Detroit Archdiocese Hosts Anti-Sprawl Conference

Rapid growth north of Detroit during the lastdecade has created huge traffic jams, crowded schools, and inadequate sewerand water service in new subdivisions. Recommendations from the meetingincluded: having the Michigan DOT set aside 10 percent of its annual budgetfor a regional transit system; better coordination between state and localofficials; coordination of land use to control sprawl and encouragedevelopment in city centers and older suburbs; and sharing the costs ofschools, housing, and public services. "We believe in equity and the commongood and that the social fabric is like a web," an archdiocesan officialtold the paper. "Something that happens in one part of the web affects thoseliving in the other part of the web. Sprawl is starting to have an adverseaffect on the whole."

Thanks to Dateline APA