Transit and Livability: Results from the National Community Livability Survey

While many factors influence a community’s livability, affordable transportation options such as transit services can be an important contributor. Availability and frequency of transit services vary greatly among metro and non-metro areas, thereby affecting the access to affordable transportation options. This study was Phase 3 of the three-phase livability study in researching the nexus of transit and livability in U.S. communities. The objective of the study was to conduct a National Community Livability Survey (NCLS) in both urban and rural communities in the United States and analyze the role of transportation and public transit toward quality of life. The NCLS survey was distributed to 25,000 adults across all 50 U.S. states. The survey yielded a total of 994 high-quality responses, including 152 from transit riders who completed the transit rider survey questions. Survey results suggest that improving livability factors, such as affordable jobs, affordable housing, low crime, and affordable transportation options in metro communities, can improve the livability of metro residents. Similarly, improving livability factors, such as available jobs, affordable housing, quality healthcare, affordable transportation options, and overall cost of living, can improve the livability of non-metro communities. Further, when compared with metro communities, non-metro communities have a greater need to improve the identified livability factors, as there is a large need for improvement.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.5038/CUTR-NCTR-RR-2018-02
• Record URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=927
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

  Small Urban and Rural Transit Center, North Dakota State University, P.O. Box 6050
  Fargo, ND  United States  58108-6050

  Small Urban and Rural Livability Center

  Western Transportation Institute
  Montana State University
  Bozeman, MT  United States 

  National Center for Transit Research

  Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
  4202 East Fowler Avenue, CUT 100
  Tampa, FL  United States  33620

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Godavarthy, Ranjit
  • Mattson, Jeremy
  • 0000-0002-0826-5834
  • Brooks, Jonathan
  • Jain, Jitendra
  • Quadrifoglio, Luca
  • Sener, Ipek
  • Simek, Chris
• Publication Date: 2018-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 78p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Communities; Livability; Public transit; Quality of life; Rural areas; Surveys; Transit riders; Urban areas
• Identifier Terms: National Community Livability Survey
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01690401
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: SURLC 18-008
• Files: UTC, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Dec 31 2018 9:06AM