Smart Growth and Greenhouse Gas Reduction
May 3, 2010
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The "Smart Growth" addition to the Environmental Protection Agency's Local Government Climate and Energy Guides has been added to the Best Practices.
40 Years Of Smart Growth In 11 Minutes
April 5, 2010
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The history of Arlington County's transit-oriented development is explained in a new 11 minute video that features Planning Director Bob Brosnan. The video covers how the county has applied the principles of smart growth in Arlington.
"Forty years ago Arlington came up with a vision," Brosnan explains. "That vision was to focus growth in about 11 percent of the county -- two corridors -- to focus high density, mixed-use development within a quarter mile of the two Metro systems to preserve the remaining 89 percent of the county between single family, garden apartments and the open space that was out there and then to define hard edges to this existing single family areas for the most part on either side of the corridors and then to provide transitions to those. We set a land-use plan in place that said what the board's desire, general uses and densities, were."
The vision and the fact that subsequent city officials kept faith with that vision is why…
"Forty years ago Arlington came up with a vision," Brosnan explains. "That vision was to focus growth in about 11 percent of the county -- two corridors -- to focus high density, mixed-use development within a quarter mile of the two Metro systems to preserve the remaining 89 percent of the county between single family, garden apartments and the open space that was out there and then to define hard edges to this existing single family areas for the most part on either side of the corridors and then to provide transitions to those. We set a land-use plan in place that said what the board's desire, general uses and densities, were."
The vision and the fact that subsequent city officials kept faith with that vision is why…
Job Sprawl and the Suburbanization of Poverty
April 1, 2010
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The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution has released a report on job decentralization and the challenges of the poor as more and more jobs move to the suburbs.
"Understanding the association between employment decentralization and the suburbanization of poverty is important because of the continued growth of the suburban poor," write the report's authors. "In 2005, the suburban poor outnumbered their city counterparts by almost one million. And during the first year of the recession that began in 2007, suburbs added more than twice as many poor people as did their cities."
The report, "Job Sprawl and the Suburbanization of Poverty" by Steven Raphael and Michael A. Stoll, suggests that the responsiveness of the poor to the outward movement of jobs, particularly racial and ethnic minority poor, does not appear to be as strong as that for the population…
"Understanding the association between employment decentralization and the suburbanization of poverty is important because of the continued growth of the suburban poor," write the report's authors. "In 2005, the suburban poor outnumbered their city counterparts by almost one million. And during the first year of the recession that began in 2007, suburbs added more than twice as many poor people as did their cities."
The report, "Job Sprawl and the Suburbanization of Poverty" by Steven Raphael and Michael A. Stoll, suggests that the responsiveness of the poor to the outward movement of jobs, particularly racial and ethnic minority poor, does not appear to be as strong as that for the population…
Re-Thinking Transportation Options In Suburbia
March 5, 2010
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Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium has released a study that proposes ways to transform suburban multifamily housing into more livable, less congested suburban communities by making them multi-modal and shifting the planning, development and design practices.
"Overlooked Density: Rethinking Transportation Options in Suburbia" notes that suburban multifamily housing has been the largest growing housing market in this country since 1970 and currently accounts for almost one in four units of housing in suburbia according to U.S. Census figures covering 1973 through 2005.
The fact that these housing developments can reach densities of 30 to 40 units/acre and are usually located along arterials and adjacent to commercial and retail development creates a potential model of smart growth in suburbia.
"The potential exists to create more integrated,…
"Overlooked Density: Rethinking Transportation Options in Suburbia" notes that suburban multifamily housing has been the largest growing housing market in this country since 1970 and currently accounts for almost one in four units of housing in suburbia according to U.S. Census figures covering 1973 through 2005.
The fact that these housing developments can reach densities of 30 to 40 units/acre and are usually located along arterials and adjacent to commercial and retail development creates a potential model of smart growth in suburbia.
"The potential exists to create more integrated,…
A Tweet History Of The New Partners For Smart Growth Gathering
February 10, 2010
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Reconnecting America's Jeff Wood attended the New Partners for Smarth Growth conference in Seattle, Feb. 4-6, 2010. Below are the Tweets from Reconnecting America (@reconnecting) and others who attended.
User Date Time Tweet
mikemathieu
2/8/10
5:02 PM
@jhiskes You must have missed @mrlerner's Walk Score talk at #npsg10 Also check out NRDC on Location Efficiency
Cal_Plan
2/7/10
2:24 PM
Troika of federal agencies lay out coordinated smart growth effort. Billions of dollars for locals. http://ow.ly/14QcJ #smartgrowth #npsg10
DanBurden
2/7/10
1:23 PM
RT @walkable: Sac similar RT @reconnecting Steve Sugg: University Place Wasington road diet reductions-54% crash, 55% injury, 7% speed, 4% volume #npsg10
LandPlanner
2/7/10
12:56 PM
RT @reconnecting: Dan Kildee: Spending $3.5m clearing blighted areas unlocked $112m in value Mich State Study #npsg10
jacutanz
2/7/10
9:28 AM
RT @Cal_Plan: RT @cv4nash: Ben Yazici: corridor instead of intersection LOS allows non motorized…
The Link Between Sprawl And Mortgage Defaults
January 28, 2010
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The theory that the mortgage default crisis was not only a consequence of lax lending standards or predatory lending or uninformed consumers, but also a result of urban sprawl has received important empirical support from a study by sponsored by the National Resources Defense Council.
"Reducing Foreclosures and Environmental Impacts through Location-Efficient Neighborhood Design" found a direct, statistically significant link between the high costs of personal transportation imposed by poor location efficiency and a much higher risk of default. In one example, the study showed that every dollar saved in transportation cost allowed a family to spend more than $3 more in mortgage payments with no higher probability of default.
The report by Stephanie Y. Rauterkus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Grant I.
"Reducing Foreclosures and Environmental Impacts through Location-Efficient Neighborhood Design" found a direct, statistically significant link between the high costs of personal transportation imposed by poor location efficiency and a much higher risk of default. In one example, the study showed that every dollar saved in transportation cost allowed a family to spend more than $3 more in mortgage payments with no higher probability of default.
The report by Stephanie Y. Rauterkus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Grant I.
TOD's Impact On Single-Family Neighbors
December 17, 2009
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Transit-oriented development is valuable for transit, increasing the number of potential riders near stations. But what impact does situating a mixed-use, higher density project in a suburban setting have on nearby single-family neighborhoods?
The Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University sought to answer that question in its study, "Effect of Suburban Transit Oriented Developments on Residential Property Values."
"The development of successful transit-oriented developments often encounters several barriers," the study notes. "These barriers include: a lack of inter-jurisdictional cooperation, auto-oriented design that favors park and ride lot over ridership-generating uses, and community opposition. The community opposition may be more vocal in suburban areas where residents of predominately single-family neighborhoods may feel that…
Quote of the Day for Nov. 20
November 20, 2009
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Streetsblog SF
California residents living in sprawling suburban developments could save billions of dollars every year if they lived in denser, urban zones and along transit corridors...
Read On
Read On
State Efforts To Encourage TOD
October 30, 2009
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In Maryland, as in most states, urban development questions -- smart growth vs. sprawl -- are issues decided by local commissions and councils. But that doesn't mean the state is without means to encourage best practices in creating sustainable cities.
