Joel Kotkin's muddle-headed theory on babies and urban living is aimed at blocking housing choice for young families, argues Robert Steuteville.
"Insanity has been described as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Anti-smart-growth pundit and New Geography editor Joel Kotkin has been pushing the idea that low US birth rates can be blamed on, in part, urban redevelopment (links here, here, here). Low density suburbs are pro-family places, he argues, and since smart growth and New Urbanism favor compact, mixed-use places, they must be anti-family.
There's one glaring problem with this theory. The birth rate in the United States peaked in 1957. Since that year, the better part of six decades, America suburbanized on a vast scale. We went from a nation that was mostly walkable and mixed-use to one that is characterized by low-density regions accessible by automobile only.
The idea that smart growth and New Urbanism have any effect whatsoever on the birth rate is a humbug."
Read the full story: Density is the new fertility bogeyman
Does Portland's Urban Growth Need a Course Correction?
To curb suburban "sprawl on steroids" and foster higher density infill in Portland, a shift in planning strategy is needed, according to Rick Potestio, the principal of Potestio Studio, an architecture and design firm based in the city.
10 Principles for Smart Growth in Existing Communities
Frustrated by what's passing as "smart growth" and "transit oriented development," Bill Adams postulates ten refinements (or less subtly stated clarifications) of the principles of smart growth and new urbanism.
Maine Law Promotes Smart Growth
New state legislation encourages cities to plan around ‘smart growth’ principles to preserve farmland and open space, and use infill development to build more housing.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Mamdani sent nearly 6,000 pied-à-terre tax warnings to homes that didn’t qualify
A judge has ordered the administration to cancel thousands of pied-à-terre tax notices after it sent 35% of them erroneously.
25 states, cities sue the EPA over erased power plant emissions limits
The coalition also intends to sue the EPA for not regulating emissions from gas-fired power plants.
Newsom vetoes giving CA tribes greater voice in water projects
In his veto letter, Newsom said the bill would add ‘uncertainty’ to the state’s fight to secure Californians’ water supplies.
Michigan Senate votes to revise 'lax' dam safety laws
A Bridge Michigan investigation found more than 100,000 Michigan residents live in the floodpath of a high or significant-hazard dam.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello