Urban Sprawl Vs. Homeland Security

Thanks to anthrax, our new national hobgoblin, the federal Centers for Disease Control have been in the news a lot these days. Yet a report released by the CDC late in 2001 on a very different public health menace -- urban sprawl -- has gone largely unnoticed. According to the striking findings of the report, "Creating a Healthy Environment: The Impact of the Built Environment on Public Health," unless you are U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, sprawl almost certainly poses a far greater threat to your health than bioterrorism.