Smart growth taking hold across US

Urban redevelopment increasing

Steve Hawley, Mar 26, 10.

Smart growth has become increasingly popular among cities and developers in the last decade, according to the New York Times. Among other things, the Times cites a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report finding that urban redevelopment continues to outpace development in outlying suburbs, a trend that has continued during the sharp real estate downturn. Young adults and aging baby boomers are driving the change, according to the article.

The Times reports:

In 26 of the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, the share of residential construction taking place in central cities more than doubled since 2000.

As expected, the effect was strongest in the metropolitan areas with the strictest regional land-use policies, such as Portland, Ore. But many metropolitan areas known for sprawl, including Chicago and Los Angeles, saw similar increases in redevelopment at the urban core.

A 2009 congressional report found that Smart Growth produces many benefits, including reduced vehicle miles traveled, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced infrastructure costs. Sprawling, car-oriented development, on the other hand, “[consumes] vast quantities of undeveloped land, [increases] the nation’s dependence on imported petroleum, and [increases] greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.”

In addition, sprawl drives up transportation costs, making housing unaffordable. According to a new study by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), 79 percent of housing in the Houston region is considered affordable by conventional standards, but that number drops to 55 percent when transportation is factored in. The most affordable areas are the denser neighborhoods inside the 610 Loop, while the outlying areas are made unaffordable because of the high transportation costs.

The new EPA report contains limited information on Houston, saying that it is “difficult to distinguish redevelopment from [new development]” because the city’s “land area increased substantially in the 1990s through annexation.” The report says that 20 to 23 percent of Houston’s residential building permits were issued in the central city between 1990 and 2008, but that due to annexation, some of that development may have been new construction on previously unused land.

Last year, the Houston City Council unanimously approved a transit corridors ordinance to encourage higher-density urban developments along the city’s planned light rail corridors. While rail transit has created billions of dollars in urban development in cities such as Portland and Charlotte, development along Houston’s light rail line has been stymied so far due to intense land speculation.

In Dallas, where the EPA says the data is more reliable, the share of residential building permits in the central city rose from 13 percent in the 1990s to 22 percent in 2008. Likewise, the share in Fort Worth increased from five percent in the 1990s to 16 percent in 2008.

The biggest increases in urban redevelopment came in New York City (15% to 63%), Chicago (7% to 45%), Portland (9% to 38%), and Denver (5% to 32%). Other cities focusing heavily on urban redevelopment include San Diego (47% in 2008), Seattle (31%), Kansas City (27%), and Sacramento (27%).

The federal government is also starting to get involved. The New York Times notes:

[Smart Growth] ideas have found support from the Obama administration’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities, run jointly by EPA, the Transportation Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This year’s budget includes $100 million for the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program, which offers funding for the development of state, regional and municipal policies on sustainable development.

EPA study: Residential Construction Trends in America’s Metropolitan Regions 2010 (pdf, 654 kb)
Congressional report: Driving and the Built Environment (pdf, 1.1 mb)

(Photo credit: faceless b)