Smart Growth Saves Money

"...Bad times accentuate cost consciousness, and sprawl is incredibly costly, as numerous reports from around the states have made clear. In good times, of course, sprawl accelerates, prompting public outcry. One result: Farmland preservation came to the fore in the late 1990s as Michigan urbanized land an astounding eight times faster than it added population. But when the economy slows and tax collections sag, another rationale for reform comes to the fore: the huge costs to state and local government of providing new highways, new schools and new water pipes to ever-more-far-flung subdivisions."