The love affair between Americans and their cars is a well known trope. But according to a new paper from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on worldwide car usage, America's car ownership rate is among the lowest in the developed world.
Max Fisher discusses the data reported in a newly published Carnegie Endowment paper, which upends traditional ideas about car usage. It turns out that car ownership rates are higher in nearly every Western European country than in the United States. "The U.S. is ranked 25th in world by number of passenger cars per person,
just above Ireland and just below Bahrain," observes Fisher. "There are 439 cars here for
every thousand Americans, meaning a little more than two people for
every car."
So what explains this state of affairs? "The Carnegie paper explains that car ownership rates are closely tied to
the size of the middle class," explains Fisher. "In fact, the paper [titled "In Search of the Global Middle Class: A New Index"] actually measures car
ownership rates for the specific purpose of using that number to predict
middle class size."
So does the data indicate that the US has a disproportionately small middle class? Fisher isn't convinced: "Still, it's also possible that the answer has less to do with
Americans adhering to Carnegie's thesis about car ownership predicting
middle class size and more to do with other, particularly American
factors. Young Americans are spending less of their money on cars, as
Jordan Weissmann explained, as they get driver's licences at lower rates and spend more of their money on, say, high-tech smart phones."
FULL STORY: It's Official: Western Europeans Have More Cars Per Person Than Americans

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
A new USC study finds that relaxing Los Angeles’ outdated tree planting guidelines could significantly expand urban tree canopy and reduce shade disparities in lower-income neighborhoods, though infrastructure investments are also needed.

California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
California’s Project Nexus has begun generating electricity from solar panels installed over irrigation canals, with researchers and state agencies exploring statewide expansion to conserve water and boost clean energy production.

HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland