Compact Cities Save Residents Money in the Face of Rising Gas Prices

Posted by Shayna Pollock on March 24, 2011

USA Today featured CEOs for Cities research on the resilience of cities when coping with higher gas prices. Cities with compact development patterns and extensive transit systems enable their residents to drive fewer miles on average than the typical American.

Based on variations in travel patterns across cities, CEOs for Cities identified the 10 urbanized areas most insulated from the negative effects of higher gas prices because of the shorter distances their residents have to travel.  They are:

1.    New Orleans        13.7
2.    New York             16
3.    Sacramento         18.4
4.    Portland              18.7
5.    Chicago              19.1
6.    Philadelphia        20
7.    Buffalo               20.2
8.    San Jose            21
9.    Providence         21.2
10.  San Francisco     21.3

Nationally, cities are a critical key to helping the nation use energy more efficiently and avoid the economic consequences of fuel price increases.  The Green Dividend estimates that decreasing driving by just one mile per person per day in the nation's 51 largest metro areas would save $29 billion.