Affordable Housing
High-speed rail expands the geography of communities where people can live and commute to high-paying job centers. A mix of fast trains, new housing construction and transit-oriented development can solve the housing crisis.
High-speed rail makes lower-cost cities part of expensive job markets
America's housing shortage is most severe in coastal cities where supply constraints drive prices steadily higher. High-speed rail shifts people toward smaller, less expensive cities, creating an expanding housing market beyond the high-priced core. Simply put, high-speed rail expands the geography of the housing supply.
SOURCE: UCLA Anderson Review
Transportation costs affect affordability. Households in communities around rail stations can substitute walking, buses and bikes for some car trips. This means lower car payments, fuel, maintenance, and parking expenses - especially important benefits for lower-income households.
High-speed rail supports dense housing around stations and creates new urban neighborhoods on cheaper, underused land, rather than requiring housing to spread outward through low-density suburbs. Households can live in "secondary cities," attracting new investment and decentralizing economic activity.
SOURCE: UCLA Study
Multifamily housing is the most needed type of housing, yet is the hardest to build due to local resistance, zoning rules, parking rules, and other requirements. Once a city has a major rail station, there is a stronger argument for building apartments and other dense housing around it.
100 miles
Under 1 hour
160,000
In an opinion piece, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote that: “The time has come for high-speed rail in Australia," arguing that bullet trains will give “an incentive for people looking to make their homes outside the big cities, giving them the chance of a better quality of life and strengthening local communities in the proces."
The government's summary of the Sydney to Newcastle high-speed rail project said travel time will be one hour, less than half the travel time for cars. Trains will reach speeds of up to 200 mph.
The project comes amid a severe housing shortage, with home prices and rents rising to record levels. High-speed rail would create the opportunity for 160,000 new housing units from Sydney to Newcastle.
