For one thing, studies have demonstrated it doesn't pay for itself, and must be subsidized by taxpayers. Beyond Sprawl calls for compact and efficient growth, an improved legal and procedural framework for development, and an alliance of interests to build better communities. California offers prime examples of communities sprawling during boomtimes and suffering during a recession. Conventional growth will bring unwanted side effects of polluted air, traffic snarls, increased crime, higher taxes, and the loss of beautiful landscapes. Sustainable development, on the other hand, seeks to maintain the hometown qualities and balance with nature which attract people in the first place.
Urban sprawl hits taxpayers hard.
Indeed, James Kunstler, in his book The Geography of Nowhere , suggests that much of our national debt can be blamed on the way we have subsidized suburban expansion and abandoned our cities. These include appropriate urban infill projects, cluster development, mixed-use zoning, cohousing, pedestrian pockets, and different forms of traditional neighborhood and village development concepts. Also, many communities are turning to the use of land trusts and conservation easements to help preserve valuable farmland and scenic landscapes. Such solutions seek to promote community values, land efficiency, and the preservation of natural beauty. Northwest Arkansas will get its first glimpse of one of these ideas with the development of Har-Ber Meadows on the east side of Springdale.