Conservative opponents of Smart Growth often decry the role of government in establishing the regulations and investments that incentivize it. But, as Bradley Heard points out, all development rights, smart or sprawling, depend on big government.
Taking as his jumping off point a recent white paper from the conservative Heritage Foundation that lambastes the anti-market and anti-civil liberty policies of smart growth, Heard actually finds agreement with their core argument. "It's true that smart growth regulations infringe on the market," he says.
"But," he continues, "that's true of all development regulations—and of property rights themselves. By design, all property regulations constrain individuals' freedom of choice to decide how to acquire and use property. It's also true that pushing one form of development over another infringes on the market in a different and greater way than simply guaranteeing property ownership. But this too is a necessary evil of all development regulations."
Echoing President Obama's infamous jibe that "you didn't build that," Heard points out that critics of smart growth based on the principle that government intrusion upon the free market is objectionable are missing the big picture. "You can't build one of those suburban subdivisions—or even one of those fancy new mixed-use 'town centers' in the center of nowhere—unless the government blesses, builds, and maintains the roads, schools, sewers, and utilities to serve it."
"Meanwhile, smart growth requires a lot less government infrastructure than sprawl," argues Heard. "It also results in huge savings to taxpayers. By making communities walkable and bikeable, and locating them close to mass transit, smart growth reduces commutes, conserves important environmental resources, and facilitates more healthy lifestyles. And yes, as with suburban sprawl, smart growth also requires big government."
"Whether the Heritage Foundation and the Tea Party care to admit it or not, it's always been the case that individual property owners can only use property in accordance with the regulations set by the government. The right and responsibility to determine how land is used belongs to the government, for the benefit of the people as a whole, and it always has. That's necessary for modern civilization."
Read the full story: All development rights depend on big government
Congestion Costing Reality Check, Part 2: A congestion costing critique
There are good reasons to be skeptical of highway industry claims that traffic congestion is a growing problem. Their analysis is often incomplete and biased. Let’s pull back the curtain on some major congestion cost studies.
Maine Law Promotes Smart Growth
New state legislation encourages cities to plan around ‘smart growth’ principles to preserve farmland and open space, and use infill development to build more housing.
A Better Understanding of Smart Growth Benefits
Smart Growth creates compact, multimodal communities where residents consume less land, drive less, and rely more on non-auto modes. Planners have important stories to tell about the benefits of Smart Growth.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello