Suggested Citation:
Kim, Jae Hong, Jesus M. Barajas, Nicholas J. Marantz, Douglas Houston, Veronica Herrara, Alex Okashita, Maxwell B. Cabello (2024)

Brief: What Challenges Can Arise From Coordinating Housing Development With Transportation?

More systematic coordination between transportation and housing development is increasingly recognized as a promising strategy for creating more sustainable communities. In California, the importance of transportation-housing coordination is reflected in recent legislative efforts to address the state’s long-standing housing affordability crisis. One approach is to encourage higher density affordable housing developments near transit or in similarly transportation-efficient areas, such as locations with low vehicle miles traveled (VMT). However, little is known about how transportation access should be considered in guiding housing development, what challenges can arise from coordinating housing development with transportation, and what the state can do to better deal with these challenges and achieve more equitable residential densification.

This policy brief is drawn from the report “Assessing the Potential for Densification and VMT Reduction in Areas Without Rail Transit Access” available at www.ucits.org/ research-project/rimi-4m.