All this new sprawl is increasing the cost of government and putting more burden on all of us. No wonder public officials in suburban cities such as Beaverton and Gresham are among the strongest advocates for holding the line on growth. They can see firsthand what it's doing for their budgets. Sprawl is inherently expensive. High costs are built into the very structure of sprawling subdivisions.
Police have to drive twice as far.
So do school buses. Sewer lines have to be twice as long. Fire stations, which must be close, protect fewer homes. If the pace and pressure of modern American life sometimes seems to be growing unbearable, it may be that the very physical shape of what we've built in the last 50 or so years is getting hard to carry. Fodor isn't the only researcher uncovering the costs of growth and sprawl.