Preserving The American Dream By Cost Not Coercion

Writing in an PLANetizen Op-Ed, Randal O'Toole argues that smart growth is incompatible with the American dream because smart growth leads to more traffic congestion and less affordable housing. Urban-growth boundaries, impact fees, and land-use regulations drive up the cost of housing. Compact cities will almost always be more congested than low-density ones because the reductions in per capita driving that accompany density never match the density increases. The exceptions would be compact cities that have lots of highways, but rail transit exacerbates congestion because it diverts funds from highway improvements that could do far more to keep people mobile. Smart growth fails in other ways, too, leading to more air pollution, higher urban-service costs, and less urban open space.

Thanks to Chris Steins