How Transportation Design Affects Urban Living

🚲🚆 THE FUTURE OF MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT — LESSONS FROM THE NETHERLANDS In most cities, people arrive at the train station by car. In the Netherlands? People also arrive at the bike station by train. This simple shift reveals a radically different mindset—one where mobility is not a car-vs-bike debate, but a seamless partnership between bikes, trains, and walkable cities. 🔄 The Dutch Model: Seamless. Sustainable. Smart. The Netherlands has built a system where every mode plays to its strengths: 🚴♂️ Bikes for short, flexible trips 🚆 Trains for fast, long-distance travel 🧠 Smart planning to stitch it all together This isn’t theory—it’s real. Every day. 📊 Mind-Blowing Stats That Prove It Works ✅ 50% of Dutch train passengers arrive by bike. Not car. Not taxi. Bike. That’s half the crowd cutting emissions and congestion. ✅ Utrecht Central Station = 33,000 bike parking spaces. Yes, thirty-three thousand. A bike garage that looks like a metro station. ✅ €510M invested annually in cycling infrastructure. Result? €19B in healthcare savings. That’s a 37x return. Transport design = public health strategy. 🌍 A Vision of Multimodal Abundance What if every city embraced this mindset? 🚚 E-bikes delivering packages through dense neighborhoods 🚶♀️ Pedestrian-first communities tied together with light rail 🚲 Train stations as bike hubs—not just parking lots 🚦 Traffic systems designed for health and time, not just cars Instead of asking “Which mode should dominate?” The Dutch ask: “How can all modes work together?” 💭 What If… What if our cities didn’t just move people around… But moved people better? What if bikes and trains weren’t alternatives— But the system itself? This isn’t just a Dutch story. It’s a global invitation. 💬 Would this model work in your city? What’s the biggest barrier you see to a multimodal future? 👇 Drop your thoughts below. ➕ Follow me if you're into transportation that works for people—not just machines. — #Transportation #Cycling #Infrastructure #SmartCities #Netherlands #UrbanPlanning #Mobility #Sustainability #Multimodal #FutureOfTransport #PublicHealth #CityDesign

Imagine if every car on the road disappeared overnight? How much space would we suddenly reclaim? This graphic says it all: moving 1,000 people takes either 1 train, 15 buses, or 625 cars. And the 600+ cars also requires 5+ acres of parking—at both the start and the destination. That’s an egregious amount of land dedicated not to housing, green spaces, or local small businesses, but to storing empty (often gas guzzling) vehicles. Our urban spaces are a reflection of our priorities. And in the US, we’ve prioritized cars over communities for our entire history. Wide roads and sprawling parking lots make walking unsafe, increase carbon emissions, and contribute to the societal isolation of car-dependent cities. Having lived in San Diego and Berkeley, I’ve seen firsthand how better urban design can transform lives. The cities I love aren’t the ones with the best highways; they’re the ones where I can easily and affordably get where they need to go—without getting into my car. We need to change this. Investing in public transit, protected bike lanes, and pedestrian-first infrastructure doesn’t just reduce congestion and pollution—it also creates more livable and connected communities. We need to rethink the way we move. 💭 What’s one thing you’d change about transportation in your city? Start the conversation below! #UrbanDesign #SustainableCities #PublicTransit #ClimateAction #WalkableCities #SmartGrowth #Placemaking #FutureOfCities

Reflecting on Sustainable Infrastructure and Local Economic Development: Lessons from Tokyo 🇯🇵 I just returned from an amazing trip to Tokyo, and I continue to be in awe of their world-class transit system and the ripple effect it has on local economic development, sustainability, and quality of life. 🌍 The transit system in Tokyo is more than just a mode of transportation; it’s an essential part of the city’s fabric that directly contributes to the daily functioning of its residents. With efficient, reliable, and affordable transit options, the city fosters a unique blend of independence, mobility, and economic prosperity. Here’s why I believe the lessons from Tokyo are so relevant to sustainable infrastructure in the US (and beyond): Independence for All Ages In Tokyo, grade school kids navigate the city’s sprawling transit network with ease and safety. This level of independence is empowering—not just for kids, but for families as a whole. A well-connected transit system allows people of all ages to move freely without reliance on cars, enhancing their autonomy and sense of security. Walkability & Urban Design Tokyo’s transit stations and surrounding areas are seamlessly integrated with the city’s walkable design. Whether it’s walking to the train station, riding a bike, or simply taking a stroll through well-planned neighborhoods, the ease of mobility encourages residents to spend less time in cars and more time enjoying their local communities. It reduces congestion, pollution, and dependence on fossil fuels while improving public health. Affordable & Accessible Commutes Affordability is a key element of Tokyo's transit system. Whether you’re a college student, a senior citizen, or a working professional, Tokyo’s network is designed to be accessible for all income levels. For many, this means less stress, fewer financial barriers, and a greater ability to access opportunities—whether for work, education, or leisure. Economic Boost through Connectivity Well-connected transit hubs stimulate local economies by making it easier for people to access businesses, services, and other areas of economic activity. Small businesses thrive when customers can easily reach them, and companies benefit from a larger talent pool as commuting becomes less time-consuming and more affordable. As we continue to think about how we build sustainable cities in the US, let’s keep in mind the powerful impact that well-planned, equitable transit infrastructure can have on local economies, sustainability, and the independence of our communities. Tokyo serves as a great model, and I believe that with the right investment and vision, we can bring some of these lessons home. Excited to continue pushing for infrastructure that supports not only environmental sustainability but also social equity and economic opportunity. 🌱 #SustainableInfrastructure #Transit #EconomicDevelopment #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #Walkability #LocalEconomies #GreenCities #Tokyo

The housing affordability crisis has a solution nobody's talking about: Transportation infrastructure. At the National Advocacy Conference, I heard something that crystallized years of observations: High-speed rail and transit improvements could completely reshape housing affordability. Here's why: • Proximity to work has surged back to 55% importance in housing decisions • This concentrates demand in job-center cities • Limited supply in these areas drives prices skyward • Legacy zoning restricts density in areas people want to live But what if we could expand the definition of "proximity to work"? Imagine a world where: • Boston to Worcester takes 20 minutes by train instead of 90+ minutes by car • Affordable communities suddenly become viable for city workers • Housing supply increases without fighting entrenched NIMBY interests • Development occurs in areas welcoming growth This isn't science fiction—it's happening globally where high-speed rail connects previously distant communities. The math is compelling: • A $500,000 Boston-area property might cost $250,000 in Worcester • At 90+ minutes commuting, few will make that trade • At 20 minutes, it becomes highly attractive • This alleviates pressure on urban cores while revitalizing smaller cities For mortgage professionals, this represents a massive opportunity: • Expanding markets beyond traditional high-cost areas • Supporting development in emerging transit hubs • Financing transit-oriented development • Creating products tailored to transit-accessible communities While zoning reform is critical, transportation infrastructure could be the catalyst that fundamentally reshapes housing affordability in America. The mortgage industry should be advocating for transportation investments as enthusiastically as we advocate for housing policy reforms. Because sometimes, the solution to a housing crisis isn't just more housing—it's connecting the housing we have to where people need to be.

As I get more involved in helping multifamily developers design how to best provide transportation services and amenities to their prospective and current tenants, it’s important to remind myself and SustainMobility's clients and partners that historical data can only go so far. Transportation data tells an important part of the story in forward looking design, but a developer has many levers it can pull that are in line with local policy changes and consumer trends. Here are my Top 5 reasons why multifamily developers need to design with more sustainable transportation at the forefront. #1. Cost: The price per parking space costs a developer $50k-$100k, depending on the location, and have no other choice but to pass those costs on to renters and buyers, reducing the renter/buyer pool. Shifting the amount of space for car parking over to bike parking/micromobility saves money in development. #2: Parking: There is a massive oversupply of parking in our communities and multifamily developments. The removal of car parking minimums in new developments is helping to right size parking. The hard truth is that parking that is expensive and difficult to find is what actually reduces demand. The space needed for a car to park as compared to a bike is 10 to 1. #3 Car-light lifestyles: Your tenants want to be able to get around without the hassles and expense of owning a car. Introducing car sharing and investing in quality bike parking, and private fleets of micromobility leads to reduced parking and car ownership demand. #4 Carbon Impact: Transportation is the #1 emissions producer in the US, and combined with buildings, is more than ⅔ of all emissions. The real estate sector has a crucial, but often hidden role in supporting this reduction, by designing with sustainable mobility from the beginning. #5 Location: The most sustainable developments are in locations that are not car dependent. When you make an investment to build or rebuild in a walkable, bikeable location with access to transit, it generally translates to a significantly higher value per square foot, and less of your costs are put towards parking. #sustainabledevelopment #multifamily #mixeduse #micromobility #bikes #carsharing #urbandevelopment

When I teach, one of my favorite things to show students is how different transport technologies enable different land uses and urban forms to thrive. Skyscrapers require intense concentration, subways allow for that while walking cities (as in cities from the early 1800s and before do not). Tracts of single family housing, conversely, don’t make sense in a city of subways, but do work when everyone has a car and is willing to travel 50-100 miles per day. The point of all of this is that transportation networks are one ingredient in how we manage density, and that different transport technologies beget cities with very different built forms. It’s not simply a small, medium, large, extra large format. This article by Amber Gaudet, MJ begins to get at this when describing how high-speed rail would impact Dallas. It’s not simply that high-speed rail would be added to the city and nothing else would change. It would fundamentally change how land is developed and used around the new alignment. As Michael Sorkin notes in one of my favorite essays, roughly, “there’s density and there’s *density*.” Managing density effectively is the trick that makes urban living attractive. High-speed rail is one of those interventions that helps manage density effectively. More here: https://lnkd.in/et9nn-mm