Part 2: Why transit investment is really a city building decision with Yonah Freemark and Sam Sklar

You pay rent or a mortgage every month and you know exactly what that costs. But how much are you spending just to get where you need to go? For a lot of Americans, transportation is the hidden cost of where they live — and it's a cost that's baked into the way we've built our cities.

In part two of this series, Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute stays with us and we're joined by Sam Sklar — the writer, consultant, and advocate behind Exasperated Infrastructures — to explore the deep connection between public transit investment, urban land use policy, and how cities grow. Sam brings experience across urban planning, sustainable infrastructure consulting, and transit advocacy, and his platform has become a go-to voice on what it actually takes to build more equitable, people-centered transportation systems in American cities.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why transportation infrastructure is land use — and how the space cities dedicate to roads and highways shapes what's possible for housing density, walkable communities, and sustainable urban development 
• Why transit oriented development alone won't save struggling transit agencies
• Our March Madness bracket of transit investments reshaping American cities 

This is part two of a two-part series on how zoning reform, housing supply, and transportation infrastructure investment are shaping the future of sustainable, equitable American cities. Catch part one to hear Yonah Freemark break down why upzoning alone won't solve the housing crisis.

Resources:

The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART (NYTimes)

The Smart Enough City (Ben Green)

Virginia DOT's Smart Scale approch to allocating tax dollars (VA DOT)

Queenslink: Connecting Communities with Rails & Trails (Queenslink)

Western Avenue alders revived Chicago's BRT dream (StreetsBlog Chicago)

After decades of dreaming, delays, LA's Wilshire subway to Beverly Hills to open in May (LA Times)

How the Interborough Express Could Transform New York (NYTimes)

Build the Roosevelt Blvd Subway (Blvd Subway)

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