Urbanists Left and Right

Conservatives are becoming more visible within the smart growth movement; they differ in some ways both from liberal smart growth activists and from conventional conservatives.

2 minute read

February 23, 2014, 6:56 PM PST

By Michael Lewyn @mlewyn


Democratic Donkey & Republican Elephant Logos

DonkeyHotey / Flickr

There is finally a new blog, Smart Growth for Conservatives, focusing on issues of interest to those of us who generally support smart growth and new urbanism, and yet are less politically liberal than most people who do so.

How are conservative smart growthers (or CSGs) similar to their more liberal allies?  Like environmentally minded critics of sprawl, CSGs oppose government subsidies for sprawl and sprawl-generating government regulations.  In particular, quite a few of the new blog's posts focus on wasteful sprawl-generating road spending. 

Having said that, CSGs do tend to differ from other smart growth supporters in a couple of ways.  First, they tend to be fiscal conservatives, and thus skeptical of public amenities that are nice to have but perhaps not absolute necessities.  As a result, they are less consistently supportive of public spending on public transit and pedestrian/bicycle facilities than liberals might be.  Second, some issues that are generally part of today's liberal agenda are deemphasized by CSGs.  In particular, CSGs are less likely to discuss climate change or social diversity than liberal new urbanists.   I also suspect that CSGs are less likely to support smart growth regulations such as Oregon's growth boundaries; but since most Americans don't live in Oregon, CSGs aren't as obsessed with these regulations as are conventional pro-sprawl conservatives. 

Of course, CSGs differ among themselves.  Some CSGs are (as Mitt Romney might say) "severe" fiscal conservatives, and thus tend to be skeptical of all large-scale government expenditures. Personally, I am more of a Nixon Republican - which is to say, although I am less pro-regulation and egalitarian than many liberals, I am willing to support government spending not just as an "investment" (whatever that means) but as a public amenity akin to parks and schools.


Michael Lewyn

Michael Lewyn is a professor at Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, in Long Island. His scholarship can be found at http://works.bepress.com/lewyn.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

33 minutes ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

2 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press