Yonah Freemark
American urban planning researcher; principal research associate at the Urban Institute, where he leads work on fair housing, land use and transportation. Founded and writes The Transport Politic, on transit investment in the US and abroad; PhD in urban studies from MIT.
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What they believe
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The U.S. federal system ensures that state and local governments maintain control over transportation decisions regardless of the presidential administration.
This reality of the U.S. federal system will continue to be the case no matter which presidential candidate wins the election, and no matter how exciting their proposed policies may be.
thetransportpolitic.comSaid 20 Oct 2020This on korrents
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American cities have underinvested in expanded quality bus lines.
what is unquestionably true is that American cities have underinvested in expanded quality bus lines.
thetransportpolitic.comSaid 7 Jan 2020This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 16 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
The U.S. federal system ensures that state and local governments maintain control over transportation decisions regardless of the presidential administration.
This reality of the U.S. federal system will continue to be the case no matter which presidential candidate wins the election, and no matter how exciting their proposed policies may be.
Skip to the content Said 20 Oct 2020
Neither federal nor local governments have been effective at using transportation expenditures to achieve sustainable or equitable outcomes.
Unfortunately, neither the federal government nor lower levels of government have been particularly effective custodians of their massive expenditures on transportation-at least when it comes to achieving more sustainable and equitable outcomes.
Skip to the content Said 20 Oct 2020
American cities have underinvested in expanded quality bus lines.
what is unquestionably true is that American cities have underinvested in expanded quality bus lines.
Skip to the content Said 7 Jan 2020
Show 13 more
New American transit routes are often poorly designed or inadequately integrated into urban development.
One explanation is that many new American transit routes are poorly designed, typically remain inadequately integrated into urban development projects, and focus more on low-density suburban areas than urban neighborhoods likely to attract more riders.
Skip to the content Said 7 Jan 2020
Stopping the expansion of the public roadway network is an essential element of reducing the carbon footprint of transportation.
Ceasing the continuing expansion of the public roadway network is an essential element of any effort to reduce the carbon footprint of transportation, which is now the single-largest contributor to American greenhouse gas emissions.
Skip to the content Said 7 Jan 2020
Regional rail is a necessary investment for cities aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and car dependence.
Even so, if American cities are serious about moving people into transit, reducing transportation-related greenhouse-gas emissions, and providing an alternative to car-dependence at the metropolitan scale, regional rail is a necessary investment.
Skip to the content Said 19 Sept 2019
Regional rail is the only available mechanism to provide fast, frequent, and reliable long-distance transportation for large populations.
It is the only mechanism available to provide fast, frequent, reliable, and long-distance transportation for large numbers of people.
Skip to the content Said 19 Sept 2019
Separating the control of transit agencies among different political actors in a metropolitan area can produce negative regional outcomes.
the Chicago case should remind us that an institutional configuration that separates control of transit agencies in the same metropolitan area to different political actors can produce negative outcomes for the region as a whole.
Skip to the content Said 19 Sept 2019
The decline in U.S. transit ridership is partly due to the rise of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.
Recent changes, including the rise of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, unquestionably have limited transit's performance.
Skip to the content Said 9 Sept 2019
U.S. transit providers have failed to increase service levels to match population growth.
At the same time, perhaps most importantly, U.S. transit providers simply haven't increased service to account for a growing population.
Skip to the content Said 9 Sept 2019
Shifting commuters from cars to transit is a necessary strategy for urban environmental and social goals.
Shifting people out of cars and into transit is an essential strategy for cities hoping to reduce pollution, combat climate change, and improve the vitality of their neighborhoods.
Skip to the content Said 9 Sept 2019
American cities face a tension between stated climate goals and the political difficulty of reducing space for automobiles.
Though elected officials and planners claim an interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing transit use, and producing more livable, walkable communities, when push comes to shove, it's nearly impossible for them to make the hard choice: Reducing or eliminating space for automobiles.
Skip to the content Said 17 Jul 2018
Expanding automobile circulation and doubling transit ridership are irreconcilable goals.
Regional plans to double transit ridership won't happen at the same time as space for automobile circulation is expanded. These two are irreconcilable; cities are going to have to choose what is more important to them.
Skip to the content Said 17 Jul 2018
Cities that have replaced waterfront highways with surface boulevards or pedestrian spaces do not necessarily suffer from massive congestion or economic decline.
There is, just as importantly, significant evidence that cities that have replaced waterfront highways with surface boulevards or simply pedestrian space don't suffer from massive congestion on nearby streets or a crushed economy, as some transportation models would suggest.
Skip to the content Said 17 Jul 2018
The decline in transit ridership is not a permanent shift because its causes do not appear to be primarily related to technological change.
Yet there are reasons to believe it isn't a permanent shift, given that its causes don't appear to be primarily related to technological change.
Skip to the content Said 18 May 2018
Making a genuine effort to improve the lives of existing transit users will eventually bring more people back onto transit systems.
Making a genuine effort to improve their lives will, I am convinced, eventually bring more people back onto systems.
Skip to the content Said 18 May 2018
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Where they publish
Site yonahfreemark.com CV, research publications, talks and media mentions
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
Blog The Transport Politic Transit openings, US-Europe comparisons and federal funding; recent posts are short summaries of his Urban Institute work
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
Bluesky @yonahfreemark.com Frequent posts on transit, housing, land use and politics
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
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