If Washington-area Smart Growth advocates were serious, they’d want to fix this first
C.P. Zilliacus, American Dream Coalition
Not surprisingly, the American Dream Coalition promotes the idea that those who want to live in the suburbs should be able to. The suburbs of Washington D.C. house no small number of smart growth supporters—but clearly they support high-density neighborhoods for other people, and not for themselves. There is an inherent hypocrisy, the article suggests, in proponents of smart growth who live in the suburbs. C.P. Zilliacus argues this week that it is unfair to expect people to live in urban rather than suburban areas if they have children attending the local public schools. Smart growth, of course, advocates mixed neighborhoods precisely so that a more equitable division of resources will go to area schools, but the argument that the schools need to be improved first in order to make the urban environment an appealing one is fair.
Act Locally: Ten Steps Toward Sustainability — Step 5: Enact Environmentally-Friendly Land Use Laws
Steven Filler, GreenCounsel, New York
GreenCounsel’s list of ten ways in which communities can approach a greater sustainability most recently listed smart growth and related land-use laws as the fifth on its list. The article advocates the use of zoning laws to preserve environmentally sensitive areas, limit the footprint of development, and to provide incentives for developers who build with environmentally-friendly energy and substances.
“Smart Growth?”
Around Natick, Natick, MA
This blog has an ongoing discussion of a proposed smart growth development in Natick; many of the features of smart growth are perceptively analyzed through the lens of of these specific plans. The author of the blog proposes on a number of occasions that the new development may have more to do with tax revenue than community consciousness. In this particular post, the situation in Natick is contrasted with that of the nearby town Weston. Also take a look at the post Smartgrowth from Pulte.
Sprawl–what is it good for?
My Left Nutmeg, Connecticut
Conversely, author ‘commonweal’ suggests that the tax structure in Connecticut is what is responsible for suburban sprawl. Reliance on property tax for municipal expenditures, such as the public education system, creates a pressure to develop all available land for funding. Consequently, land is purposely developed inefficiently so that it will yeild a larger tax revenue. The author puts forth a sharp, suprising analysis of Connecticut’s suburban sprawl, asserting that “far from being the result of a free market system, urban sprawl is the direct consequence of government subsidies, intense corporate lobbying and manipulation through the legalized bribery we call campaign contributions, and stifling zoning regulations that have limited the choices Americans have when it comes to where we live and how we get from place to place.”
Smart Growth is Still Vital
RiteOn.org, St. Charles County, Missouri
RiteOn.org’s “Independent Conservative Voice” assesses the importance of smart growth to constituents and politicians of its local Missourian community. Recent electoral results might suggest that smart growth was of no concern, but a meeting of the County Council proved otherwise. The author notes that politicians have the choice to serve self interests, in which case they will pander to developers and their possible monetary support, or community interests, in which case they will support smart growth, which has a high showing amongst voter concerns. “Self interest on the part of politicians is common and we might even say legitimate in many instances, no question,” the article asserts, “but in this case, in a county where traffic congestion, water pollution problems and inadequate roads are noticeably impacting the quality of life, it makes more sense to set self interest aside and, among other things, take precautions to protect water quality.”