Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Sprawl

Online purchases from third-party vendors would be taxed to help fund the subway.

Amazon Could Kill Car-Dependent Big Box Retail. Will It Also Kill Main Street?

By Stephen Miller | Apr 26, 2017 | No Comments

Amazon is chipping away at the dominance of big box stores, which might warm the hearts of people who watched Walmart and other retailers ruthless suck the life out of walkable downtowns for years on end. But is it really a good thing?

STREETSBLOG USA

Why the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction Has Got to Go

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 17, 2017 | No Comments

The mortgage interest deduction costs the federal government more than all rental subsidies combined. All that money promotes sprawl by encouraging people to buy more house, while transferring wealth to the upper tiers of the income ladder.

STREETSBLOG USA

Reversing Sun Belt Growth Model, Memphis Looks to Shrink Its Footprint

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 13, 2017 | No Comments

Like many Sun Belt cities, Memphis owes its population growth over the last several decades to outward expansion. Since 1998 alone, the city has overseen 15 annexations, occupying a larger footprint than Chicago. But now the city believes that some of its farthest flung territory is more liability than asset.

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The Injustice of Subsidizing Jobs People Can Only Reach By Driving

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 13, 2017 | No Comments

The more far-flung the jobs in a region, the fewer are accessible via transit, biking, and walking -- or even a short, inexpensive car commute. And yet, in many states, economic development policies still contribute to long, burdensome commutes, especially for people who can't afford cars.

STREETSBLOG USA

Democrats Who Embrace the Trump Infrastructure Plan Are Suckers

By Angie Schmitt and Ben Fried | Nov 10, 2016 | No Comments

As painful as it is to deal with the reality of a Donald Trump presidency, if you think highways and sprawl are a terrible mistake, the time to mobilize is now. One of the first things on Trump’s agenda, after dismantling Obama’s social and environmental legacy to the greatest extent possible, is a huge round of infrastructure spending. […]

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Sprawl Is a Global Problem

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 11, 2016 | No Comments

Sprawl isn’t just a problem in car-centric America. Even cities with the world’s best transit systems are surrounded by suburbs with poor transit access, according to a new report by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. As billions of people migrate from rural to metropolitan areas in the next few decades, these growth patterns threaten to maroon people without […]

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