Rick Harrison argues that smart growth looks good on paper, but in application the density creates a whole host of problems.
"One goal of Smart Growth is to move our society away from dependence on cars, and many Smart Growth plans intentionally make it difficult to drive through the neighborhood, making walking more inviting. Smart Growth planners advocate short blocks in a grid pattern to distribute traffic (vehicular and pedestrian) evenly within a development. These short blocks produce a multitude of 4-way intersections, and add a multitude of those trendy "turnabouts," to make a bland site plan look more interesting.
But all of this together destroys 'flow'. On the other hand, in a grid planned neighborhood you might drive a straight line with an occasional turn, giving the impression of a much shorter drive than a curved subdivision. But with short blocks, a driver must stop completely, pause, then when safe accelerate through the intersection onto the next intersection, then repeat multiple times. This scenario uses a tremendous amount of energy; the car eats gas."
FULL STORY: Smart Growth? Or Not So Bright Idea?
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.
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
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MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
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Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
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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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie