particular, where there's a cluster of units (e.g. cottages or rowhouses) it helps to have workshop or office space for residents to rent.
-- Allow cross-conversion between business and residential use. An old warehouse can become loft apartments; an old house can become an antique store. Some conversions are super easy and excellent, like changing an old hotel or motel to a boarding house since the suites already have a bathroom.
-- Revive historically cheap housing types such as boarding houses and owner-occupied rental properties.