by Christina Pomoni

Created on: July 11, 2010

Many people consider that living in the suburbs is cheaper than living in the city. This is because the high costs of housing put in the shadow the accessibility to public transportation or other benefits of living in the city. However, when transportation costs are taken into consideration, living in the suburbs is more expensive. In fact, the hidden costs of transportation may increase the cost of living in the suburbs even by 33%.

Transportation expenses may include the cost of owning a car which means gas, insurance and maintenance expenses as well as parking expenses, not to mention tolls and tickets expenses. The excessive amounts spent by the government to the construction and maintenance of roads, highways and bridges have considerably increased the tolls that commuters have to pay to go to work every day. Besides, the construction costs for residential buildings and office buildings have increased the costs for parking, but also the cost for ticket if a vehicle is parked illegally.

‘Beltway Burden’, an Urban Land Institute’s (www.uli.org/) report explains the hidden costs of living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. According to it, life in the suburbs is expensive mostly because people have to commute every day to work. Residents in the suburbs of Washington D.C. spent on average $13,000 on transportation costs, a figure that represents the 33% of their annual income. Instead, residents of urban areas spend nearly 17% on transportation costs as a percentage of their annual income because they live close to public transportation. The high transportation costs of living in the suburbs are explained by the fact that, although many people have moved to the suburbs as a result of the high housing costs in the city and a large migration of the population to the suburbs is noted, public transportation is not appropriate. In fact, suburban areas are poorly served from public transportation, forcing the residents to use their own vehicles. In that way, the economic benefits from living in the suburbs are traded off by the increase in the transportation costs. In other words, living in the suburbs creates higher household costs when transportation is included.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) (www.cnt.org/) has also analyzed transportation costs when living in the suburbs. By taking into consideration the transportation costs incurred from commuting to and from work, but also the travel expenses incurred as part of the daily household routine in 337 metro areas in 161,000 neighborhoods covering 80% of the U.S. population, CNT’s tool has concluded that when transportation is included, it is cheaper to live in the city than in the suburbs. In some suburban neighborhoods transportation costs are 15% of the household annual income, while in others they reach even 28%. Although figures vary per location, it is a fact that when oil prices increase, suburbs are not affordable anymore due to poor public transportation service.

As time passes, more and more people realize the hidden costs of transportation when living in the suburbs. This doesn’t mean that residents of urban areas do not have cars, but they certainly use them less frequently because there are walking distances that they can cover and public transportation is accessible and serves them properly. Therefore, transportation expenses in the city incur lower gas, and maintenance costs.

Sources:

http://www.urbancityarch.com/2009/03/suburbs-the-hid den-costs/

http://www.fastcompany.com/1596517/the-hidden-cost-o f-living-in-the-suburbs-transportation

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