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5. Goal: Smart Communities

Well-designed, energy-efficient housing of varied types and densities linked to jobs, transit, and services. Affordable and convenient transportation options should be enhanced to reduce our car-dependence, conserve resources, improve air quality, and reduce traffic congestion.

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Development near transit

Note: Only bus routes with peak hour headways of 20 minutes or less were used.  A ¼ mile radius from all Metro and MARC stations was used.

Mean travel time to work

Job housing ratio

Source: Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

Access to transit is increasingly important as roadways become more congested and fuel prices escalate. People who can walk to a bus stop or Metro station exercise more transportation choices. When more people use public transit, we see less traffic congestion, fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, fewer people suffer from respiratory illnesses, and improved bicyclist and pedestrian safety.

A truly sustainable community is a walkable and provides housing, offices, retail, schools, community gathering spaces, and transportation choices within an easy and safe distance. With necessities and amenities nearby, all in a community benefit from improved physical health, a reduced carbon footprint, and strengthened community connections. While we do not have data to measure walkability, we are working to develop it.

The jobs/housing ratio measures the balance between the number of jobs and households.  If the ratio is greater than one, a community offers more than one job per household.  Increasing employment opportunities within a community and building housing near economic centers offers more people the option of working closer to home.

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1. Are development near transit, mean travel time to work and jobs-housing ratio appropriate measures for gauging progress toward smart communities?

2a. What is the story behind the trend lines for development near transit, mean travel time to work and jobs-housing ratio? The "story behind the trend lines" should be a list, in order of priority, of those root causes that have the greatest influence, positive and negative, on the trend lines for the indicators.  Please bullet and prioritize the top 3-5 root causes.

2b. Assuming there is no substantial change in policy and factoring in any significant variables that might impact development near transit, mean travel time to work and jobs-housing ratio, what is a reasonable trend forecast?

3. Who are the key partners with a role to play? "Key partners" are those stakeholders (from all sectors and levels of government) with a role to play in addressing the root causes identified in the story behind the trend lines and, thereby, in "turning the curve" of the trend line for the indicators.  Please identify what you think are the top 3-5 key partners and the respective roles you think that they can play.

4. What will work to make a measurable difference? “What will work” means those strategies – actions and policy options – that would work best to change or accelerate the curve of the trend lines for the indicators.  Presumably, policymakers and other stakeholders will be interested in strategies that address the most important root causes identified in the story behind the trend lines, and therefore, will have the most impact on the trend lines of the indicators.  At the same time, they will consider the feasibility of each strategy.  Please bullet and prioritize the top 3-5 strategies.


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