Is public transit worth it?

Infrastructure is defined as: “the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (ex. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise."

As we discussed in class, it can be a huge shift to alter the infrastructure of a primarily driven city, to a city where the majority walks, bikes, or utilizes public transit. The United States has a large rural population expanding away from urban concentrations, which makes it difficult to consider the infrastructure adjustments necessary to allow for walkability or public transit. For example, my small farm town in central Illinois can barely get access to functional WiFi or phone lines, so the idea of public transit seems a little out of reach. Although, I did some research and there are smaller shifts that can be implemented at a smaller scale to begin creating these environmentally friendly conditions focused on limiting the need for cars, but I am not sure if they could be effective or even possible in rural areas. So is it even worth it?

Unfortunately, the majority of these changes have primarily been studied in European cities which have an entirely different culture that is much more open to leaving the car-centric way of living. 

The initial solution is to make cities safer for bikers and pedestrians, which is much easier said than done. A white line separating a bike lane from a vehicular road isn’t necessarily the safest solution. A great example of a city taking steps to make it more pedestrian-friendly is the Beltline in Atlanta. It is a 22-mile stretch around the entire perimeter of the city used by bikers and pedestrians, connecting many of the communities in and around the city limits. 

The next point I found in my research is to adjust the use of zoning to allow for more mixed-use development rather than only single-family use (75% of residential land is zoned for single-family use). The problem with single-family zoning is that it typically follows the theory that people will live in this area and travel using their cars for work or leisure. We have separated every single type of living which prevents any version of overlap. But in mixed-use, it is able to have a little bit of everything in one area to allow walkability to work, food, and leisure. 

There are several other theoretical solutions to this issue we face in the United States, but unfortunately, the infrastructure isn't the primary role in the solution, it also is the culture and society’s disinterest in this shift. 

I’ll report back in a year after I maneuver public transit and go without access to a car for the first time…. Ha ha ha, wish me luck

Pictured: a terrible example of public transit in the U.S.