Vehicle
Miles Traveled
VMT or vehicle miles traveled are on the rise nationally for several underlying demographic patterns:
but motor vehicles produce pollution adding nitrogen oxides to the air which trap infrared radiation and combine with water to form acid rain and fog that contributes to nitrogen levels in water bodies. Excessive nitrogen levels in water are unhealthy for babies.
Homes like this in Oak Park Illinois, were once "street car" suburbs. that meant at the end of the rail line or street car, or trolley line, people could afford to live in large homes, architect designed homes and commute into nearby cities. In this case Oak Park is a suburb of Chicago that grew up west of the city after the 1880s.
Today these same residential communities rely to an ever incising degree on automobiles to get people from place to place, and especially from home to work and back. For this reason, vehicle miles traveled across the US are increasing, because the measure the extent of automobile traffic to move populations.
Pictured below is a ten lane section
of Interstae 95 in South Florida, north of Miami.
demographic patterns
only 25% of nation's families are composed of traditional married couples.
most household partners work outside of the home.
household sizes are smaller.
homes are nearly twice the square fottage that they were fifity years ago.
the number of vehicles per person is higher today than 20 years ago.
