By Davina Duerr / For The Herald

Climate change, traffic gridlock, suburban sprawl and homelessness are all critical issues today.

Yet they’re symptoms of a bigger problem. One that requires a smart, coordinated solution.

And the conventional wisdom is wrong. Saving the planet, fixing our commutes and making housing more affordable isn’t inherently expensive. Addressing the roots of these intertwined problems would save us time and money.

Solutions start at home: Where we live determines our commutes, housing costs and energy use. When it comes to housing and homelessness, the traditional response is building new housing in the suburbs. Yet suburban sprawl is the most expensive possible option.

With traffic, the typical solution — widening highways — is also the most costly one. Building more lanes subsidizes pollution and doesn’t solve traffic gridlock. Los Angeles added lane after lane to its highways, yet traffic is worse than ever.

If we want to drive less and pay less, we need better planning.

Right now, forests and farms are cleared for housing in the suburbs. That means spending mountains of tax dollars to build new roads, water treatment plants and fire stations to feed that sprawl.

Imagine how much we could save if we planned for smarter growth in cities, which already have those public buildings and services. That includes mass transit, which is smarter for the environment and far cheaper than building more lanes of highway.

Better planning can also create more walkable communities where people can bike or take public transit. Diverse housing, like mother-in-law-units and duplexes, puts people closer to work, shopping, school and services. Even part-time remote work can seriously reduce traffic and pollution.

And when we do travel, electric vehicles are a great solution for our air quality and our wallets. Think about never paying for another oil change again.

Here in Washington, we’re also converting ferries into hybrids, electrifying buses and testing electric airplane prototypes. All of those choices save money in the long term — and help our planet.

Changing how we travel: Our solution starts at home, but it doesn’t stop there. Whenever you leave the house, you’re usually in another building or traveling to one, and buildings are huge drivers of climate change. Tracking energy use and carbon dioxide emissions are great tools to evaluate their climate cost.

Nationwide, homes account for 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Commercial buildings account for 16 percent, making a total of 36 percent of our emissions coming from buildings.

How we travel from building to building, through the traffic and endless sprawl, is another big piece of our carbon footprints, accounting for another 36 percent of energy use and carbon emissions.

The last piece is industrial emissions, at 29 percent. And we control that, too, based on what we buy and consume.

Another solution is managing parking. Much traffic in any downtown is from people circling the block. The average Seattleite spends 58 hours a year looking for a spot.

Some cities solved this by turning parts of downtown into pedestrian-only zones, using streets for outdoor dining, farmer’s markets, music, and art.

Our choice: All these pieces of our lives are interconnected, and that’s why it’s time to change the debate when it comes to saving the planet.

We don’t have to choose between solving for traffic or fixing the housing crisis. And we don’t have to choose between good jobs and giving our children a healthy, inhabitable Earth.

The best way to tackle these problems is by seeing them as a whole; and finding creative solutions that save us time and money while improving the quality of life. For all of us.

Stae Rep. Davina Duerr, D-Bothell, represents the 1st Legislative District. She is a professional architect and longtime Bothell resident.