CAN WE TAME SPRAWL?

The debate about "smart growth" shows no signs of subsiding. A new study from the Brookings Institute has stoked the debate by suggesting through its findings that "smart growth" champions who advocate a return to denser forms of urban living may be fighting a losing battle. The study, based on 2000 Census data, found that people who usually were drawn to central cities--singles, elderly couples, immigrant households--are increasingly settling in the suburbs. That also happens to be the conclusion of 2 respected observers of urban sprawl and growth management, whose viewpoints are presented in this commentary. The first, a distinguished urban analyst, contends that continued outward dispersal seems inevitable as the nation is expected to grow in population by 23% by 2020. The second, a land use attorney and lecturer, argues that "smart growth" policies aimed at concentrating development in existing urban areas have not gained the political support needed to cause meaningful changes in existing land use patterns.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/1071393X
• Corporate Authors:

  Urban Mobility Corporation

  10200 Riverwood Drive
  Potomac, MD  United States  20854-1536
• Authors:
  • Downs, A
• Publication Date: 2002-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 2 p.
• Serial:
  • Innovation Briefs
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Urban Mobility Corporation
  • ISSN: 1071-393X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Land use planning; Smart growth; Suburbs; Transportation planning; Urban areas; Urban growth; Urban sprawl; Urban transportation policy
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00921064
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 21 2002 12:00AM