Land Use as a Strategy for Transportation, Housing, and the Environment
Opportunities for State and Local Governments
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
This white paper first lays out the rationale for state, regional, and local units of government to use land use policies as one strategy for achieving improved outcomes in transportation system performance, reducing fiscal burdens of infrastructure maintenance on local and state budgets, reducing household cost burdens, and reducing emissions. Second, it summarizes different land use policies and their relevance to these various outcomes. Lastly, it provides examples highlighting a growing number of state, regional, and local actions to foster more transportation-efficient development patterns, reduce household cost burdens, and safeguard the environment. While the main focus of the discussion and examples in this white paper tends toward larger metropolitan areas, many of the highlighted land use strategies used to reduce housing and transportation cost burdens would still be relevant in smaller cities and towns in rural areas, though perhaps in a more limited fashion.
