Housing advocates, public officials, and urban planners have joined forces in Rhode Island with a pledge of $10 million to support the preservation of open space by building more dense, mixed-use communities.
"In a challenge to suburban sprawl, state housing officials yesterday pledged up to $10 million to support the development of more integrated communities, designed to preserve open space."
"Rhode Island Housing's 'KeepSpace' initiative aims to prevent further loss of the state's dwindling forests, and conserve land, energy, water and other natural resources by 'changing the paradigm' of development, Rhode Island Housing's executive director, Richard Godfrey, said at a news conference."
"The new paradigm seeks to recast the negative associations with 'density' by creating attractive yet more compact communities that offer easy access to shopping, jobs and public transportation. This design would reduce reliance on a major source of energy consumption and pollution - the automobile."
