Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Smart Growth

From Sprawling New Jersey, a New Way Forward for State DOTs

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 3, 2011 | No Comments

Despite the rather obvious link between transportation investments and development patterns, land use planning is simply not a consideration at your average state DOT. Most state DOTs — and there are notable exceptions — see their primary responsibility as building highways, never mind that highways are likely to spur outward development, which leads to the […]

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Meet the Obscure Unelected Agencies Strangling Many U.S. Cities

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 21, 2011 | No Comments

Do you know the name of your local Metropolitan Planning Organization or Council of Government? Most Americans don’t. In fact, most people probably have no idea these agencies even exist, let alone what they do. Yet they are surprisingly powerful and play a substantial role in shaping the places where we live and work. Led […]

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Paradigm Shift in Charleston: County Leaders Reject Highway Expansion

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

Chalk this up as a major victory in the livable streets movement: Thanks to a heroic effort by advocates for smart growth and rural preservation, officials in Charleston, South Carolina have unanimously rejected a plan for a half-billion-dollar highway expansion. In an 8-0 decision late last week, Charleston County officials voted against an eight-mile highway […]

New NYS DOT Commish on Smart Growth: “We Need to Go Further”

By Noah Kazis | Mar 10, 2011 | 2 Comments

Coming two days after her confirmation as the new commissioner of the state DOT, Joan McDonald’s keynote speech at today’s annual meeting of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council offered her the chance to lay out her agenda for statewide transportation policy. McDonald’s remarks should provide cause for optimism among New Yorkers hoping for a […]

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EPA: Energy Efficiency Is About Location, Location, Location

By Noah Kazis | Mar 3, 2011 | No Comments

Where we live has an enormous impact on energy use, according to new research commissioned by the EPA. The report, “Location Efficiency and Housing Type — Boiling It Down to BTUs” finds that Americans use far less energy if they live in an apartment building in a transit-oriented neighborhood than if they live in a […]

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Get Rich While Reducing Emissions: Smart Growth Keeps Looking Smarter

By Tanya Snyder | Jan 21, 2011 | No Comments

Just when you may have been looking for ways to counter that Pew report which poo-pooed the environmental impacts of transit and smart growth, here’s more evidence that reducing driving has an essential role to play in meeting economic and environmental goals: A new report from the Center for Clean Air Policy concludes that compact […]

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