The battle for the White House has reached my inbox, as even listservs about urbanism crackle with endorsements and denunciations of Obama, McCain, Palin, etc. But all of this frenzied activity assumes that what a President says or thinks is particularly relevant to urban issues. But this need not be so. The policy areas most relevant to sprawl and urbanism, land use and transportation, are not likely to be directly affected by the results of the presidential election. In particular, zoning and similar land use issues are generally addressed by state and local governments. Even the most pro-urban president is unlikely to take on anti-infill NIMBYism (1), make strip malls more walkable. or make streets narrower.
The battle for the White House has reached my inbox, as even listservs about urbanism crackle with endorsements and denunciations of Obama, McCain, Palin, etc.
But all of this frenzied activity assumes that what a President says or thinks is particularly relevant to urban issues. But this need not be so. The policy areas most relevant to sprawl and urbanism, land use and transportation, are not likely to be directly affected by the results of the presidential election.
In particular, zoning and similar land use issues are generally addressed by state and local governments. Even the most pro-urban president is unlikely to take on anti-infill NIMBYism (1), make strip malls more walkable. or make streets narrower.
On the other hand, transportation issues are the federal government's business. A significant chunk of road and public transit spending is supplied by the federal government. So in theory, a President could shift transportation spending from highways to public transit or vice versa.
But in recent decades, Congress rather than the White House has decided transportation funding issues. For example, several Administrations (including the last two) have sought to close down Amtrak(2)- yet Amtrak survives. And public transit seems to be independent of Presidential ideology. Under President Bush (not exactly a smart growth champion) federal support for public transit has consistently increased.(3) By contrast, under the Clinton Administration, federal support for transit decreased for years, only to recover in Clinton's last years as the Republican Congress moved towards a more pro-spending position. (4) Because transportation funding is politically popular, Presidents rarely veto transportation funding bills. As a result, Congress gets what it wants even if a President's priorities differ.
This is not to say that the identity of the President will have no effect upon urbanism. Often, policies not intended to affect urban development will be more important than the Administration's official attitude towards sprawl or transit. For example, the current Administration's willingness to tolerate a weak dollar may have contributed to the increase in gas prices, thus making public transit more attractive.
In sum, land use and transportation issues should be highly relevant to your votes for governor and senator, and somewhat relevant to your vote for Congress. But I'm not sure how important such issues should be in deciding who to vote for in the Presidential race.
(1) NIMBY= Not In My Back Yard
(2) See, e.g., http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6942852/ (President Bush)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E2DF1738F935A25752C0… (President Clinton)
(3) http://apta.com/research/stats/factbook/documents08/2008_fundcap_final… , Table 41.
(4) http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/01statab/stlocgov.pdf , Table 420.
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
New York Transit Agency Launches Performance Dashboard
The tool increases transparency about the agency’s performance on a variety of metrics.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Write for Planetizen
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.