Maryland Lays Out Plan to Combat Sprawl

Writing for The Atlantic, Eric Jaffe reports:

"To service this auto-centric growth, the state will need to build thousands of miles of new roads at a cost of billions of dollars. In addition to construction costs, building roads to serve sprawl carries a relative cost of rendering existing transit systems less effective. That's a particular burden for low-income residents who can't afford locate close to main mass transit lines, since the cost of owning a car in Maryland is estimated by the plan at $8,500 a year."

"The solution proposed by PlanMaryland is to increase housing density in areas that already have roads, water systems, and transit access - in other words, to build upon the built."