"The new "abundance" agenda can deliver a wealth of equitable transportation options - but only if its proponents recognize how our glut of highways has contributed to the "scarcity" they say they hope to tackle, advocates are saying.Inspired by the Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's book of the same name, "abundance" became a political buzzword across America in 2025, inspiring a universe of think-pieces and justification for a raft of deregulatory policy proposals."
""The argument sort of goes that there's too many administrative burdens for construction in these sectors, includingtransportation, which makes building these sorts of projects all but impossible, creating a scarcity that abundance seeks to solve for," Crowther said. "[But] it's left the idea of 'transportation abundance' undefined. ... Is the transportation abundance agenda really about building more highways? Is that what Americans really need? Or do we already have an overabundance of them? And if not highways, what should we be aiming for?""
The 'abundance' idea surged as a 2025 political buzzword and has been invoked to justify a range of deregulation proposals across sectors. The transportation interpretation of abundance remains unclear and may conflict with equity goals, especially under an administration that has demonized social justice. The original abundance argument targets administrative burdens in housing and energy but often omits how people will access new homes without adequate transportation. Policymakers are already using abundance to shape transportation policy, raising questions about whether additional highways are the solution or whether investment should prioritize multimodal access and community-centered mobility.
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