Land-use, transportation and sustainability

William B. Shore

Technology in Society, 2006, vol. 28, issue 1, 27-43

Abstract: The pattern of urban development strongly affects sustainability—energy and water use, food production, waste generation and disposal, biodiversity and equal opportunity. So regional planning must be a tool in achieving sustainability. The traditional urban pattern was a cluster of activities that people do together (city downtowns and neighborhood centers) surrounded by residences in a density gradient. That remains the most sustainable pattern. After World War II, the automobile promoted a pattern of scattered activities and spread out residences. Most other countries resisted the spread and scattered pattern, though without complete success; the US has only begun to recentralize. Three strategies are proposed to recentralize: pricing goods and services to reflect sustainable needs, improving the magnetism of cities and legislating enforceable regional plans.

Keywords: Regional planning; Environmental conservation; Sustainable cities; Pricing environmental assets; Smart growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:teinso:v:28:y:2006:i:1:p:27-43

DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2005.10.014

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