University of California Transportation Center

All smart growth initiatives involve some degree of mixed land uses. Which mixed-use strategies – e.g., jobs-housing balance, adding retail to residential districts -- offer the greatest traffic-reducing benefits? This paper addresses this question by examining the degree to which job accessibility is associated with reduced work travel and how closely retail-service accessibility is correlated with miles and hours logged getting to shopping destinations. Based on data from the San Francisco Bay Area, we find that jobs-housing balance offers the greatest travel reduction benefits, by a substantial margin. Retail accessibility does significantly increase non-motorized travel, which is important given America’s mounting obesity problem. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy measures introduced in California to bring housing, workplaces, and retail centers closer together.