Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

America’s Sprawl Capitals “Have Reached Their Inflection Point”

11:17 AM EST on January 22, 2014

There's still plenty of sprawl happening around the United States, even though many indicators point to a shift away from car-dependence. How can we tell if the trend toward walkability is lasting?

A Phoenix news station reports on the rise of "infill" development near the city center. Image: ##http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/20131120phoenix-housing-market-core.html## AZCentral.com##
A Phoenix news station reports on the rise of "infill" development near the city center. Image: ##http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/20131120phoenix-housing-market-core.html## AZCentral.com##
false

Payton Chung at West North blog has been watching the news carefully. He notes that even the places most identified with car-centric development -- places where transit is scarce and inconvenient -- are seeing a fundamental change in their real estate markets:

Even in many of the capitals of sprawl, the free market is clearly demonstrating that sprawl has fallen from favor. These regions may not be seeing a turning point, where suburban growth plateaus (not shrinks, since their overall regions continue to grow) and where urbanism begins to account for most growth, but they have reached their inflection point: when sprawl’s gallop slows down, and when cities stopped shrinking as quickly. This seems like a small point, but humans feel such changes. A roller coaster is always moving forward, but at vastly different speeds; the thrill comes from the G-forces applied when the acceleration increases or decreases.

Chung sites evidence of this inflection point from Phoenix, New Jersey, Houston, and Atlanta:

What’s most interesting about these examples is that they’re not locations where transit accounts for a substantial share of local trips. Even in an era of flat energy prices and even in the absence of good alternatives, the market is choosing car-light locations (where people at least have the choice to drive less) over car-dependent locations.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Delaware Bikes explains the concept of a "transitional bike lane." Wash Cycle reports that Montgomery County, Maryland, is passing over bike projects to fund expensive road building. And the Natural Resources Defense Council's Switchboard blog interviews pioneering active transportation visionary Dan Burden.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Monday’s Headlines Get On the Bus

The New York Times has declared bus rapid transit the transportation mode of the future.

December 11, 2023

Feds One Step Closer to Requiring Safety Standards for Lithium-ion Batteries

Safety standards are fine, but the responsibility for securing better power packs will still fall on the lowest-paid workers in our city.

December 11, 2023

Op-Ed: Why It’s So Hard to Get a Simple Red Light Camera

A Los Angeles advocate requested automated enforcement on a street near her home. It wasn't easy.

December 11, 2023

Funding for Calif. Rail Projects: An Incomplete Roundup

Various federal, state, and local funding sources are lining up.

December 8, 2023
See all posts