I’ve been trying to figure out what my actual theory of change is for my work in transit so here’s my attempt at writing it down.
I know I care about making transit and cities better. But what does that look like?
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot, because it’s hard to actualize without specifics.
Here’s my working theory of change:
I would like to improve transit by:
- providing high quality, frequent transit service to transit supportive parcels
- making it easier to live in the existing transit supportive parcels (improving access to jobs or lowering the cost of housing)
- expanding the envelope of transit supportive parcels
The key word here is “transit supportive parcels.” With this, I recognize that effective transit is really the result of optimal land use. Land use is things like, the density of a parcel, the arrangement of roads, the location of housing and jobs etc. There are many places in the United States, or the world, that just are not conducive to good transit. There are other places that are.