Can We Spend Our Way Out of Sprawl?

Charles Marohn at Strong Towns has posted a pretty epic analysis of 150-plus years of rail and highway expansion in the United States. The upshot of this historical overview: Marohn argues that raising more money for transportation using what he calls "slush funds" -- including the federal gas tax -- will only prolong the era of wasting huge sums on unnecessary roads and other public infrastructure.

Marohn goes back to the 19th century, when the transcontinental railroads were by financed primarily by private companies. American railroad companies typically recouped much of their capital investment through a process we would today call value capture. They were also developers and profited from the increased value of land as new towns sprung up by their stations. Government would come in afterward to provide additional public infrastructure and services.

When the interstate era came around in the mid-20th century, the financial dynamics flipped. Now, the government was responsible for the capital outlay, and the risk was socialized. Rather than being financed by capturing the value unlocked by infrastructure investment, highways were funded by enormous pools of gas tax revenue and other money with no connection to the value of real pieces of infrastructure. Expansion was governed by the political process, not a business process.

As a result, Marohn writes, the transportation system has become drastically overbuilt:

Marohn's argument goes against the grain of most national advocacy for transit, walking, and biking -- which have tended to receive more dedicated funding when money is plentiful. But if you care about creating walkable places and eliminating massive subsidies for sprawl, you have to grapple with the issues he raises.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space explains one roundabout way that regulation encourages big box retailing. Bike Delaware makes the case for the national Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act. And The Transport Politic compares bus and rail ridership growth in cities around the country.