Trains, Planes and Automobiles: The impact of transportion policy on family psychosocial health

Regardless of income, family transportation options are broadly influenced by policy at national, state and local levels, Proximity of housing to work, school and other family destinations, and access to public transportation and safe and easy walking or biking reflect decision made outside the family. At the family level, income and place of residence produce major differences in family options regarding transportation. For well off families with a variety of options for getting to work, school and recreation, choices about transportation both reflect and shape family relationships and family interactions with the broader community. For low income families, constraints around transportation (for example, the need to use an old unreliable car requiring frequent repairs to get to work or relying on others) may produce a cascade of trade-offs and constraints in other areas (including limiting employment and housing options). In both cases, transportation has subtle effects on relationships between parents and between parents and children and more generally on child-rearing and social engagement of family members with important consequences for family health.