How To Get From Sprawl To Smart Growth

In an editorial in the Boston Globe, Matthew J. Kiefer, a land use attorney at Goulston & Storrs in Boston, writes: "Only government can solve sprawl. Meaningful smart-growth measures require the use of basic governmental powers of taxation, appropriation, and regulation at the federal and state level to promote important public policy goals. These measures involve shifting government subsidies, both overt and hidden, from exurban areas to cities. They include an increase in the gas tax, with revenues earmarked for urban mass transit, commuter rail, bike, and pedestrian improvements; urban growth boundaries that prevent the expenditure of public funds to extend roads, sewers, and school systems further into exurbia; and increased funding to repair and rebuild aging urban infrastructure."

Thanks to Chris Steins