transit

U.S. streets have been filled with traffic since the country’s founding — first with wagons and livestock and now with more than 250 million autos and trucks. Building more and wider roads can reduce congestion, but the benefits are generally temporary: Vehicles soon fill new lanes, and the cycle starts all over again. The massive highway boom after World War II did speed cross-country travel, but it also added suburban congestion to the list of pressing national problems.

Once upon a time, the American family of the popular imagination lived in the suburbs, had 2.5 children, and spent its weekends washing the car in the driveway. The United States has become increasingly diverse and significantly more urban over time, however, and such images no longer hold true for much of the country — even to the exclusion of that most American of icons, the family car.

Public transportation use varies widely across the United States, from small towns with few transit options to dense metropolitan areas with extensive subway, train and bus systems. Even in cities with similar transit systems, use can vary significantly, and some systems do not efficiently connect where people live to where they work.

Metropolitan planning organizations are federally mandated bodies (MPOs) responsible for urban transportation planning. Billions of dollars are channeled through MPOs, giving them considerable influence over growth patterns and, consequently, social and economic opportunity.

To what extent can governmental policies help cultivate a relatively prosperous, secure and free citizenry? A 2011 study published in Psychological Science, “Progressive Taxation and the Subjective Well-Being of Nations,” evaluates the impact of progressive taxation — a higher tax rate for the rich and a lower one for the poor — on levels of satisfaction and well-being.