Transportation and economic development are interdependent. Efficient transportation facilitates economic growth, while rapid development increases demand for transportation. Infrastructure impacts the standard of living and GDP. Improving transportation reduces travel time and costs, expands physical boundaries, and improves quality of life.
Transportation and economic development share a symbiotic relationship. An efficient transportation system facilitates regional development and economic growth. Conversely, rapid community development increases the demand for transportation services. In setting benchmarks and targets for the economy, policymakers need to take into account the impact that transportation and economic development have on the economic health of the area. Critical infrastructure also determines the sustainability of an area’s standard of living.
Politicians and community leaders support transportation policies as a form of economic development because the right infrastructure connects people, businesses and resources as efficiently as possible. Reducing the time an employee spends commuting to work or transporting and receiving key inputs increases productivity. Being able to access resources quickly and deliver goods or services faster through better infrastructure allows a company to operate more efficiently and improves its ability to compete with companies outside the region or country in which it is based.
Transportation and economic development affect the gross domestic product (GDP) of an area. GDP is the value of all goods and services produced within a region or country. Communities with companies that can meet their consumption needs quickly spend more than their income on products manufactured by those companies. As a result, these firms are able to expand or raise the wages of their workers. Also, as such companies are able to access the resources needed for production, communities are able to use the transportation system to export goods to other areas and need to import less.
Communities are able to expand their physical boundaries with improvements to the transportation system or infrastructure. Citizens do not feel obliged to live closer to their places of employment when a transportation system is in place that reduces travel time or transportation costs. As a result, sparsely populated areas experience a population boom leading to economic development through increased property values and investment in shops or businesses that cater to the needs or wants of new residents.
Transport and economic development also improve the quality of life of citizens. Community expansion reduces the concentration of people in a specific area. As a result, pollution is reduced and the general well-being of the population as a whole increases. This produces a healthy and productive workforce and allows the region to invest in continued economic growth rather than spending public funds addressing health crises of resource scarcity due to high population levels.
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