Why Is It So Expensive To Build Public Transit in the U.S.?
A recent VICE article shares the conclusions of a report published by an NYU research group. The research, led by Alon Levy, spans some 15 years and demonstrates the extent to which transit projects in the U.S. are inflated compared to other countries around the world—and what we can do about it.
For instance, the cost of constructing a subway in New York is double what it costs in Tokyo and 10 times what it costs in Paris. The research found New York to be the most expensive place to build transit in the world, and the lack of efficiency means we get less transit for more money, and we have a lot of public sector debt.
Why is this the case? Levy offers several reasons, which host Abby Kinney and co-host Chuck Marohn unpack on this special Member Week episode of Upzoned.
It’s Member Week at Strong Towns! We’re celebrating our members and everything that they do to make their communities stronger and more resilient. If you want to join this movement of a million local heroes, then do so by becoming a Strong Towns member today.
Abby Newsham is the cohost of the Upzoned podcast. Abby is an urban design and planning consultant at Multistudio in Kansas City, Missouri. In her own community, she works to advance bottom-up strategies that enhance both private development and the public realm, and facilitates the ad-hoc Kansas City chapter of the Incremental Development Alliance. When she’s not geeking out over cities, Abby is an avid urban mountain biker (because: potholes), audiobook and podcast junkie, amateur rock climber, and guitarist. You can connect with Abby on Twitter at @abbykatkc.