Induced demand

Phenomenon in which supply increases lead to a cycle of increased consumption

In transportation planning, induced demand, also called "induced traffic" or consumption of road capacity, has become important in the debate over the expansion of transportation systems, and is often used as an argument against increasing roadway traffic capacity as a cure for congestion. Induced traffic may be a contributing factor to urban sprawl and affordable housing. City planner Jeff Speck has called induced demand "the great intellectual black hole in city planning, the one professional certainty that every thoughtful person seems to acknowledge, yet almost no one is willing to act upon." The inverse effect, known as reduced demand, is also observed.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA. More on occurri.