Building Smart-Growth Communities

prawl, the dominant land-use pattern since World War 11, has bloated S the boundaries of metropolitan areas with its high per capita rate of land consumption. In the past year alone, a score of states have identified runaway suburban development as one of their most pressing environmental problems. “Imagine a city where neighborhoods are pedestrian-friendly, and residents can walk to shops and schools or take public transit to work,” mused Harriet Tkegoning, EPA director of urban and economic development. In this city, big companies help fund development of these neighborhoods because their reduced reliance on cars provides a more efficient way to reduce air pollution than expensive controls on [industrial] point sources, she said. By concentrating development in traditional town centers, the city reduces land consumption and environmental pollution, and by linking environmental quality and quality of life, the city is able to attract economic development while holding in check the number of vehicle miles traveled per household, she explained. What Tregoning describes is smart growth, which has been proposed as an antidote to the environmental impacts associated with suburban sprawl development. Although experts debate whether this wil really provide environmental benefits, states are forging ahead with smart-growth experiments in land use policy. What states must determine is what will be the most effective and efficient way to attain these environmental benefits. “This may sound futuristic, but it isalreadyhappening in h s Angeles, Califor-