This is the question posed on CityNerd video titled “Walkable Cities But They Keep Getting More Affordable”

If you ditched your car, could you afford to leave the suburbs for a great urban neighborhood?

Ray Delahanty answers the question in the 26 biggest US cities.

The analysis assumes the all-in cost of owning and operating a car is $1,000 per month, including purchase, insurance, fuel, and maintenance.

In the city, transportation costs might total about $250 per month for transit passes, biking, ride-hailing, and other small expenses.

This results in an effective $750 per month increase in the housing budget for city center residents who do not own a car.

The results of the video are quite interesting, as you can get more m² in walkable areas in most cities

  • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    9 days ago

    All of the above, depending on exact conditions

    • when I was entirely without a car, I just walked. I was single so carrying groceries usually worked ok. As a first Thanksgiving when I got married I Walked to the grocery like 5 times for all the stiff we needed and didn’t think of ahead of time
    • I saw plenty of people with carts and tried that a few times
    • I briefly tried delivery
    • I saw people using taxis - I didn’t realize at the time but many of them compromised by walking to and taxiing back
    • I have usually had a car though, even if groceries was my only weekly trip (plus occasional needs)

    Actually now that I live in an urban suburb, I could do a lot without a car but carrying groceries is not worth the fight to find an alternate way