Author Motavalli discusses the corporate lobby that created the conditions for sprawl, and the movement to supplant sprawl with smart growth.
In this excerpt from his upcoming book "Breaking Gridlock: Moving Toward Transportation That Works," Motavalli analyzes how in the 1950s "master builders," highway lobbyists, private motor enthusiasts and automobile companies deliberately created the urban reliance upon the automobile, which is responsible for the urban sprawl of today. Heavily financed highway lobbyists, such as the American Automobile Association, continue today to steer policy and funding in favor of building more roads and less public transportation. However, Motavalli also illustrates current examples ofsuccessful anti-sprawl or "smart growth" measures, which create municipal plans for controlled, environmentally sensitive development.
Thanks to California Policy Forum
Read the full story: BREAKING GRIDLOCK: Sprawling Out
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority