Blog

Round Two: Your Stories About the High Cost of Gas and Your Jobs

By ·

Rising gas prices and high levels of unemployment continue to weigh on the American economy. Smart Growth America asked for stories about how high gas prices are affecting your life, and we heard many stories about how expensive gas is making your professional life more challenging. With gas costing $4 gallon or more, workers are feeling the pain when it comes to commuting, meeting with clients around town, going to conferences, or even looking for a job.

  • A gallon of gas costs $4.11 for Carisa in Illinois, so in addition to carpooling more, she has to be very selective about which meetings and marketing events she absolutely must attend for work, and she said she’s still not getting to all of them. She’s reconsidering her attendance at some out of town conferences. She cannot reach her clients downtown without a car, so driving is a must for her.
  • An anonymous contributor from Northern California, where gas is $4.17 per gallon, is looking for a job and said the high gas prices are limiting the search.
  • Faced with $4.50 for a gallon of gas, Umi in Hawaii recently started carpooling the three-hour round-trip commute with a coworker. Even though the coworker’s shift ends an hour later, she “sacrifice[s] a little sleep and the personal convenience of leaving on my time table” to save money. Public buses are unreliable and intermittent in her hometown, and filling up just 3/4 of her tank costs more than $60.

A consistent theme throughout these stories is that transportation choices can help people and communities cope with rising gas prices. We’ve heard from people who are using public transportation or biking to work – or to look for work, for those who are unemployed – as driving becomes more expensive.

Part of Smart Growth America’s work is helping great communities have more low cost options for getting around when gas prices get too high, but we need to hear from you to do it. How much does gas cost in your area? What are you doing to cope with the high prices of gas? If you don’t drive often, or at all, how do you get around? Smart Growth America is helping more people have the option of shorter drives and more ways to get around when they want it. Click here to tell us your story.

Uncategorized

Rockefeller and Pew: States need to strengthen performance measures

By ·

Crossposted from Transportation for America’s blog.
Written by Sean Barry.

Many states fail to track the results of their transportation dollars, according to a new report by the Pew Center on the States and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The report, Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road to Results, is quick to tie the timing of its findings to the current debate over including more performance measures in a reauthorization of the nation’s surface transportation law. An unofficial version of the Obama administration bill makes performance and accountability a key component of the federal program.

The report ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia according to six key goals: safety, jobs and commerce, mobility, access, environmental stewardship and infrastructure preservation.

Uncategorized

Secretaries LaHood, Donovan on public transportation and connecting to jobs

By ·

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan spoke at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program and on today’s Huffington Post about a new report on how public transportation helps American workers connect to jobs.

“Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America,” is “a first-of-its-kind analysis that shows how transit systems link workers to jobs in metropolitan America.” The report emphasizes the importance of not just the location and frequency of transit service, but ultimately how well transit aligns with where people work and live. LaHood and Donovan explain that public transportation plays a crucial role in the American economy, and better coordination between federal agencies can yield even greater benefits from this important resource.

Uncategorized

Register now for the 2011 Land Bank Conference in Detroit, MI

By ·

In many places across the country, land banking is becoming an integral part of community revitalization efforts, especially as America’s cities and towns have struggled to keep ahead of the foreclosure crisis and the resulting economic impacts over the past few years. Today more communities than ever are developing and strengthening land banking efforts to increase affordable housing, create market-based development opportunities, and implement alternative land reuses.

The Center for Community Progress invites elected officials, business owners, developers and anyone else interested in land banking issues to the 2011 Land Bank Conference from June 5-7 in Detroit, MI. The conference will help participants identify how land banking and tax foreclosure strategies can catalyze development of effective solutions to unlocking the value of vacant, abandoned and problem properties. Highlights of this two-day event include training seminars, breakout sessions, bus tours and networking opportunities.

The conference attracts hundreds of professionals from across the country and from diverse backgrounds including: elected officials, land bank staff and board members, for-profit and non-profit developers and the real estate industry, community foundations, greening initiatives, neighborhood and civic leaders, and local and state government officials.

Click here for registration and more information.

Uncategorized

Round One: Your Stories About the Cost of High Gas

By ·

Earlier this week, Smart Growth America asked for stories about how high gas prices are affecting you, and we’ve already received an overwhelming response. Thank you to everyone who wrote in. If you haven’t told us about the kinds of tradeoffs you’re making to deal with high gas prices, click here to tell us your story.

We heard from people who are saving money by choosing alternatives to driving, including walking, buses, light rail, subways and biking. We heard from people who wish they had more choices for ways to get around and from people living in rural areas where a car is the only option. People sent stories about delaying vacations, spending less on groceries, trading in a gas guzzler for something with better mileage, skipping doctors appointments that are across town, commuting 20 miles on a bike, and more.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem, but a consistent theme through these stories is that people who have shorter drives or transportation choices are not as directly affected by rising gas prices. Part of Smart Growth America’s work is helping great communities have more low cost options for getting around when gas prices get too high, but we need to hear from you to do it. Click here to tell us your story

Here are a few stories that you shared with us so far:

  • Karen in Northern California says gas is $4.69 in her area, but she relies on walking and public transportation to get around. She said she decided to live in a place where she could get around without a car, but she said when she carpools with someone she is sure to chip in more gas money or buy them lunch.
  • Matt moved to rural Ohio six years ago with his family and says gas is $4.00 a gallon and his last tank was $72.00. He and his spouse each spend two hours a day in their cars. He thinks they’ll spend $8,000 on gas this year. They have no other options and are miles away from everything: their daughter’s school, work, stores, etc. He says they’re thinking about moving back into the city, partially because of the expense of all that driving, and partially because they’re just tired of spending so much time in their cars.
  • Christie lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee and says filling up her tank is $50.00. She takes the train and bus as much as possible, but she’s forgoing recommended medical treatments because the doctor’s office is too far away and it would cost too much to get there.
  • JR in Hawaii sent in the highest gas price: $4.91 for a gallon. He said even with a hybrid car and minimizing his family’s driving, they’re still seeing first-hand effects of high gas prices because 70 percent of goods, including food, are shipped to Hawaii. JR says everything is getting more expensive.

How much does gas cost in your area? What are you doing to cope with the high prices of gas? If you don’t drive often, or at all, how do you get around? Smart Growth America wants to help more people have the option of shorter drives and more ways to get around. Click here to tell us your story.

Uncategorized

What does post-Katrina New Orleans say about cities? About America? (NOLA resilience part 1)

By ·

Crossposted from NRDC Switchboard Staff Blog
Written by Kaid Benfield

You are looking at a photo of Congo Square, in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, adjacent to and just northwest of the French Quarter. Slaves once gathered here on Sunday afternoons to dance and make music, and some say it is the birthplace of jazz. I’m certainly not going to romanticize slavery, but one has to admire the resilience of those forced to endure it, claiming a day and a place for themselves and their culture. More recently, Congo Square was the site of the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, until Jazzfest outgrew the space and moved to the fairgrounds.

I’m headed to New Orleans today to take part in the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects. As a non-architect, I take a certain pride in being invited into their circle. I’m looking forward to being on a panel with my friends David Dixon and Laurie Volk. And I’m also looking forward to returning to New Orleans, for what I think will be the third time since Katrina.

Uncategorized

How are high gas prices affecting you?

By ·

Gas prices are nearing record highs, and all signs indicate this trend is here to stay. With the national average near $4/gallon, filling up a tank routinely costs $50 or more. According to the Energy Information Administration, the average U.S. household will spend more than $4,300 on gas in 2011. Spending that much at the pump is affecting all of us in different ways, and as the price of gas keeps climbing, many people are figuring out tradeoffs so they can afford to keep moving.

How have high gas prices affected your family? What tradeoffs are you making? Click here to tell your story.

People across the country are feeling the pain of paying so much for gas. Some are stranded and cannot get to work or get to a doctor’s visit. Increasing numbers are opting to carpool with colleagues or take the bus. Others are making major changes in their household budget because they have no other choice besides driving their car to get to where they need to go.

Smart Growth America is looking for stories from people everywhere about what kind of tradeoffs have to be made in the face of higher gas prices. Have you changed your commute or how you run errands? Have you found a new way to get around? Click here to tell your story.

No matter how the cost of gas has impacted you or your family, we want to hear your story. We’ll post the most interesting responses to our Facebook page, Twitter feed and our blog. Tell us your story today.

Uncategorized
  • …
  • …