Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Sprawl

MTC Adopts Aggressive 15 Percent Target for Reducing Emissions by 2035

By Bryan Goebel | Jul 29, 2010 | 20 Comments

Photo: Keenahn The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), in a historic vote Wednesday that will help guide the future for more sustainable land use and transportation planning in the Bay Area, recommended a 15 percent per capita target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2035, the most aggressive goal to date among California’s metropolitan planning […]

Dodd’s Livability Bill Earns Praise from Local Governments

By Noah Kazis | Jun 9, 2010 | No Comments

With financial reform nearly complete, the Senate Banking Committee turned its attention today to one of Senator Chris Dodd’s (D-CT) next priorities, the Livable Communities Act. Local government came out strong for the initiative to promote sustainable and integrated regional planning, with representatives of the nation’s cities, towns, counties, and regional planning organizations testifying in favor. Among committee members, […]

A Fresh Look at American Sprawl

By Noah Kazis | Mar 8, 2010 | 8 Comments

There’s only one Concrete, WA, but concrete and asphalt are the welcome mats for towns across America. Image: Gord McKenna/Flickr. American advocates for livable streets know that our addiction to the automobile is almost without peer. We know that we’ve given our land to driving lanes and parking lots and our air to exhaust fumes. […]

The Urbanist Case Against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

By Elana Schor | Jan 29, 2010 | No Comments

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), an advocacy group working to reform local development practices, is seizing on House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank’s (D-MA) recent call for a new system of housing finance to replace government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mixed-use developments, such as Atlanta’s Atlantic Station (above), are often incompatible […]

The Missed Opportunity For an Urban Stimulus: Mayors ‘Were Ignored’

By Elana Schor | Dec 1, 2009 | 1 Comment

Two-thirds of America’s population, and more than three-quarters of its economic productivity, come from major cities. So why did the Obama administration’s economic stimulus law end up giving metropolitan areas the short end of the stick? Daniel Malloy, Democratic mayor of Stamford, CT (Photo: Bridgeport City Council) Harry Moroz of the Drum Major Institute attempts […]

Congress Set to Double the Size of Sprawl-Centric Home Buyer’s Tax Credit

By Elana Schor | Nov 4, 2009 | No Comments

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. Just how much will the tax credit mushroom thanks to the deal reached in the Senate? As the […]

Show More Stories