linking smart growth with social equity don chen smart growth america racine, wisconsin 11 february...

Linking Smart Growth with Social Equity

Don ChenSmart Growth America

Racine, Wisconsin11 February 2002

Smart GrowthBetter Choices for Our Communities

Precursors to Sprawl Development: Urban Overcrowding


World War II: Austerity Measures


Post War Prosperity: Attaining the American Dream


What is Sprawl?

Sprawl is poorly planned, automobile-dependent development that takes our tax dollars away from our communities and destroys farmland and open space.


The Sprawl MachineUrban Sprawl is supported by a highly

evolved, self-reinforcing system designed to efficiently produce a uniform product.

Street Design

Financing Planning & Zoning

Building CodesInsurance

Building Design

Public Incentives

SPRAWL


Has This Approach to Growth Delivered the Results We

Want?


….Or Not?


“Nearly all of the positive strides we have taken in improving our environmental quality could be reversed is we do not change the way we grow.”

Kaid BenfieldNatural Resources Defense Council

Why Change?


Open Space and Farmland is being Rapidly Consumed

Between 1982 and 1992, the U.S. lost an average of 45.7 acres of farmland per hour, a loss of 4,000,000 acres .


113 Million Americans Live in Cities with Polluted Air

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1 2 3 4

White

AfricanAmericanLatino

Percent of Population

Number of Air Quality Standards Exceeded


Siting of Facilities is a Major Contributor


…and So is Sprawl


“There is a connection between the fact that the urban sprawl we live with daily makes no room for sidewalks or bike paths and the fact that we are an overweight, heart disease-ridden society.”

Dick JacksonDirector of Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s

National Center for Environmental Health

Why Change?


Obesity is at Epidemic Levels

24.3 25 25.4

33.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1960-1962 1971-1974 1976-1980 1988-1991

% Adults Overweight


29.2

28.6

26.3

24.525

25.526

26.527

27.528

28.529

29.5

African Americans MexicanAmericans

Whites

Body Mass Index

People of Color are Disproportionately Affected


Kids of Color are Especially at Risk

9%

12%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

White AfricanAmerican

OverweightChildren


Safety of Pedestrians and Cyclists

Every year, roughly 14% of all traffic deaths are pedestrians and bicyclists. Between 1995 and 1999, 30,812 were killed by motor vehicles.


This is Especially Hazardous for Kids

163

4815

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

School Shootings Cycling andWalking

Fatalities

Causes of Death among Children, 1995-1999


…and Children of Color

46%

54%

62%

38%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

AfricanAmerican and

Latino

White andOther

Child Population

Child Bike andWalk Deaths


“WHEREAS, urban sprawl strains all working families by creating overly-long commuting times, fueling air pollution responsible for skyrocketing children’s asthma rates, creating a lack of affordable housing near jobs, eroding public services, and denying workers a choice about how to get to work….RESOLVED that the AFL-CIO…actively engages in…debates surrounding sprawl and smart growth….”

AFL-CIOResolution #16

Passed December 2001

Why Change?

Huge Potential to Provide Relief for Households

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000

$7,000

$8,000

Shelter

Transport

ation Fo

od

Insuran

ce an

d Pensio

ns

Other H

ousehold

Utilities

Health C

are

Enter

tainm

ent

Apparel

and S

ervice

sEd

ucati

on

Miscellaneo

us

19.0¢ 17.9¢

13.7¢

9.6¢

7.5¢6.8¢

5.4¢ 5.0¢4.8¢

2.1¢

8.4¢

An

nu

al H

ou

seh

old

Sp

en

din

g

Low-Income Families Benefit Most from Reductions in Transportation Expenses

% o

f In

com

e U

sed

For

Tra

nsp

ort

ati

on

Over A Decade, Spending $6,000/year On Car Ownership Creates:

Over-Dependency on Driving Prevents Families From

Accumulating Assets:

The Same Amount Spent On Home Ownership

Creates:

$5,500 in Equity

$28,000 in Equity


Why Change?“….Suburban homeowners successfully pressure their governments to adopt exclusionary zoning laws that make creation of affordable units there impractical. Since each suburban government is politically motivated to act in the interest of its own residents, without regard for the welfare of the region as a whole, this exclusionary attitude dominates the suburbs of almost all U.S. metropolitan areas--especially new-growth suburbs.”

Tony Downs, Senior FellowBrookings Institution

for the Millenial Housing Commission


Today’s Housing Challenge

“There are over 28 million American households from all walks of life, working families, middle income people, the elderly, the handicapped and others, who do not have access to decent, affordable housing.”

Former Congresswoman and Millennial Housing Commission Co-Chair

Susan Molinari


Spatial Mismatch=Long Commutes


Today, metropolitan regions are divided racially and spatially into largely white and affluent suburbs and largely non-white and poor urban centers….I believe bringing racial justice awareness to regionalism is the single most important civil rights task facing us today.”

john powellInstitute on Race and Poverty

Why Change?


Another American Dream


What is Smart Growth?

Smart growth is well-planned development that protects open space and farmland, revitalizes communities, keeps housing affordable and provides more transportation choices.


Ways to Achieve Smart Growth

1. Mix land uses2. Take advantage of compact building design3. Create a range of housing opportunities & choices4. Create walkable neighborhoods5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong

sense of place6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, & critical

environmental areas7. Strengthen and direct development towards existing

communities8. Provide a variety of transportation choices9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, & cost

effective10. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in

development decisions


Smart Growth and the “Four E’s” of Sustainable Development

Encourages greater participation in community planning and design

Creates better choices in transportation, housing, and jobs for all residents

Produces fair growth outcomes and shared benefits for all people

Consumes less land and water, causes less pollution, and preserves wildlife habitatsEnvironment

Economy

Equity

Engagement


New Growth Challenges“Today, uncertainty reigns.”

“Properties in better-planned, growth-constrained markets hold value better in downmarkets and appreciate more in upcycles. Areas with sensible zoning (integrating commercial, retail, and residential), parks, and street grids with sidewalks will age better than places oriented to disconnected cul-de-sac subdivisions and shopping strips, navigable only by car.”

Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2002PricewaterhouseCoopers &

Lend Lease Real Estate Investments


Livability: The Commodity of the Future

• Department of Housing & Urban Development State of the Cities 1999 Report

• National Governors’ Association’s Growing Pains (2000)• National Association of Realtors’ Smart Growth and Open Space Poll (2001)• Professor Richard Florida’s

Forthcoming The Way We Live Today


The Coming Demand

“Home buyers aged 45 and older who prefer dense, more compact housing alternatives will account for 31 percent of total homeowner growth during the 2000-2010 period.”

USC Professors Dowell Myers and Elizabeth Gearin in Housing Policy Debate, Fannie Mae Foundation


The Sprawl SystemUrban Sprawl is a highly evolved, self-

reinforcing system designed to efficiently produce a uniform product.

Street Design

Financing Planning & Zoning

Building CodesInsurance

Building Design

Public Incentives

SPRAWL


Smart Growth is Still the Exception


Brownfields RedevelopmentOn January 11, President Bush signed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, which will provide $200 million annually for brownfields redevelopment.

Revitalizing Communities


Diversity of Housing Choices


Transit without Development


MCI

Infill & Transit-Oriented Development

New Construction Broke Ground 2001


4.7 Million ft2 of Office, Retail, Hotel & Entertainment

1700 Housing Units

$1.5 Billion Investment

Smart Growth Outcomes

Land Used 25 Acres 1300 Acres

Green Space Zero 1200 Acres

Land for Cars Zero 500 Acres

Gallery Place Loudoun County


The Town Of Middleburg, Loudoun County, VA

What Does 1300 Acres Look Like?


Advantages of Infill Development

Infill Sites had:•VMT per capita of 39 to 52 percent of greenfield sites•Shorter travel times•Similar or less congestion;

•NOx and CO2 emissions 52

to 73% of greenfield sites•Public infrastructure costs were 8 to 10% of greenfield sites

US EPA Technical Review, January 2001

-43% -44%

-11%

-19%

-50%

-45%

-40%

-35%

-30%

-25%

-20%

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%GA Med. HMOs Ped. ER GA Hosp.

Less Driving, Better Air Quality

Journal of the American Medical Association, April 2001

Reduction in Acute Asthma Cases During Atlanta Olympics(resulting from 22% decline in traffic counts)


How Smart Growth Reduces Automobile Dependence

• Density• Design• Diversity• Regional Accessibility


Each Individual Factor has a Moderate Impact on Trip Generation and VMT

Elasticity for Vehicle Trips

Elasticity for Vehicle Miles

Traveled

Local Density -.05 -.05

Local Diversity -.03 -.05

Local Design -.05 -.03

Regional Accessibility

-- -.20

Combined Can Reduce Trips By 1/3 to 1/2


Transit Use is Way Up and Growth in Driving is Now Flat


You Are Where You Live

MEMPHIS 42% are overweight

Avg. person walks 40 yds/day

25% are overweight

People Walk 400 yds/day

SAN FRANCISCO


Research and Advocacy Partnerships


Communications and Organizing Campaigns


“Dumb” Growth • Obsolete or Inappropriate Government Rules

and Regulations– Zoning that prohibits mix of commercial, retail,

residential in a project– Rehabilitation codes based on new development – Housing programs that assume plentiful supply of

housing stock in cities– Street design standards that are descended from

highway design geometrics

• Obsolete or Inadequate Private Sector Practices– Minimum parking requirements for development that

is less automobile dependent– Lack of smart growth comparables

• NIMBYs and BANANAs

Twenty Year Buildout with Existing ZoningProposed Codes

What If?


“Dumb” Growth • Obsolete or Inappropriate Government Rules

and Regulations– Zoning that prohibits mix of commercial, retail,

residential in a project– Rehabilitation codes based on new

development – Housing programs that assume plentiful supply of

housing stock in cities– Street design standards that are descended from

highway design geometrics

• Obsolete or Inadequate Private Sector Practices– Minimum parking requirements for development that

is less automobile dependent– Lack of smart growth comparables

• NIMBYs and BANANAs


-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

Newark JerseyCity

Trenton

96-9797-98

Percentage Change in Rehabilitation Spending in Selected New Jersey

Cities


Boosting Civic Engagement


Using New Tools of Analysis

Geographic Information Systems

Satellite Imagery

Impact Analysis

Envision Utah

GIS Aids the Regional Planning Process


Analysis Tools Enable the Development of Different Scenarios


A B

C D

Visualization Tools Ease Decision Making


Giving People a Choice is a Powerful Tool


The NIMBY Issue


Methods of Communicating Visually

Source: Dover Kohl


To Accurately Depict the Future

Source: Dover Kohl


Source: www.urban-advantage.com

Envisioning Change


Before and After…


Boosting Public Involvement

“I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves.

And if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion.”

Thomas Jefferson - 18 September 1820


For More Information

Smart Growth America1100 17th Street, NW 10th Floor

Washington, DC 20036Tel: 202.715.2035

Web: www.smartgrowthamerica.org

linking smart growth with social equity don chen smart growth america racine, wisconsin 11 february...

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