15 Jun
2002
15 Jun
'02
2:26 p.m.
Ed,
Calling smart growth a "failure" depends on whether you're an optimist or a
pessimist. When critics call mass transit subsidies a "failure" because
private
vehicle transportation keeps increasing its share of the market, I contemplate
what it would be like for people now dependent on mass transportation if there
were no subsidies -- transit service would be greatly curtailed (or nonexistent)
from what it is today. I like to think of the glass being half full, not half
empty.
For smart growth, can we estimate what human habitation would be like, if the
polices in place today, had not been enacted? Measuring such effects are not
easy, but would be helpful in forming support for new or revised measures.
Perhaps a comparative study of trends in several areas that have adopted
different policies might provide some insights. Filtering out the many
variables affecting growth would be the primary challenge if such an
investigation were taken.
George Wiggers
Forest Heights, MD
Ed Herlihy wrote:
Ken:
As one of those who happens to support the Smart Growth movement you can
rest assured that I was not at all "surprised" by the new data in the Year
2000 Census. Most of us who follow these things, even casually, knew full
well that the aggregate trends were (and are) still going in the "wrong"
direction. Lets remember, the Smart Growth movement is just a "babe in the
woods" and it may take decades for the message to take hold.
Perhaps the message of Smart Growth will not take hold and perhaps there are
some land speculators who still expect to derive huge profits from sprawl
and the proliferation of large lot McMansions. So be it.
But it is not the job of the "new Census data" to send us a message that all
of the Smart Growth ideas are a "failure". And it was never the message
from the Smart Growth folks that the car was going to be obsolete at any
time in the future.
It is the job of planners to seek out solutions that best serve our
communities. And, as we dig into the census data, we will most likely find
some exceptions to the overall trends that will tell a good story about
Smart Growth and its benefits.
Ed Herlihy
Reston, VA
PS. OK, I fully agree the CTPP may not the best list to start a discussion
about the merits of Smart Growth. If the list moderators have a suggestion,
I will be glad to move the discussion to a more appropriate forum, if there
is one. Any suggestions?
----- Original Message -----
From: "C Kenneth Orski" <korski(a)erols.com>
To: <ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net>
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2002 8:51 PM
Subject: [CTPP] INNOVATION BRIEFS Advisory
> INNOVATION BRIEFS Advisory
> July/August 2002
> ==========================================
>
> Abstracts of the latest issue of Innovation Briefs are now
> available on our website at:
> http://www.innobriefs.com/abstracts/2002/july02.html
>
> + New Census Data Provides a Reality Check
> + Relieving Highway Congestion
> + The Myth of the Underfunded Mass Transit
> + Financing Future Transportation Needs
> Part I: Short-Term Revenue Enhancements
> + Toward a Hydrogen-Based Future
> + "HOT Networks"
>
> For a full version, subscribe to Innovation Briefs
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