HUD and DOT Coordinating Efforts

Affordable housing and transportation need to be planned together, said the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at a March 2009 House subcommittee hearing. DOT Secretary Raymond LaHood and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that a high-level task force with members from both departments would focus on putting affordable housing near employment opportunities, lowering transportation costs and reducing travel times.

Under HUD’s proposed Sustainable Communities Initiative, states would have to create integrated housing, transportation, and land-use plans. The agencies noted that current federal definitions of affordable housing do not account for transportation costs associated with travel between work and home; for many households, the cost of transportation approaches, or even exceeds, the cost of housing.