"Smart Growth" vs. Sprawl: Findings from the 2004 American Community Survey
By Kate Stewart
"Smart growth" is a movement whose roots go back at least as far as the late 1930s, when policymakers and town planners first started using the term "urban sprawl" to describe--not in a positive way--the growth of cities into their surrounding countryside. Operating largely at the grassroots level, smart growth principles are based upon the planned development of smaller, more compact communities with mixed-income housing; more mass transit and less need for automobile commuting; shopping, entertainment, and other "downtown" amenities within walking distance; historic preservation and environmental protection; and protection of rural open spaces. Opponents decry smart growth because they see land-use regulation and environmental laws as interference with real estate markets and an infringement on the freedom of individuals and communities to develop their property as they wish.
Last summer, Belden Russonello & Stewart conducted a survey for Smart Growth America and the National Association of Realtors® to determine Americans' preferences for the type of communities they want to live in and the policies they support for creating them. The results suggest a direction for solving the conflicting pressures of the desire to develop and the wish to preserve communities. When asked simply what type of location they would most like to live in, a plurality of Americans say they would choose to live in a city or a suburb close to a city, while about a third would like to live in a rural community. Only 18 percent of respondents to the American Community Survey wanted to live in suburbs farther out from a city.
Below are detailed descriptions of two hypothetical communities that were read to survey respondents. Community A represents a sprawl community, Community B a smart growth community. When asked in which they would prefer to live, 45 percent selected the sprawl community and 55 percent the smart growth community, with women, African Americans, and Hispanics most likely to select the latter. In particular, African Americans were more than three times as likely to choose the smart growth over the sprawl community.
Community A
There are only single family houses on one acre lots.
There are no sidewalks.
Places such as shopping, restaurants, library, and a school are within a few miles of your home and you have to drive to most.
There is enough parking when you drive to local stores, restaurants and other places.
Your one-way commute is 45 minutes or over.
Public transportation, such as train, bus, and light rail, is distant or unavailable. |
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Community B
There is a mix of single family detached houses, townhouses, apartments and condominiums on various sized lots.
Almost all the streets have sidewalks.
Places such as shopping, restaurants, library, and a school are within a few blocks of your home and you can either walk or drive.
Parking is limited when you decide to drive to local stores, restaurants and other places.
Your one-way commute is less than 45 minutes.
Public transportation, such as train, bus, and light rail, is nearby. |
What was it about these communities that appealed to the respondents who chose them? Those who opted for Community A were motivated mostly by the desire to live in single homes on lots at least an acre in size. For choosers of Community B, the main attractions were the convenience of being within walking distance of shops and restaurants and close to work. Fewer mentioned a mix of housing types, proximity to public transportation, or the presence of sidewalks.
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