Munich: A Marvel Of Smart Growth and Urban Planning

"Many, who begin reading this might have a knee-jerk reaction and think "liberal-waco" on his soap-box preaching Socialism.

However, my agenda in this piece isn't to offer Socialistic solutions for the United States. I firmly believe the United States can maintain a free-market economy, lower taxes and increase living standards, by implementing many ideas found in sprawl-free cities like Munich. Its clear in looking at many Western Cities, where substantial growth has occurred in the past fifty-years, compared to Eastern Cities, where substantial growth occurred prior to WWII-- that the Western United States is growing with very little regard for land conservation or smart growth policy.

As a result of European land conservation, many of their cities both large and small are centralized, dense, vibrant and full of slender people walking around town doing their errands. I first witnessed European land-use on a bicycle touring trip from Paris to Amsterdam. This trip made me wonder why our cities are not working to preserve our open-spaces, views and mountains, especially in such a naturally beautiful place as Utah? Why instead are we so car convienience oriented? Where the top priorities are freeway infrastructure resulting complete car dependence."