Sprawl
Basics
A Common Thread in the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit and ‘Cash for Clunkers’
Back in the days of "cash for clunkers," which saw the Obama administration send nearly $3 billion in taxpayer-funded rebates to boost the sagging auto industry, our Ryan Avent and several other economics wonks pointed out an inconvenient fact: Many participants in the program would have bought cars anyway, and the rebates only pulled their purchases forward in time.
January 20, 2010
Message From Copenhagen: Climate Plan Must Include Walkable Urbanism
At a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable urban development must be part of any effective plan to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to the magic of live webcasts, I can relay a few highlights for Streetsblog readers.
December 9, 2009
Just How Regressive is America’s Federal Housing Policy?
(ed. note. Please welcome contributor Chris Bradford, author of the economics blog Austin Contrarian.)
November 20, 2009
Congress Set to Double the Size of Sprawl-Centric Home Buyer’s Tax Credit
The $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers -- which was wracked by fraudulent claims after its creation as part of the nation's economic recovery effort -- is on the verge of a significant expansion by Congress.
November 4, 2009
The Assumption of Inconvenience
Early this week, I noticed a number of my favorite bloggers linking to this Elisabeth Rosenthal essay at Environment 360, on the mysterious greenness of European nations. The average American, as it happens, produces about twice as much carbon dioxide each year as your typical resident of Western Europe.
September 30, 2009
Can State DOTs Be Trained to Kick the Sprawl Habit?
I had the chance to listen in yesterday to top staffers from USDOT explain their collaboration with HUD and the EPA -- the "Partnership for Livable Communities" that was first unveiled in March and touted again by President Obama in July. Three officials, including one of Ray LaHood's top deputies, Beth Osborne, outlined their plans via conference call to several hundred people from all parts of the country.
September 25, 2009
Joel Kotkin on Smart Growth: The Streetsblog Re-mix
When columnist Robert Samuelson published an alarmingly misguided attack on high-speed rail last month, the St. Louis Urban Workshop fired back in a unique fashion: with a "re-mix" of Samuelson's op-ed that cleverly edited the piece to better reflect reality.
September 18, 2009
An Urban Planning Tale That Writes Itself
In Fort Myers, Florida, one family is the sole occupant of a 32-story luxury condominium. That is not a typo:
July 30, 2009
GOPer Offers Alternative Climate Plan: More Nuke, Less ‘Energy Sprawl’
Lamar Alexander (TN), the GOP's third-ranked leader in the Senate, today unveiled an energy plan that is intended to serve as a counterpoint to the climate change bill being assembled by senior Democrats. His proposal focused largely on one promise: 100 new nuclear plants in the next 20 years.
July 13, 2009
Lawmakers Aim to Bring ‘Sustainable Communities’ From Talk to Action
When three agencies in President Obama's Cabinet -- DOT, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency -- banded together to promote "sustainable communities," the initiative sounded promising but somewhat lacking in concrete ideas.
July 8, 2009