The Poverty of the Carless: Toward Universal Auto Access

Abstract

We document the falling socioeconomic status of American households without private vehicles and the continuing financial burden that cars present for low-income households that own them. We tie both these trends to the auto-orientation of America’s built environment, which forces people to either spend heavily on cars or risk being locked out of the economy. We first show that vehicle access remains difficult for low-income households and vehicle operating costs remain high and volatile. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Survey of Consumer Finances, and Census Public Use Microdata, we then show that in the last fifty years households without vehicles have lost income, both in absolute terms and relative to households with vehicles. We link these trends to the built environment by examining the fortunes of carless households in New York City, and particularly in Manhattan. Most of New York’s built environment did not change to accommodate cars, and in New York the fortunes of the carless did not fall. Our results suggest that planners should see vehicles, in most of the United States, as essential infrastructure, and work to close gaps in vehicle access.

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“…Income may be the main factor, but the built environment, transit service, and land use policies all affect car ownership levels (Chatman, 2013;Guo, 2013;Salon, 2009;Weinberger, 2012;Zegras, 2010). The notable difference between car ownership in New York City and the rest of the U.S. is a case in point (King et al, 2019). The U.S. is an outlier when it comes to car ownership (Jones, 2008) but is not unique in having car-dependent areas or populations (Jeekel, 2016).…”

Understanding (and tackling) need satisfier escalation

“…While we are not aware of similar survey data for North America, car ownership is associated with better labor-market outcomes and social mobility in the United States (Taylor and Ong 1995;Cervero, Sandoval, and Landis 2002;Kawabata 2003;Lucas and Nicholson 2003;Blumenberg and Manville 2004). The association between lack of a household car, poverty and social exclusion was already noticed in 1970s in the United States (Paaswell and Recker 1976), and has dramatically strengthened since then (King, Smart, and Manville 2019).…”

“…Nowhere is this picture more evident than in the United States, perhaps the most car-dependent country in the world. Indeed, studies over the last 20 years have highlighted how car ownership and use is associated with better labor market outcomes and social mobility, notably among lower income households and public-assistance recipients (Taylor and Ong 1995;Cervero, Sandoval, and Landis 2002;Kawabata 2003;Lucas and Nicholson 2003;Blumenberg and Manville 2004;King, Smart, and Manville 2019;Bastiaanssen, Johnson, and Lucas 2020). Even in European countries such as Sweden (Berg and Ihlstr€ om 2019) and the UK (Crisp et al 2018) car access is in many places essential for access to a range of activities, including travel to work.…”

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“…In urban studies, the car has become the enemy of the pedestrian and the enemy of civility (Sheller, Urry, and Purcell 2000;Ehrenfeucht and Loukaitou-Sideris 2010). A car-only focus in city planning creates tremendous transport inequalities, especially within sprawling urban areas (King, Smart, and Manville 2019). Meanwhile, automobile dominant cities have also witnessed the failure of small businesses due to the prevalence of shopping malls with ample parking, and as of late, online shopping (Weltevreden, Rietbergen, and Rietbergen 2007).…”