17 Jun
2013
17 Jun
'13
1:05 p.m.
This new report may be of interest to you and your networks.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its most comprehensive review to
date on how the built environment - the way we build our cities and towns - directly
affects our environment and public health. The report was announced by EPA Acting
Administrator Bob Perciasepe during a national Twitter Town Hall meeting in Washington, DC
with Maurice Jones, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing, and Development
(HUD), and John Porcari, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The publication, Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the
Interactions among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality, provides evidence
that certain kinds of land use and transportation strategies - where and how we build our
communities -- can reduce the environmental and human health impacts of development.
"Although findings might differ on the magnitude of the effects of different
practices, the evidence is overwhelming that some types of development yield better
environmental results than others," the report asserts.
"This report will be useful for communities across the country looking to make smart
development decisions," said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. "Whether
it's housing, transportation, or environmental issues, this report can help
communities protect public health and the environment by avoiding harmful development
strategies."
The publication is important and timely because population growth and demographic changes
will substantially alter the way our nation is developed over the next half century and
beyond.
"Researchers have estimated that as much as two-thirds of the development that will
exist in 40 to 45 years does not exist today," the report states, "meaning that
decisions we make about how and where that development occurs could significantly affect
our health and the health of the environment."
The report, the second edition of a popular document published in 2001, summarizes trends
in land use, buildings, travel behavior, population growth, and the expansion of developed
land. It then discusses the environmental consequences of these trends, such as habitat
loss, degradation of water resources and air quality, urban heat islands, greenhouse gas
emissions and global climate change, and other health and safety effects. Environmental
impacts linked to building and development patterns include:
Although technology has reduced per-car vehicle emissions, an approximate 250-percent
increase in vehicle miles travelled since 1970 has offset potential gains.
Transportation is responsible for 27 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions; residential
and commercial buildings contribute 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
The report concludes by describing ways to reduce such effects. Strategies include
safeguarding sensitive areas; focusing development in built-up areas and around existing
transit stations; building compact; mixed-use developments; designing streets that are
safe for all users, including walkers and bikers; and using green building techniques.
More information about the report and an upcoming webinar:
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/built.htm
<http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/built.htm>