City gets funding to develop transit hubs

The city is teaming up with local governments in Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties and four Connecticut cities to combat sprawl by building up the neighborhoods surrounding transit hubs. Thanks to a $3.5 million funding grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City will work to develop plans for new housing and commercial space around public transportation, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, which is overseeing the effort, this marks the first time since the Nixon administration that federal funding has been allocated for regional planning. The hope is that if an increasing demand for housing is met with inventory near transportation, the need for families to use cars will be reduced, and energy use will drop. [WSJ]