Vehicle miles traveled: An improved, but imperfect, traffic metric (opens in new tab)

Opponents of new developments often argue that more construction will bring more traffic, frequently convincing developers to reduce the scale of their projects or seek out less densely populated areas to build. Although such compromises may lead to less congestion on the road, they don't necessarily reduce driving and driving's associated environmental effects. But what if how much a community actually drives provides a better measure of how a new development stands to affect a neighborhood?