The concern over suburban sprawl is fueling political sentiment for increased government regulation of land use. Portland may indeed represent the future of our cities, not just in its growth management policies, but in the social outlook that smart growth exemplifies. Controversy about sprawl is not a new issue. The date of this plan was 1929. Dr. Hayward discusses the evolution of the urban sprawl debate from California to Minnesota.
Prediction is always a hazardous business.
The Pacific Research Institute is pleased to present the fifth edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators . The purpose of the Index is to provide policymakers and interested citizens with an annual checkup on environmental trends in the United States. It is especially propitious to do so this year, which marks the 30th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22. It concludes that the rate of land being urbanized in the U.S. has increased rapidly in the 1990s, to more than three million acres a year, and is providing fresh fuel for those who see urban sprawl as a crisis requiring significant new land regulation. Water is undoubtedly California's most precious resource.