New Video Series Tells the Story of Sprawl

As livable streets advocates work to make headway in breaking the cycle of American auto dependence, the folks at Planetizen have put together a video narrative that explains how we got here. "The Story of Sprawl," a double DVD set produced by Managing Editor Tim Halbur, is a compilation of historical films dating from 1939 to 1965, documenting the confluence of factors that fostered the quintessential land use motif of the 20th century: far-flung, low-density, driving-intensive residential and commercial development. The discs include commentary from planning notables including Andrés Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, John Norquist, Neal Peirce, James Howard Kunstler and Robert Cervero, featured in the clip above.

"The Story of Sprawl" is available now. Check the Planetizen promo page for more clips and ordering info.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Sprawl Is Not an Endangered Species

By Sarah Goodyear |
Today on the Streetsblog Network, member blog Sprawled Out takes on haters of New Urbanism — specifically, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist Patrick McIlheran, who wrote a piece lauding a designer of subdivisions named Rick Harrison. McIlheran quotes Harrison saying, "People don’t want to walk five minutes to a park. They want to see it outside their […]

Obama: The Days of “Building Sprawl Forever” Are Over

By Ben Fried |
Obama in Ft. Myers This is encouraging. On the stump in Fort Myers, Florida to campaign for the stimulus bill, President Obama took a detour from his well-worn "roads and bridges" infrastructure spiel to deliver some brief remarks on transit and land use. Obama’s answer came in response to a city council member who said […]
The current Columbia River Bridge is slated to be replaced with one that has room for light rail. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Two Big Reasons States Keep Expanding Freeways

By Joe Cortright |
Highway widening advocates offer up a kind of manifest destiny storyline: population and traffic are ever-increasing, and unless we accommodate them we’ll be awash in cars, traffic and gridlock.  The rising tide of cars is treated as a irresistible force of nature. But is it?

Detroit's Sprawl King: Transit Expansion Plan Would Be a "Job Killer"

By Angie Schmitt |
We’ve been following Detroit’s efforts to remake itself as a less car-dependent, more sustainable city, with great interest. There seems to be a growing understanding in the Motor City that bikeability, walkability and improved transit service are imperative to remake the economy and reverse the city’s infamous urban decay. So much so that private investors […]