Driving: A Hard Bargain
Redefining Affordability
“Driving: A Hard Bargain” is a report prepared by The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) that analyzes the combined cost of housing and transportation (H+T) in the Chicago Area. According to the report this analysis "represents a major step toward sustainable development by revealing the true costs of living in the region and providing a comprehensive tool for understanding how burdens placed on families, public agencies and the environment can be minimized."
Housing affordability is traditionally defined as 30% of household income, but this figure does not account for qualities of a neighborhood such as density, block size, access to jobs and entertainment, and proximity to transit -- factors that create “location efficiency.” Location efficient communities allow residents to access places of employment, shopping, and services by walking, biking, or using public transportation, which reduces residents’ vehicle ownership/maintenance costs, as well as their greenhouse gas emissions. Based on its research, CNT recommends that the traditional definition of housing affordability should be replaced by the H+T benchmark of 45% of income, i.e., 30% for housing and 15% for transportation. CNT’s analyses of H+T costs reveals that while residents in location efficient neighborhoods typically pay more for housing, they dedicate less of their budget to overall H+T costs than residents of less dense neighborhoods where housing may cost less but transportation costs are much higher.
