Living in a low-density place with lots of greenery and open space can feel like a pretty "green" way to live. Maybe you've even got a little garden where you grow delicious tomatoes. And indeed, a lot of people seem to think this is the case. According to this recent YouGov poll (which surveyed 1,000 Americans), 75% of US adult citizens believe that "it's better for the environment if houses are built farther apart." The number drops slightly to 68% for Democrats, but we're still talking about a clear majority.

Most experts will tell you that the opposite is, in fact, true. One of the best ways to be green is to live in a high-density urban setting and get as far away as you can from the natural environment so that you don't screw it up. There are multiple reasons for this, but it generally comes down to the fact that cities use land and other resources far more efficiently on a per capita basis. Smaller living spaces, fewer cars, more things that are shared, and so on.

The reason why this isn't so obvious is that per capita thinking is perhaps harder to grasp. Living in the countryside certainly feels more green than living in the middle of New York City. But what if the 8.5 million or so people in New York City suddenly decided to sprawl outward into the countryside to consume more housing (that would then need to be heated and cooled), and then started driving everywhere (in lieu of taking transit, cycling, and walking)?

This would be a less green outcome. It's about the collective here, not what feels nice and green for any one individual.

Last year, about 10% of all new motor vehicles registered in Canada were some form of electric vehicle (battery, hybrid, or plug-in EV). But this number is rising. And even though we're still early on in the adoption curve, you can live a pretty great life with an electric vehicle today.

The caveats are perhaps as follows: (1) it really helps to have some kind of garage or driveway (so you can install a dedicated charging station) and (2) depending on your lifestyle, you may encounter the occasional feeling of "range anxiety."

I drive to the mountains to go snowboarding every winter and my sense is that we need to get far more serious about blanketing our most densely populated regions with charging stations.

But here's another problem that came up this week in conversation: How do you charge your EV if your only option for parking is on-street?

Do you have to run a cable from your home across the sidewalk? And then what happens if the spot in front, or nearby, isn't available? Is it really going to be feasible/desirable to have charging stations on the sidewalks of every residential street when EV penetration reaches the majority?

This is clearly a problem that will need to be solved, and I know that many people and cities are working on it as we speak. I don't know how advanced this is, but Norway, for instance, is working on wireless charging roads that power up vehicles from below.

What other possible solutions have you seen out there?

Gas prices are up. And here is a chart to support this statement:

If I were trying to be as sensational as possible, I would likely leave things here. But since that is generally not what I try and do with this blog, here is another chart showing gas prices over a longer time horizon.

Shown this way, gas prices don't seem as crazy. In fact, we're only now returning to where prices were back in 2008.

That said, these swings do impact things. And it is interesting to consider how these impacts might be felt differently across different cities.

So here is one more chart from City Observatory looking at the average number of miles driven per person prior to COVID:

One way to think about this chart is that it generally speaks to built form. Compact cities with higher densities and greater access to public transport, generally translates into people driving less.

The result is something that City Observatory refers to as a "green dividend." Less driving, means you save money on cars and gas. And so when gas prices go up, so does your green dividend.

Of course, if you were to get really serious about calculating your green dividend, you'd also want to look at your housing costs, as land prices tend to decline as you sprawl outward.

Ultimately, this is a trade off between housing costs and transportation costs (both direct and indirect, such as the cost of your time).

But I think that there should be another dimension to this green dividend and that is the environmental benefits of less vehicle miles travelled. That too, of course, can be measured.