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WHERE TO LIVE WITHOUT A CAR:

WHERE TO LIVE WITHOUT A CAR:. A STUDY USING UNITED STATES CENSUS DATA TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE WITHOUT A CAR. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography California State University Northridge By Brenton G. Smith 22 April 2009.

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WHERE TO LIVE WITHOUT A CAR:

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  1. WHERE TO LIVE WITHOUT A CAR: A STUDY USING UNITED STATES CENSUS DATA TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE WITHOUT A CAR A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography California State University Northridge By Brenton G. Smith 22 April 2009

  2. Acknowledgements • Dr. John Westfall, • San Francisco State University (retired) • Dr. Steve Watts, • Antelope Valley College • Dr. Ed Jackiewicz, • Dr. Steve Graves, • Dr. Ron Davidson (Advisor) • California State University Northridge

  3. Why care? • I sought a systematic method to identify the places that may be good candidates to consider for future relocation. I use a car most days, and I would like to use a car less. • Car ownership and operation will become increasingly expensive in the twenty-first century.

  4. Introducing: NDrAlo An NDrAlo is a commuter who does Not Drive Alone to work. Assumption: Places that already have more than an average share of people who manage without cars must be more accessible to non-drivers.

  5. Why I recommend less use of a car: • Safety: automobile accidents are more often fatal than walking accidents • Civility: face to face encounters encourage courtesy • Cost savings: the cost of owning and operating a car can be avoided • Moral good: • Health benefits and • social responsibility; reduce air pollution emissions and conserve essential resources

  6. Decline of proven oil reserves The age of oil will enter into a long period of decline in the twenty-first century (API 2008b, ASPO 2008, ExxonMobil 2005, Heinberg 2003, IEA 2006, 2008, Kunstler 1993, 1996, 2005, Roberts 2004). This figure depicts the results of a calculation by the author based projections by the Energy Information Administration and ExxonMobil. The proven reserve decay rate given the current rate of consumption (approximately 85 million barrels per day in 2005, EIA 2006b) assumes no major additions to the reserve base. With the rate of global consumption increasing an average of 1.6 percent every year (EIA 2006a), even optimistic forecasts of proven reserves (3.3 trillion barrels of conventional petroleum) will face decreased production capability this century (EIA 2007, ExxonMobil 2005, 2006, 2007a, 2007b, 2008).

  7. Decline of proven oil reserves

  8. Reduce demand • One way to reduce personal demand for petroleum is to not drive a car. • The suburban United States is not designed for the convenience of the non-motorist. • The suburban way of life, fueled by cheap and abundant oil will face challenges this century.

  9. How to search for a place to use a car less : • Using a table, a form, and a query created using Microsoft Access more than 23,000 places in the United States can quickly be ranked according to the density of NDrAlo. • Can also be used to find places not to walk. • Queries can be specific to states or place names. • This method is designed to find places one may not know of.

  10. Microsoft Access form

  11. Average values of the top 1 percent

  12. Averages for the top ranked groups compared to all places

  13. The top fifty

  14. The top fifty continued

  15. Average public transit use Top ranked places in the United States have higher than average percentages of walkers and public transit riders.

  16. Most commuters who do not drive alone are concentrated in a few places

  17. San Francisco, CA • 3,807.9 NDrAlo/square mile, 9.4% walk, 33.1% transit

  18. Los Angeles, CA 458.1 NDrAlo/square mile, 3.6% walk, 10.8% transit

  19. Washington D.C. • 1,959.4 NDrAlo/square mile, 11.8% walk,34% transit

  20. Washington D.C. >10NDrAlo/sqmi

  21. Washington D.C. median rent

  22. Washington D.C. polarized > 50%

  23. Washington D.C. polarized > 50%

  24. Washington D.C. to New York census tracts

  25. Northeastern census tracts

  26. Out of 65,000 tracts, the ones densely populated by NDrAlo are barely visible.

  27. Northeastern census tracts

  28. Future work: • -more investigation of 2nd percent places • -field work (this trip to Washington D.C., for example) • -finish up Alaska and Hawaii • -make study more accessible on the web: http://airpollutioncomplianceoffice.yolasite.com/ • -create a layer for Google Earth

  29. END • Brenton Smith • brunoylupe@hotmail.com • theapco@hotmail.com • Linked-In • Plaxo • Facebook

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