The American Dream Does Not Look Like Sprawl

As smart growth gains momentum, opponents plot against it.

1 minute read

February 17, 2003, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


Developers, free market economists, and property rights activists will gather for three days in Washington next week to figure out how to defend a conventional vision of the American Dream that is based entirely on cars, cheap fuel, and suburban sprawl. The organizers of "Preserving the American Dream" conference have billed the gathering as the starting point of a new battle to advance what they view as their right to build anything anywhere. They won't be successful because they are trying to perpetuate arrogant social values, wasteful government practices, and harmful economic trends that history is passing by.

Thanks to Keith Schneider

Monday, February 17, 2003 in Michigan Land Use Institute

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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

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