There is great information about the steps that the Bloomberg Administration has taken and expects to take in order to make sure that new housing (especially public ones) are located near public transportation. If more people live near public transportation, then they will use cars less often. This could help mitigate some of the problems that the environment is facing or is expected to face, as the use of public transportation is more much energy efficient than that of cars.
If we look at a map of public transportation in NYC, it is clear that there is a cluster of subways and buses in mostly Manhattan and Brooklyn. More public transportation could certainly be used in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. However, while discussing the likelihood or plausibility of putting more accessible transportation in these areas might be out of the question for now because of monetary concerns, it is important that more and more homes are built near currently placed lines of public transportation. According to PLANYC, projects have already been completed which seek to take advantage of the availability of public transportation in certain locations, and more affordable housing is planned to be built that takes into account the very important “proximity” issue.
Pay special attention to pages 8-11 of the pdf document, which present some case studies of housing being built near public transportation, and future projects being talked about: PLANYC
Examples of when this works (1):
In 1999, the NJ Transit Village Program was put into effect with the intention of building housing near public transportation to make things easier and more efficient for the population. Each one of the five instated communities is within a quarter mile radius of public transportation.
The community of South Orange was involved with the program, and was transformed into a hopping downtown center. The new amenities people can enjoy there include an ice cream parlor, coffee shop, dry cleaner, bakery, clothing store, and diner. Federal funds were also used to jumpstart a major streetscape project to which NJ Transit provided parking, landscaping, and kiosks. In the community of South Orange, there are now over 200 high-density housing units within walking distance of this center.
If NYC began instituting programs like this, not only would these communities lower carbon emissions of cars (as people would be in such close proximity to public transportation, they would not need to drive as much), they would also provide efficiency and ease when it comes to shopping and doing daily chores, in addition to providing easier and more exciting ways to exercise, by giving people more opportunity to walk, run, and jog while trying to catch some of their favorite sales.
Another great thing businesses in NY can put into action is the Location-Efficient Mortgage, an idea started by Fannie Mae and a team of non-profit organizations. The “Location-Efficient Mortgage” offers benefits to people living in areas with copious amounts of public transportation. The Location-Efficient Mortgage began when it was realized that people who bought houses in transit rich neighborhoods tended to drive less and own fewer cars. Mainly due to the fact that this was much healthier for the environment, it was decided that people in those neighborhoods could put the money they saved from not driving towards mortgages on their houses. People taking out the Location-Efficient Mortgage can apply for mortgages $15, 000- $50,000 higher than others can regularly apply for. There are lenders in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, who have already started this loaning program. Fannie Mae has promised to buy $100 million in such mortgages over the next few years.
In addition to the benefits of living near transportation listed above, a study conducted by the University of North Texas found that the housing in the area right near the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail line is actually worth 25 percent more than the values of similar houses in other parts of the city.
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(1) Public Transportation Takes Us There: http://www.publictransportation.org/reports/asp/10ways.asp
American Public Transportation Association. Washington D.C.
