Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2016
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph. D.
Department
Urban and Public Affairs
Degree Program
Urban and Public Affairs, PhD
Committee Chair
Gilderbloom, John
Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)
Simpson, David
Committee Member
Simpson, David
Committee Member
Koven, Steven
Committee Member
Ruther, Matthew
Committee Member
Hanka, Matthew
Author's Keywords
Automobile Dependence; Multimodality; Urban Indicators; Sustainable Urban Development; Public Health; Quality of Life
Abstract
Automobile-dependent sprawl remains the dominant urban development paradigm in the United States. One reason for this is that the automobile is assumed to be more beneficial to the local economy than it is detrimental to society. Both sides of this assumption are wrong. First, local economies do not benefit much from automobile dependency. On the contrary, multimodal cities have lower unemployment, higher wages for African-Americans, and more efficient property markets. In addition, while it is true that multimodality means slightly higher taxes, the total value of living in multimodal cities far surpasses automobile-dependent cities with a massively improved quality of life. Second, while automobile-dependent cities have been shown to foster obesity, the full range and intensity of automobile dependency’s health impact has been grossly understated. This research provides compelling evidence that multimodal cities not only have lower rates of obesity, but also better overall health, and significantly lower rates of premature death. Urban research has much to blame for this misunderstanding: How we look at problems largely shapes the answers we generate. By distinguishing between the independent effects of sprawl and automobile dependency, and by using municipalities themselves instead of massive urbanized regions, this research more accurately assesses the full range and depth of the benefits of transportation multimodality.
Recommended Citation
Frederick, Chad Paul, "Constructing urban life : a study of automobile dependency in 148 mid-size U.S. cities." (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2397.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2397
