“When people bought homes, they punched the numbers and said can we afford the mortgage payment and taxes,” Katz said. “This new paradigm is going to have families being more deliberate about the cost of transportation spending and energy costs. That’s a new phenomenon in the United States. That will be the change that will change development patterns.”

From “Gas Prices Apply Brakes To Suburban Migration” in a recent Washington Post article.

Flickr photo by greenasian

What it means: I think the insight around people starting to take transportation costs into account in their major life decision “business cases” is eye opening. Is there a potential impact on local shopping in the long run?  What about the creation of a local search tool that takes into account your local search footprint?  Should you drive to a Costco inside a power center to buy your paper towels or should you walk to your local grocery store even though it might cost you more at the cash register?  It seems like a nice add-on to any mapping/driving directions service.