Public Goods

Few of us engaged in the fight for better public transportation would disagree with author Malcolm Gladwell when he says, “There is enormous power in the concept of the public good.” But would we really expect that power to show up tangibly in the heart health of a small Pennsylvania town?

Those of us who had the chance to hear Gladwell speak at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Public Transportation Association certainly see the connection. Delivering the keynote address for the October 3-6 event, the bestselling author of The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers: The Story of Success brought a unique and powerful perspective on public transportation to the table – and made his most compelling points though the story of Roseto, PA.

As Gladwell explained, Roseto was settled in the late 19th century by immigrants from Italy and, for decades, thrived economically and socially as close-knit Italian-American community. A chance conversation among area physicians in the late 1950’s led to the discovery that the town experienced extremely low rates of heart disease as compared to surrounding communities. An academic study comparing Roseto with neighboring towns found that the key factor in keeping residents healthy was not diet, exercise, low tobacco use or genetics. Instead, it credited community cohesion and civic-mindedness with the community’s heart strength.

Isolated during its beginnings from older, surrounding communities by anti-immigrant discrimination, Roseto developed a community strongly focused on familial loyalty, civic institutions and social equality. Roseto’s citizens disapproved of overt displays of wealth and status, participated in social clubs, revered their elders and observed rituals and traditions. It was noted that they often went out on walks in the town, patronized local businesses and ate meals with extended family and friends. In other words, Roseto treasured communal life and public resources. The study’s authors state that “the community was their base of operations and each inhabitant felt a responsibility for its welfare and quality.”

Having first studied the town in 1960, the study’s authors returned in 1985 to re-examine heart disease rates and attitudes toward community. They found that younger generations had moved from the town center to suburban areas, walked less, drove more, and stopped going to church as much. They patronized large supermarkets rather than neighborhood groceries, placed their elderly parents in nursing homes instead of their own, and more earnestly pursued material wealth.

Did this communal change of heart have an impact on the residents’ hearts? Apparently, yes. During the same timeframe, rates of heart disease, hypertension and deaths from heart attacks rose to close the gap between Roseto and surrounding areas. The study authors attributed this to the social change in the community. As Roseto lost its unique sense of communal life, it also lost its uniquely high level of public health.

What does this have to do with public transportation? Think about the makings of a close-knit community like Roseto. Members of the older generations had abundant opportunities to develop relationships with one another. They walked more than they drove, so they apparently had safe places to walk through the town. They came together in clubs and churches, so there must have been plentiful public space available for those types of activities. Businesses were small and locally owned, meaning that customers routinely interacted both with owners and fellow patrons.

Now think about what public transportation is, and what it can achieve. It is a public good in which the entire community invests and which all are entitled to use. It is a resource that can enable us to forgo the expense of private car ownership and feel secure in our ability get to where we need to go. It enhances social equality by providing transportation opportunities to the poor and the disabled. It goes hand-in-hand with pedestrian-friendly business and residential districts. It provides us with a venue for becoming familiar with our neighbors, if only because we see the same faces day in and day out. It decreases congestion, pollution and wear-and-tear on our streets. And, as in Roseto, public transportation can even enhance our physical health – a notion further supported by the weight lost by commuters in Charlotte, N.C., who switched from their cars to a new rail line.

During his address, Mr. Gladwell asked his audience to think about what it would be like to be billionaires. With access to every private good conceivable, what more would we want? His answer? Plenty… of public goods. We’d still want clean air to breathe, safe water to drink, adequate protection from disaster or crime, less time spent in traffic and more time spent at home with our families. In other words, he suggests that we’d want more of the sorts of things the good citizens of Roseto valued … and the sorts of things that, judging by the evidence, did their hearts good.

The question then becomes, how strong a link do you see between the public good and your own personal well-being, and how are you willing to invest in that link?