SMART PLANNING HAS MORE OF US LIVING WHERE WE WORK
Posted on 04.30.08
By: Craig Thomas, OGC.com
What if gasoline reached $9 a gallon at the pump? How would that change the way you live?
It wasn’t so long ago that we scoffed at Europeans paying $4 a gallon while we were at a buck and a half. But now the U.S. is flirting with $4 a gallon, and some Europeans are paying $9.
At what point does that car in the driveway become a burden, not a necessity? For some, maybe never. After all, America’s love affair with the automobile goes all the way back to rumble seats and drive-in movies. It took hold big-time in the 1950s and 60s as a seductive web of freeways and interstates beckoned us hither.
As those highways rolled out in front of us, we rolled right along with them in pursuit of the American Dream – a house in the suburbs, a place for kids to play and summer vacations on the road. But now that dream is becoming nightmarish as suburbanites find themselves increasingly isolated in vast residential islands separated from work and retail shops by an ocean of clogged, smog-belching traffic.
What to do? Can a world mostly built around the automobile be somehow reconfigured back to human scale?
Perhaps, according to Panama Bartholomy, special advisor to Chairwoman Jackie Pfannenstiel of the California Energy Commission (CEC). He said the first step would be to “stop digging the hole” – that new development should be done so as to put people closer to their jobs and to the amenities they need and want.
That’s the basic idea behind “smart growth,” a concept that promotes walkable neighborhoods, mixed land use, infill development and a strong sense of place. It’s an idea that’s transforming cities and towns everywhere, including Sacramento where new midtown lofts are sprouting up next to sidewalk bistros and light rail. It has given the area a new sense of vitality and intimacy.
And it also helps to slow the causes of climate change.
According to the Sacramento Region Blueprint, a plan for land use and transportation, smart growth policies would cut projected vehicle miles travelled in Sacramento by 25 percent per household. It would also cut average commute times by 14 minutes a day. That would lower per-capita CO2 vehicle emissions by 15 percent by the year 2050.
What’s more, we would preserve precious open space. In the recommended blueprint scenario, the conversion of open space to urban use would be less than half of what it would be if we stayed on our present course (304 square miles vs. 666 square miles).
Redeeming past mistakes
Smart growth sounds nice in theory, but what can be done about “stranded homes” in car-dependent suburbs? You just can’t knock them down and bring everyone back to the city.
No. But you can bring the city to them.
According to Bartholomy, we can reduce the carbon footprint of existing developments by “densifying” urban centers in suburban areas. In other words, create villages within our suburbs with mixed-use development: making places where people both live and work. That’s how towns were patterned before the advent of the automobile. European cities and New England towns come to mind. In addition to their charm, they display the long-term sustainability – and livability – achievable with mixed use development.
Going for it
Winston Churchill said, “At first we shape our buildings, and forever after, they shape us.” The same is true of our towns and cities.
As Bartholomy points out, choices we make in our houses and cities shape our lives. So when we select a home, he says we should consider the personal impacts: “What sort of commuting lifestyle are we buying into? How energy-efficient is the home? Is it close to light rail?”
He then offers that people can make a real contribution to their communities by engaging in long-range planning through efforts like the Sacramento Blueprint Project and the Sacramento General Plan. The City and County of Sacramento both are currently engaged in updating their general plans, with completion targeted for the end of ’08. General plans are only updated every fifteen years, so this presents a rare opportunity for citizens to shape our collective future.
And with a regional population projected to grow from 2 million to 3.7 million by 2050, the stakes run high.
Ten principles of smart growth- Preserve open space.
- Direct development towards existing communities.
- Take advantage of compact building design.
- Mix land uses (residential, commercial, public).
- Create a range of housing opportunities and choices.
- Provide a variety of transportation choices.
- Create walkable neighborhoods.
- Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place.
- Encourage community collaboration.
- Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost-effective.
No comments have been posted