Consider Where You Live

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How to take action

• Know the true costs of different forms of home ownership – consider both the standard fees and costs, such as realtor fees, property taxes, utilities and maintenance, plus "location costs" – those that relate to the location of your home. (Note that the larger your home, the higher some of the standard costs will be.)
• Location costs are sometimes financial, and sometimes less easy to measure. If a home's location has little or no convenient transit service, for example, you may be dependent on a personal car (or perhaps two cars). That's a financial burden you can't escape – and that you might choose to avoid if you lived near a good transit option. Consider how much more quickly you might be mortgage free if you didn't have to support the cost of a car.
• Being dependent on a personal vehicle may have intangible costs too, by limiting your options for walking or cycling (health opportunity costs) to destinations, and driving up the amount of time you spend behind the wheel of a car instead of on other things. Being car dependent also makes it hard to reduce your carbon footprint.
• Choose a home near to services, shopping, and amenities (park, recreation facilities, library, etc.) The closer these are to your home, the less time and money you will spend travelling to reach them. And the fewer greenhouse gases you'll produce.
• Look for a location that helps reduce the distance you need to travel to work. Commuting by car drives up your environmental impact, and your costs.
• Choose a home located near a car-sharing network, or where there are good ride-sharing options; if you're seeking a condo, look for a building that has car-share cars planned in. Having the choice to share a car instead of owning can save significant amounts of money.
• Look for a location where it will be possible to walk your kids to school. Learning to walk to important destinations will help them learn a reduced-car lifestyle and establish good fitness habits.
• Choose a neighbourhood that's pedestrian-friendly, with sidewalks, pedestrian crossing lights, and inviting streets. You'll be more likely to walk if it feel safes and enjoyable. A neighbourhood with bike routes and lanes is an even bigger plus! Calculate your potential neighbourhood's "Walk Score" to see how it compares to others in terms of walkability.
• Compare neighbourhoods for their sustainable features, such as village atmosphere, safety, environmental and personal health. There's an increasing body of literature offering ideas and analysis about how different styles of neighbourhood can affect your life, costs, and the environment.

Why it makes a difference

• The less you depend on a car for routine distances such as work, shopping, or school drop-off, the greater your overall reduction of greenhouse gases. Research shows that even the layout of streets can make a significant reduction on emissions. In neighbourhoods with a grid layout and mixed uses, driving distances are 24-50% less than in residential-only neighbourhoods with large blocks and cul-de-sacs. Curved streets increase driving time and also the cost of road maintenance (because streets are longer). Grid-pattern streets help shorten trip times, which also makes cycling and walking more attractive.
• Thirty-minutes of walking each day reduces the risk of obesity, heart disease, and stroke. People who live where their homes are within walking distance of shops and services are 2.4 times more likely to reach the recommended minimum daily exercise as those who do not have the option of walking. Moderate exercise also helps reduce the risk of high blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, and colon cancer. Living where it is easy to walk makes good health sense.

For more information

• Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living
• Why Sustainable Transportation Choices are Smart