In this op-ed, Peter Calthorpe warns against a massive investment to stimulate sprawl as was done after WWII. He notes 3 areas that need smart investment to make the American Dream sustainable: urban transit, environment, and multi-family housing.
"We must not unwittingly (allow the stimulus package to) subsidize another generation of sprawl by overinvesting in new freeways or underwriting remote subdivisions.
The alternative to sprawl is simple and timely: compact neighborhoods of housing, parks, and schools within walking distance of shops, jobs and transit.
Using the power of the federal government to promote such community development requires an integrated effort focused on three areas:
• Transportation funding that moves away from a bias for highway projects and toward transit investment.
• Environmental policy that protects air quality and opens space.
• Federal housing assistance that moves beyond its historic orientations toward single-family hosing to encourage urban redevelopment."
"Just as federal policy set the stage for sprawl with enormous investment in freeways and VA loans that drove sprawl, it must now support a new direction though investments in transit and walk able communities."
Read the full story: Stimulus for the next American Dream
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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