Press Room
IS THIS HOUSE AS AFFORDABLE AS YOU THINK?
A new analysis by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) shows that only two in five American communities—or 39 percent—are affordable for typical households when their transportation costs are considered along with housing costs. Read the full press release>>
Read the full media advisory >>
Listen to the telebriefing (MP3, 12MB)
Use the H + T Index >>
Press Inquiries
Nicole Gotthelf
Director of Development and Communications
(773) 269-4029
nicoleg@cnt.org
What We Found
By redefining affordability as 45% of income for both housing and transportation costs, the H+T Index reveals which communities in the United States are truly affordable. Factoring in transportation costs produces a net loss of 48,000 communities considered affordable by the conventional housing only measure.
Why this Matters
By factoring transportation into the housing affordability equation, the H+T Index reveals that the current pattern of sprawling development and lack of public transportation options is neither affordable for a large number of families nor environmentally sustainable.
What We Recommend
- Policymakers can use the H+T index to adopt a broader definition of affordability that encompasses transportation as well as housing and to disclose the average transportation costs associated with neighborhoods so consumers can make informed housing decisions.
- Proposed policies and investments should be screened for their potential impact on affordability under the H+T standard.
- Public investments should be targeted to lower the sum of housing and transportation costs by creating more location efficient communities—through investment in transportation options, transit-oriented development, and the creation of more compact, walkable communities.
Download the full Executive Summary (PDF, 227 KB)
More Resources
Penny Wise, Pound Fuelish serves as a guide to CNT’s H+T Index, which demonstrates that the way in which urban regions have grown in the last half century has had negative consequences for many Americans. The report highlights the financial consequences to households and regions of the two approaches to development—compact, mixed use development with access to stores, jobs and transit versus dispersed, single use development that is removed from job centers and public transportation—and concludes that the compact approach produces greater affordability, lower greenhouse gas emissions and more sustainable regional growth. The report closes with federal policy recommendations to ensure that we build more livable and sustainable communities in the future.
Learn more about Penny Wise, Pound Fuelish >>, including key graphics
Download Penny Wise, Pound Fuelish (PDF, 2MB)
Fact sheets available on the Housing + Transportation data
| Boston, MA–NH (PDF, 2MB) | Los Angeles–Long Beach, CA (PDF, 2MB) |
| Chicago, IL (PDF, 2MB) | Pittsburgh, PA (PDF, 2MB) |
| Cleveland–Lorain–Elyria, OH (PDF, 2MB) | Washington, DC–MD–VA–WV (PDF, 2MB) |
| Houston, TX (PDF, 2MB) | All 7 cities together (PDF, 2MB) |
| . |
| Birmingham, AL (PDF, 2MB) | Hartford, CT (PDF, 2MB) |
| Charleston, WV (PDF, 2MB) | Oklahoma City, OK (PDF, 2MB) |
| Daytona Beach, FL (PDF, 2MB) | Portland–Vancouver, OR–WA (PDF, 2MB) |
| Des Moines, IA (PDF, 2MB) | All 8 cities together (PDF, 5MB) |
| Duluth–Superior, MN–WI (PDF, 2MB) | |
| . |
National Overview (PDF, 2MB)
Rural Overview (PDF, 2MB)
Funding for the Housing+Transportation Affordability Index comes from The Brookings Urban Markets Initiative, Center for Housing Policy of the National Housing Conference, The Energy Foundation, Grand Victoria Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, Surdna Foundation, and Wallace Global Fund.
