This study examines the relationship between housing and transportation costs for 65 communities in Miami-Dade County. It finds that locations with more affordable housing often have higher transportation costs, decreasing overall affordability. Housing is clustered, with affordable units located far from jobs and transit, forcing residents to spend more on transportation. While Miami-Dade has different characteristics than other areas studied, the relationships between housing, transportation, and affordability are similar. Strategies are needed that coordinate land use, housing, and transportation planning to improve location affordability.

1. Introduction: Issues and Related Problems
• The traditional definition of affordable housing is limited, as it only takes into account shelter-
related costs. Yet, the affordability of a location is based on the interdependence and relationship
among various factors, primarily housing and transportation costs.
• Research indicates that nationally, the locations with low-cost housing are limited, in most
cases, to areas remote from transportation options, employment centers and other amenities. As
result, households that live in cost affordable housing have higher transportation costs than the
area's average transportation costs as percentage of households' income. In these cases, the money
saved in shelter costs is spent in transportation, thus, decreasing affordability and increasing cost
burdens for households.
• A location's remoteness is associated with long distances to jobs and retail services, and
limited access to transportation options. Households in these areas have higher number of
vehicles, travel more miles per year, and take less transit trips when compared to other households
in other locations in the region.
Purposes, goals, objectives
• This study examines family household dynamics resulting from a location's affordability
focusing on the association between housing and transportation costs at 65 U.S. Census
communities in Miami-Dade County. In order to:
1. Establish how the relationship between housing and transportation costs relate to
affordability, cost burdens, and the location patterns of households in Miami-Dade County.
2. Compare of the result of the examination with literature analyzing other locations in the
United States.
Methodology
• This study examines the relationship between housing and transportation of 65 U.S. Census
communities in Miami-Dade County using LAI Block Group Data for these areas, found in the
HUD Location Affordability Portal Version 2 website (http://www.locationaffordability.info/) for
median income family households.
• This study analyzes 36 independent variables provided for median-income family households
in the Block Groups of Miami-Dade county.
Overall Combined Housing and Transportation Costs for Median Income Family Households
In Miami-Dade County
.
Results
• Overall, the percentage of housing and transportation costs differ between locations based on
the dynamic of several factors such as income, type of units available, and density. For instance,
units to accommodate households with various incomes and family sizes, and employment
opportunities are not distributed equally across the area of Miami-Dade County.
• Although most communities throughout Miami-Dade County have some units to accommodate
families, most family units are clustered in particular communities. The majority of these
communities have either high cost or low cost housing but not a mix. The supply of affordable
housing stock, particularly units to accommodate family households, is clustered and limited to
areas remote from transportation options and access to jobs and other important amenities
(schools, main hospitals, activity centers). Remoteness from work, schools, and other amenities,
raise the cost of transportation costs for households that live in the existing supply of low-cost
housing. Furthermore, the transportation options for these households are limited because mass
transit is inadequate at remote locations, increasing vehicle reliance.
Conclusions
• The examination results indicate that the dynamics between housing and transportation and
their relation to affordability are similar throughout the United States even for areas such as
Miami-Dade County which has different demographic, social, and financial characteristics than
most counties across the nation.
• Although the location affordability issues in Miami-Dade county are in agreement with the
literature and research describing other areas in the country, the dynamics among factors differ
from place to place, thus, strategies should be tailored to specific area challenges and developed by
local entities.
• Miami-Dade County could address location affordability challenges through the development
of strategies and policies encouraging the involvement of each community towards their
improvement and that of the whole county by coordinating land use, housing and transportation
needs, housing assistance programs, and financial incentives.
• Some of the local approaches to reduce the combined costs of housing and transportation focus
on the preservation and development of affordable housing near existing and planned transit
stations, job centers, and in places with low transportation costs .
Zhayda Reilly
Department of Public Administration, Florida International University
Map of Miami-Dade County Locations. http://www.floridacountiesmap.com/
For further information
• Please contact Zhayda Reilly at: zgarz001@fiu.edu
Patterns in Housing and Transportation Costs Associated
with Location Affordability in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Location Correlations in Miami-Dade County
Selected Correlations For Variables Associations in 65 Locations in Miami-Dade County Pearson
Correlation
P-value
Household Characteristics Associations
Median Income for Owner & Renter Family Households Percentage of Housing and Transportation Costs Combined .855/.917 P<0.001
Median Income for Owner & Renter Family Households Percentage Of Housing Costs .844/.917 P<0.001
Household Size & Family Households Modeled Transit Trips .-751 P<0.001
Household Size & Family Households Transportation Costs .724 P<0.001
Household Size & Family Households Percentage of Transportation Costs .714 P<0.001
Household Size & Family Household Number of Autos .711 P<0.001
Number of Autos for Family Households and the Number of Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Per Vehicle .936 P<0.001
Number of Autos for Family Households and the Number of Modeled Annual Transit Trips. -.866 P<0.001
Structural Characteristics
Gross Household Density & Family Household Percentage of Transportation Costs -.766 P<0.001
Gross Household Density & Family Household Number of Autos -.803 P<0.001
Gross Household Density & Family Household Modeled Annual Transit Trips. .970 P<0.001
Percent of Detached Homes & Family Household Percentage of Transportation Costs .866 P<0.001
Percent of Detached Homes & Family Household Number of Autos .900 P<0.001
Percent of Detached Homes & Family Household Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Per Vehicle .786 P<0.001
Percent of Detached Homes & Family Household Modeled Household Annual Transit Trips. -.839 P<0.001
Transportation Costs Association for Family Households
Percentage of Transportation Costs for Family Households & Number of Autos .986 P<0.001
Percentage of Transportation Costs for Family Households & Annual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) .979 P<0.001
Percentage Of Transportation Costs for Family Households & Modeled Household Annual Transit Trips. -.837 P<0.001