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The average American family spends nearly 60 percent of its budget on housing and transportation costs. So, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are partnering to help families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options and lower transportation costs.

The departments recently created an interagency task force to better coordinate federal transportation and housing investments, and integrate regional housing, transportation and land use planning and investment.

HUD and USDOT have proposed a plan to provide grants to metropolitan areas and create mechanisms to ensure the plans are carried through to communities. The USDOT will encourage regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations to conduct an integrated planning program as part of their next long-range transportation plan updates.

The task force also will help metropolitan areas plan for growth, and apply federal transportation, housing and other investments using an integrated approach to support that plan; develop federal housing affordability measures that include transportation and other costs; develop livability measures; identify opportunities for USDOT and HUD to better coordinate their programs; and conduct research, collect data and develop outreach programs.