Smart Growth is beginning to flourish (finally) in many cities across the U.S. Based on the principles of sustainable development (gasp! those tree-huggers!) people are finally realizing the benefits of sound urban design.
So, what does this left-wing fanatical communisitc engineering entail? How about not paying $150,000 a year to have your highway medians mowed and instead using the patch of land for trees which would later be harvested? Or, having 8X the open space in your neighborhood? And I bet you wouldn't mind not ever having to drive to work every morning only to sit in traffic? Sound too good to be true? Its not.
Chattanooga is on the right track with urban growth and design and Karen Hundt, a local urban planner, was recently put on the hot seat over at Grist.
Take-home messages:
--"The world is run by the people who show up," i.e. get involved in your urban planning commission.
--2 biggest challenges stopping Smart Growth: public policies in the form of development codes and all that money that goes to the Dept. of Transportation every year---just for upkeep of all that concrete.
3 comments:
Japhet,
I think your reference to the "take home message" is outstanding. Keep up the good blogging.
I appreciate the link to Hundt's q&a and her words on the new-old concept of mixed-use development placing our living/resource/activity sites in close enough proximity to curb car use.
Glad you're blogging -- especially concerning environmental issues where you're equipped to keep (& get) others in the loop.
Phit,
What an educational Q& A! It is great you are blogging and creating more awareness on such issues as mixed-use development and sustainable development. These ideas are being implemented more and more throughout the US, which is a sign of good things to come.
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