= = =Highlight= = =
The National Association of Realtors releases the third in their series of voter surveys on sprawl related issues. http://www.realtor.com/Redir/Frame03.asp?out=http%3A%2F%2Fnar%2Erealtor%2Ecom%2Fnews%2Freleases%2Ehtm

= = = New Releases = = =
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
California
Building affordable housing anywhere is a challenge, but it can be especially challenging in the hyper-inflated real estate market of southern California.  For one developer though, it is as much his passion as his business.
http://www.ocregister.com/local/features/growth/housing/related00411cci1.shtml

FARMLANDS
California
Although the program runs chronically short on funding, California's agricultural conservation easement program is proving extremely popular with farmers who want to continue farming, while still gaining equity from their land.  State lawmakers are beginning to take notice. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/topstory/farm_20010424.htm

OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION
Montana
A unique cooperative agreement between local conservation and community groups and a mining company will preserve over 4000 acres from development.
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?section=local&display=content/local/2stillwater.inc
New Jersey
The Garden State Preservation Trust, the agency entrusted with fulfilling New Jersey's goal of preserving 1 million acres by 2009, recommended $138.3 million in grants and loans recently for preservation projects in all 21 counties. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/jersey/ledger/12fda2f.html

REDEVELOPMENT
Illinois
A small community outside of Chicago that allowed a developer to build significantly more housing in exchange for constructing a new water and sewage treatment plant is coming to terms with its decision, as the town loses its rural flavor. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/metro/chicago/article/0,2669,ART-51360,FF.html

STATEWIDE PLANNING
Colorado
A growth control bill that appeared to be dead a couple of weeks ago is apparently still in negotiation behind closed doors. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_324545,00.html

SUPERSTORES
Arizona
A new Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Flagstaff is sparking a familiar debate between those who believe it will bring jobs and affordable merchandise, and those that see it fracturing local businesses.
http://www.azdailysun.com/index.cfm?sec=sto&storyID=16635&ffrom=19&issuedate=04/19/2001

TRANSPORTATION
Boston
Although it has a national reputation as a "walking city," Walk Boston, a pedestrian advocacy group, believes Boston has tilted too far to benefit automobiles to the detriment of pedestrian safety.
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/ped04222001.htm
Chicago
Chicago's Mayor Daley hinted at a gasoline boycott this summer to send a message to gasoline companies about rising gas prices.  The Mayor's office suggests using Chicago's wide array of transportation options this summer to severely limit automobile usage. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/article/0,1051,SAV-0104250261,00.html
Detroit
In recent polling conducted in metro Detroit, over three-quarters of residents support mass transit and a strong majority would pay for it with higher taxes. http://www.detroitnews.com/2001/metro/0104/23/c01-216030.htm
Virginia
A dirt road the state wants to pave in Loudoun County is sparking yet another development battle in the country's third fastest-growing county.  http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55231-2001Apr23.html

= = = New Releases = = =
New D.C. Area Census Data Analyzed by Brookings
The World in a Zip Code finds that the Greater Washington region has become one of the top immigrant destinations in the country. Unlike many high-immigration regions, Greater Washington has both a remarkable diversity of newcomers and a wide dispersion of immigrants throughout the region, even in the far-flung suburbs.  Of the top-ten zip codes of immigrant settlement, four each are located in Virginia and Maryland, while two are in the District of Columbia. The vast majority-87 percent--of the past decade's immigrants settled in the suburbs, with 46 percent moving to communities beyond the Washington Beltway.
http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/immigration/abstract.htm

Transportation Choices Scorecard
Friends of the Earth released Transportation Choices Scorecard for New England and New York, which evaluates state commitments to funding and promoting transportation choices. The findings in Transportation Choices show that states over invest in automobile transportation services at the expense of offering commuters choices, supporting transportation for the urban and rural poor, and investing in programs that would result in less air pollution from transportation. Moreover, the states generally fail to take advantage of rules that allow for the more flexible use of federal transportation funds.  The report grades the states in four transportation areas: economic incentives for sustainable transportation choices, spending on transportation choices, spending on pedestrian projects, and equitable access to mobility. http://www.foe.org/act/transportationpr.html

Online Newsletter for Teaching and Involving Youth in Community Planning
Resources Zine is an online newsletter from the American Planning Association for educators and planners working with youth.  The goal of Zine is to assist adults in teaching young people about community planning and involving youth in the planning process.  The online newsletter features regular articles highlighting case studies of youth programs.  http://www.planning.org/ResourcesZine

= = = National News = = =
What does Smart Growth Really Mean?
In the latest issue Planning (the monthly publication of the American Planning Association) Anthony Downs, a Senior Fellow at the Brooking Institution, describes how different interest groups define "smart growth."  Although he lists many of the issues where disagreement remains between homebuilders, environmentalists, and urban constituencies, he concludes with policies that enjoy broad support. 

= = = Highlight = = =
Transit Use Rises While Driving Decreases
The Surface Transportation Policy Project has documented that for the first time since World War II, growth in Americans' use of buses and trains is consistently outpacing growth in driving.  Fresh government and industry figures show that in the past five years, transit use has grown by 21 percent while driving has increased by just 11 percent, with growth in driving flat in the year 2000.  This is a dramatic turnaround from the early 90's when driving grew steadily and transit use plummeted 11.8 percent.  This is the first time since the introduction of the automobile that transit use has grown faster than driving for more than 3 years in a row. http://www.transact.org/Pressroom/vmt-transit.htm

= = = State and Local News = = =
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
In-Laws Can Help
For years, one of the most efficient and least-bureaucratic methods of providing affordable housing was the existence of accessory dwelling units (ADUs)—or "mother-in-law" apartments.  Over the past fifty years many municipalities have zoned out ADUs that can both increase affordable rental housing stock, in addition to allowing for another means of income for homeowners. 
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=mark15&date=20010415

CENSUS 2000
Cities in the 1990's
Though much has been made of an "urban rebound" during the past decade, many cities, especially older, industrial cities in the northeast and midwest, are still hemorrhaging middle class residents.
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/04/17/fpcon-natl.shtml
Denser Suburbia
Though much development sprung from cornfields during the 1990's, many older suburbs became denser and more urban, according to the most recent census data. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/17/national/17SUBU.html

FARMLAND PRESERVATION
Maryland
Carroll County, Maryland agreed to add nine farms with more than 650 acres to the state's farmland preservation program, which pays landowners not to develop agricultural land.
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.farm12apr12.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dcarroll

TRANSPORTATION
Atlanta
Plans for a downtown train station in Atlanta, critical to commuter rail service in Atlanta, have been suspended as city money for the project failed to materialize.
http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/wednesday/local_news_a3dd0343858c81ea00d2.html
Florida
Tri-Rail in southern Florida has finally secured federal funding to expand service and add tracks to make service more frequent and reliable for commuters.
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/dade/digdocs/033261.htm
Florida
I-4 between Tampa and Orlando is slowly facilitating the birth of a giant megalopolis that will eventually, some envision, connect these two cities.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-tamplando041601.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines
Seattle
Seattle's light rail plan experienced another setback as the federal government withheld more than $100 million in federal aid until several issues, such as the scope and cost of the project, are resolved. 
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/transportation/18549_sound13.shtml

URBAN REDEVELOPMENT
Illinois
A new city outside of Chicago is being created from the rubble of an abandoned air base.
http://chicagotribune.com/news/metro/chicago/article/0,2669,ART-51207,FF.html
http://www.nahb.org/news/agreement.htm
New York City
The president of PolicyLink suggests strategies to prevent displacement of existing residents as neighborhoods, such as Harlem, experience rapid economic growth.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/12/opinion/12BLAC.html

= = = New Releases = = =
Where to Travel this Summer
America offers vacation destinations that epitomize the flip side of cluttered tourism and sprawl -- places where the Sundance Kid once held up the local bank, where dozens of wineries and luxurious spas vie for attention, or where four world-class museums are within walking distance. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced the selection of the Dozen Distinctive Destinations for this year’s list of the best preserved and unique communities in the U.S. http://www.nthp.org/main/ddd/

Useful Publication
The Planning Commissioners Journal is the principal national publication for “citizen planners” -- individuals interested in land use, transportation, and related local and regional planning issues. Now in its tenth year, the PCJ is received by more than 7,000 citizen planners in all fifty states.  The easiest way to find out more about the Planning Commissioners Journal and its related publications is by visiting its PlannersWeb site: www.plannersweb.com -- or by calling their toll-free number, 1-888-475-3328 for information.

Principles for Smart Growth
The Smart Growth Subcommittee of the California League of Cities has adopted Ten Principles For Smart Growth, which will guide future recommendations from the League.  Though the League is focused specifically on California, the principles are broad enough to be used for any region in the country.
http://www.cacities.org/doc.asp?intParentID=1072

 = = National News = = =
Sprawl and Obesity
Increasingly public health professionals view the suburban built environment, and its myriad anti-pedestrian attributes, as a factor in the growing problem of obesity in the U.S.  In the next two months Sprawl Watch will publish our third monograph, tentatively titled Creating a Healthy Environment: The Built Environment's Public Health Impacts, that will focus on the connection between land use and public health. http://www.savannahmorningnews.com/smn/stories/041201/LOCsprawl.shtml

= = =Highlight = = =
The Bush administration proposes to drastically cut funding for agriculture conservation and farmland protection efforts. Programs to be zeroed out include those that offer farmers incentives to protect water supplies, create wildlife habitat on farmland, and permanently protect their farmland from sprawling development. The cuts appear to contradict action at the state and local level. Voters approved more than $7 billion in spending related to environmental and land use issues at the ballot box last fall. You can read an outline of the budget request on USDA's Web page at http://www.usda.gov
For further information, please contact the American Farmland Trust at: www.farmland.org

= = = State and Local News = = =
CENSUS 2000
Ohio
The Columbus Dispatch, in cooperation with other media outlets within Ohio, authored a series of articles using Census 2000 data on how growth and demographic changes are affecting people's lives in Ohio's cities, suburbs and rural areas. http://www.dispatch.com/2000_Census/

OPEN SPACE 
Maine
A Maine legislative bill would make it easier for private landowners to preserve their land by offering income-tax credits to property owners who do not develop their property and offer increased public access.
http://www.bangornews.com/cgi-bin/article.cfm?storynumber=31858

STATEWIDE PLANNING
Florida
A growth control bill in the Florida Senate passed a key committee, but is beginning to draw fire from the real estate and development lobbies.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fgrowth05apr05.story?coll=sfla%2DFlorida%2DArchives2
Virginia
A panel of planners and preservationists at Virginia Commonwealth University, convened to study the history and current dilemmas posed by sprawl, came to consensus on some practical solutions for Virginia. 
http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/MGBZ46EEQKC.html

TRANSPORTATION
Atlanta
A coalition of environmental groups filed an injunction last week to stop construction on transportation projects in metro Atlanta until their federal lawsuit over regional improvements, which they contend used faulty data and inaccurate funding assumptions,  is finished. http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/friday/local_news_a3dc3643a43be1fe0052.html
D.C. Region
Montgomery County, Maryland, besides being one of the wealthier counties in the country, is also becoming extremely dangerous for pedestrians. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37738-2001Apr4.html
D.C. Region
A Metro line across a newly constructed Woodrow Wilson bridge could connect the yellow and green metro lines and possibly create five more stations in Virginia and Maryland, according to new conceptual plans.
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46002-2001Apr5.html
Houston
The long-expected expansion of the Katy Freeway, located outside of Houston, may grow to twenty-four lanes while still providing no rail. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/topstory2/870107
Seattle
As the momentum to build Seattle's long-planned light rail begins to wane, the mayor urges construction to begin on the least-controversial southern portion. http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/transportation/17983_tran10.shtml

URBAN REVITALIZATION
Detroit
The much-maligned and neglected Detroit River is slowly on a path to recovery, and city and county officials are beginning to plan accordingly.  http://freep.com/voices/columnists/eheath1_20010401.htm
Houston
The West End neighborhoods of Houston are growing and changing as more people move into the downtown core of Houston.  While many applaud this migration, current residents are voicing some concern.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/business/869242
Kansas City
After years of disinvestment and ill-conceived urban renewal projects, downtown Kansas City appears to be on the road to recovery. http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/printer.pat,local/3acc93e2.407,.html

= = = New Releases = = =
New Brookings Report 
Dealing with Neighborhood Change: A Primer on Gentrification and Policy Choices, 
co-sponsored with PolicyLink, serves as a primer on how to view the complex issue of 
gentrification. The authors draw on case studies of Atlanta, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay Area to show how gentrification pressures play out in three very different markets. Finally, the paper suggests how to pursue "equitable development," which optimizes the benefits of neighborhood change while minimizing its downside.
http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/gentrification/gentrificationexsum.htm

1990's Best Decade for Older Cities since WWII
The Fannie Mae Foundation has released a study, The Urban Turnaround: A Decade-by-Decade Report Card on Postwar Population Change in Older Industrial Cities, which judges the 1990s to have been the best decade since World War II for population change in older urban America. The study also finds the 1970s to have been the worst such decade. These finding are based on a variety of factors, including a summary index, which distilled population trends data for 36 older cities into a single grade for each decade. 
http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/news/UrbanTurnaround.pdf

Main Street Awards Announced
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced the five winners of the Great American Main Street Awards, which praises towns for their efforts on commercial district revitalization.  The towns were selected by a panel of 10 experts in the fields of community revitalization, economic development, and historic preservation, based on their success in preservation-sensitive commercial district revitalization. The Great American Main Street Awards competition is open to main streets and neighborhood commercial districts in towns and cities of all sizes with a core of traditional buildings. http://www.nthp.org/main/mainst/gamsa/2001/gamsa.htm

Community Foundations Supporting Smart Growth
"Leading the Field: Profiles of Community Foundation Leadership in Smart Growth and 
Livable Communities" brings together and showcases leadership efforts of community 
foundations in the field of smart growth and livable communities. The "Leading the Field" effort has been undertaken by the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities in conjunction with its community foundation membership.  Their work is helping to build momentum toward improved development patterns and quality of life in their respective communities and across the land.
http://www.fundersnetwork.org/usr_doc/53621.pdf

Ohio’s Worst Proposed Highways
Leading To Destruction: Ohio’s Worst Proposed Highways, highlights the worst new, high-capacity project proposals, projects costing $5 million or more, within the state of Ohio. Several factors were considered in this study, including impacts on the environment, inducement of sprawl, and cost per mile. Released by the Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club the report can be viewed at: www.ohio.sierraclub.org/sprawl/worsthighways.htm.

= = = National News = = =
Citing problems caused by Colorado's population growth and urban sprawl, Congressman Mark Udall (D-CO) has introduced a package of four bills addressing the federal government's role in protecting open space. The Cooperative Landscape Conservation Act (H.R. 1381) would authorize $100 million a year for fiscal years 2002-2007 for acquiring conservation easements nationwide. The other three address Off-road Vehicle violations on public lands and open space preservation within Colorado.http://wwwa.house.gov/markudall/press/pr_UdallPackage2001_040401.htm

= = = Highlight = = =
Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Representative Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) plan to introduce the Community Character Act before the congressional recess at the end of the week.  This legislation would provide $50 million to states, multi-state regional programs and tribal governments to assist in revising land use planning legislation and developing comprehensive plans.  Visit our federal policy page to review this legislation when it is introduced, and to find other smart growth legislation already introduced.http://www.sprawlwatch.org/policies.html

= = = State and Local News = = =
CENSUS DATA
Though much of the census data shows metropolitan areas continuing to grow, and indeed even some cities, there has also been an increase in migration to non-metro areas that may only increase as boomers retire. http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/04/04/fp1s3-csm.shtml
Colorado
The release of Census 2000 confirms what the empirical and anecdotal evidence of the last decade was hinting; the West is the fastest growing section of the U.S. containing five of the fastest-growing states.  Many demographers believe the trend will continue throughout, at least, the next few decades. 
http://www.denverpost.com/news/census0403.htm

ECONOMICS
Florida
A central tenent of the smart growth movement is that sprawl is hardly a "natural" market phenomenon created by the free market, but rather, it is imbued with myriad government subsidies that hide its true cost to the public at-large.  A bill in the Florida Legislature would fund a program to study sprawl's "true costs" within Florida.
http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGA908WI1LC.html

FARMLAND PRESERVATION
Illinois
A unique farmland preservation proposal in Kane County, Illinois is running into resistance from the assumed beneficiaries, farmers.  http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/farm02.html

GROWTH MANAGEMENT
Colorado
One of the two competing growth management bills in the Colorado Legislature is expected to pass the House, but many believe the bill is far too tilted towards the development and real estate industries. 
http://www.denverpost.com/news/leg/leg0404a.htm
Florida
Though Orange County, Florida has thousands of acres ready for development, some are already complaining that the county's ten-year-old urban limit line is outdated and needs to be extended. 
http://orlando.bcentral.com/orlando/stories/2001/03/26/story2.html
Maine
A bill prohibiting communities from enacting growth caps unless the caps are part of a broader growth management strategy is making its way through the Maine legislature.
http://www.portland.com/news/statehouse/010403sprawl.shtml

HOUSING
California
A bill introduced in the California State Senate would penalize cities that do not plan for affordable housing, and it is being bitterly opposed by municipal officials in the Bay Area who feel it unfairly penalizes them for the hyper-inflated housing market. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/stories_news/housing_20010402.htm
Georgia
Atlanta, as with most other metropolitan areas, is growing primarily at the fringes, and this is creating new challenges for providing affordable housing.
http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/thursday/cherokee_a32c33c863f311b7000c.html

TRANSPORTATION
California
Busses in Santa Cruz County will now have the legal right-of-way in traffic as drivers will have to yield when busses pull back into traffic. http://www.santa-cruz.com/archive/2001/April/03/local/stories/1local.htm

URBAN REDEVLOPMENT
D.C. Region
After almost a decade of considering policies to make Tysons Corner more like a traditional city with a downtown, Tysons Corner still seems like an "edge city."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21282-2001Mar31.html
Houston
Houston, long derided by many for its sprawl and perceived lack of a "real" downtown, is witnessing a rebirth of development in its downtown core.
http://www.reis.com/learning/insights_crossroads_art_houston_triumph.cfm
New York
The Attorney General for New York filed suit last year to stop the destruction or sale of any of the city's burgeoning community gardens, but a debate has begun regarding if high-density housing would not, in the long term, preserve more open space while providing needed affordable housing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/29/living/29BRON.html

= = = New Releases = = =
Better managed growth at Metrorail stations can benefit transit system,communities, and environment, says Chesapeake Bay Foundation Report. http://www.cbf.org/resources/news_room/pr/pr_2001_03_09.htm

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Roundabouts are becoming more common in America's road system and reduce deadly automobile accidents at intersections by nearly 90 percent. http://www.hwysafety.org/

= = = National News = = =

Infill Development
A new Northeast-Midwest Institute report, Strategies for Successful Infill Development, details proven strategies and case studies for the creative reuse of vacant or underused land in cities, towns, and suburbs.  Coauthored with the Congress for the New Urbanism, the report is designed to help local officials, business and property owners, and other community member's plan, design, and finance successful infill.  The results can revitalize blighted communities, provide housing near job centers and transit, and preserve open space.  To order the report, contact bwells@nemw.org.

How to Fix Your Neighborhood
This fix-it manual by Citizen Planner Institute Director Harrison Bright Rue, Real Towns:  Making your Neighborhood Work, can help citizens working on real neighborhoods – places filled with character, families, and history, with people who want to make their neighborhoods better.  Just as owner-builders can learn how to work on their homes, citizens can learn how to work on their communities. The obvious place to start is by looking at the parts that aren't working well – figuring out how they are interrelated – and diagnosing how to fix them together.  This book gives local government officials, developers and citizen activists the tools needed to apply time-tested principles to revitalize their neighborhoods.
http://www.lgc.org/publications/center/clcpubs2.html

= = = National News = = =
The newly formed Coalition for Affordable Rental Housing, a coalition including the housing industry, mayors, and related groups, are urging Congress to assist in the construction of affordable rental housing across the country.  The coalition is asking Congress to increase by 25% the base amount the Federal Housing Administration can insure for multifamily housing.
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A982-2001Mar13.html