A diverse, walkable community depends on a transportation infrastructure that provides a variety of ways to get around, serving pedestrians and transit-riders as well as drivers. Quality of life is key to the success of any urban community. A good transportation network also relies on healthy communities. This can be affected by housing sites, affordable and convenient transportation, easy access to shopping and services, safety and equity.
CNT promotes research and action on understanding housing and transportation affordability, revitalizing and developing communities and public involvement in shaping policy. CNT has worked on a number of projects designed to encourage community development and promote transportation options.
Why is this important?
Housing plus transportation costs give a more complete assessment of affordability than housing costs alone.
Transportation costs are driven more by neighborhood characteristics than by the number of people in a household or their income.
Places with access to services, walkable destinations, extensive and frequent transit, access to jobs, and density have lower household transportation costs.
Creating neighborhoods with housing and transportation affordability requires multiple and targeted strategies and coordination within and across government agencies and the private sector.
Underutilized transit station areas present an opportunity to create additional affordable and diverse neighborhoods.
To learn more about CNT’s work in Transportation and Community Development, take a look at our projects, tools and resources on this page.
An analysis by CNT of the Chicago region’s affordable housing developments has found that some are not very affordable when transportation costs are considered. Typical transportation costs, the second largest expense in a household budget, ranged from $750 per month in many Chicago neighborhoods with affordable housing units to more than $1,000 in more distant suburbs. The report also found that suburban Cook County, which has comparatively low transportation costs, has fewer affordable housing units compared with the city of Chicago and the region’s collar counties.
“By definition, families living in affordable housing are guaranteed that their housing costs will not exceed 30 percent of their income, but transportation costs can negate that affordability if housing agencies aren’t careful about location decisions,” said Kathryn Tholin, CEO of CNT. “Illinois has made gains in siting affordable housing in communities that meet fair housing goals. Our report reveals that we could do better, by choosing locations that offer greater access to employment, better transportation connectivity, and improved access to amenities.”
CNT applied our Housing and Transportation (H+T®) Affordability Index to 248 multifamily properties financed by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) from 2001 to 2008 in the Chicago region. The study reveals the average transportation costs in these locations and measures the degree to which residents enjoyed access to local amenities, regional jobs, public transit, and other opportunities—all major factors in the affordability equation. Safe, Decent and Affordable pulls together key findings and recommendations that IHDA can use to help improve access to jobs, lower transportation costs, and enhance livability for its affordable housing residents.
Finally! The long overdue transportation reauthorization bill is at last going somewhere. Three years ago, CNT and our national partners, such as Transportation for America, began working with various users and operators of our transportation systems, business leaders, and political leaders to gather information about what worked and what did not work in the last national transportation legislation.
We shared what we learned with Members of Congress, who are responsible for the re-authorization and funding of the federal transportation legislation. The U.S. House of Representatives has released its transportation bill to the public. They listened to some of what we told them, but they failed to address some crucial needs. In particular, it looks like they forgot that this is supposed to be a transportation bill that serves all users of the transportation network—transit riders, cyclists, pedestrians, car sharers—and assures that they get where they are going safely. The bill as drafted fails to do that.
On February 2rd, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will start finalizing their version of the bill. In particular, CNT and our partners believe that two amendments should be added:
The first would restore funding for safe biking and walking
The second would make repairing the nation’s deficient bridges a priority.
Please take a moment to contact your Member of Congress now and tell him or her to support those two amendments. Our elected leaders need to know that the public is paying attention and wants better transportation for all modes of travel.
Today Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle presented checks to two local companies that have taken advantage of an incentive program that reduces the cost of public transportation for employees. The Transit Ridership Improvement Program (TRIP) is a short-term incentive program that provides hundreds, even thousands of dollars to companies that provide pre-tax transit benefits to their employees. TRIP is available to all Cook County employers until February 10th.
“Gas prices remain high, and there’s no sign of relief as the year progresses. Public transportation is an affordable and convenient way for people to get where they need to go save money in the process,” said President Toni Preckwinkle. “TRIP makes it even more cost-effective for people to travel by bus or train and we encourage employers and employees to sign up.”
Normally, employees earn their income, are taxed, and then pay to ride transit to get to work. With employers offering a pre-tax transit benefit program through TRIP, employees can lower their tax burden by hundreds of dollars per year, depending on their transit costs and tax bracket. In addition to saving employees money increased transit use helps reduce congestion and improve air quality.
“The Center for Neighborhood Technology and RTA answered our questions, walked us through the initial process, and supported us in offering our employees transit benefits,” said Kathi Roccanova, Daley, Mohan and Groble’s office manager. “Our employees love the tax savings and we love being able to offer them this monthly benefit.”
TRIP benefits employers as well. Participating businesses will reduce their payroll taxes while providing a valuable benefits program to their employees. Between now and February 10th, Cook County employers that join TRIP will receive direct payouts that can total hundreds of dollars. Participating employers will receive:
• $30 for any new employee who signs up for the pre-tax transit benefits.
• An additional $200 for companies that are introducing a pre-tax transit benefit program for the first time and enroll five of more employees.
CNT, which helps administer TRIP, provides one-on-one consultation with businesses interested in enrolling in the program, addresses company concerns, and walks through the initial steps in providing these low-cost, money-saving, employee benefits.
Companies and employees are encouraged to visit www.lesstaxingcommute.com to learn more about pre-tax transit benefits and TRIP or contact James Drew jdrew@cnt.org for more information.
CNT is a creative think-and-do tank that combines rigorous research with effective solutions. CNT works across disciplines and issues, including transportation and community development, energy, water, and climate change.
This study reveals the combined housing and transportation cost burdens of households, with a focus on working families at the neighborhood level in 28 metropolitan areas.
A new and more comprehensive way of thinking about the cost of housing and true affordability by exploring the impact that transportation costs associated with the location of the housing have on a household’s economic bottom line.
The public involvement tools were developed to help the general public understand the relationship between transportation planning and land use planning.
Responds to two major crises of our time – economic and ecological – by increasing the wealth of asset-poor households through consumer choices that are both financially smart and promote sustainable living.
Developed by CNT and the Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD), this index takes a fresh look at the real cost of housing by factoring in the cost of transportation for various neighborhoods as a percentage of household income.
Recent studies by CNT have explored ways to promote growth in older communities by expanding existing transportation and working with local and metropolitan groups to encourage business growth and public safety.
The public involvement tools were developed to help the general public understand the relationship between transportation planning and land use planning.
CNT developed the Civic Footprint, a website to help Cook County residents find out who represents them so that they can stand up for the issues that impact their lives.
I-GO exists to provide economical and environmentally sound transportation choices, aiming to reduce car ownership rates, lower family transportation costs, reduce urban congestion and improve air quality in all neighborhoods.
An analysis by CNT of the Chicago region’s affordable housing developments has found that some are not very affordable when transportation costs are considered. Typical transportation costs, the second largest expense in a household budget, ranged from $750 per month in many Chicago neighborhoods with affordable housing units to more than $1,000 in more distant suburbs. The report also found that suburban Cook County, which has comparatively low transportation costs, has fewer affordable housing units compared with the city of Chicago and the region’s collar counties. 
