Anyone know where Kerry stands on urban sprawl?

[Sean Reynolds]

Urban sprawl is a passionate subject for me and we've yet to have a president address the issue. All have ignored it for varying reasons. I do know Howard Dean was pretty solid in stopping sprawl throughout Vermont, but I'm unclear where Kerry stands on the issue. If he's elected will he just ignore the problem like Dubya, Clinton, Bush I, Reagan did? I just hope a president will address this situation because IMO urban sprawl is one of the largest threats to our environment. Not only does it eat up land and water. It also creates a larger dependence on cars because our neighborhoods are becoming less and less walkable. Which of course means more pollution and also can be factored into America's weight problem.

I checked his website, but he seems pretty vague in where he stands. Just that the government will 'assist' communities in building better communities. But that isn't enough IMO. The government has tried that for over 25 years and urban sprawl continues to rape our land. I hope Kerry plans on doing A LOT more than just 'assisting' communities.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

1. Where do you think he should stand?

What exactly do you think the federal policy should be? What would be a good position be in your view? What exactly can the President do to fight sprawl?

[Sean Reynolds]

4. I think the government needs to step in regulate growth.

Set zoning laws that a community has to meet when building. Government can also hold back funding on highways - which is a common cause for urban sprawl. Why can't we build neighborhoods like they did in the 1900s? You know, a place where commercial buildings can be found just a few blocks away from your front door. Today you've got to get in your car to do any shopping. Of course compare that with people that live in the central city and it isn't like that. I've lived in Salt Lake my whole life and I've always been in walking distance to the local store, gas station, bakery, central business area. But not only that, force local government to expand public transit. Just imagine if only 20% of the driving population started using public transportation. IMAGINE the cutback in pollution. But alas our newer communities are NOT built around public transit. They're so far into their suburban subdivisions that one needs to DRIVE to get to public transportation - which totally defeats the purpose.

I THINK we can do better than what we're doing. We need to offer an alternative, not just the typical sprawl that started circa 1950.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. You think the federal government should get involved in local zoning laws?

Now that is a position that would set the stage for a real Bush landslide.



Please understand me -- I am not arguing in favor of sprawl.


The best way to fight sprawl at the federal level would be to increase gas taxes. But I don't think that is something Kerry should be advocating during this election cycle.

[Sean Reynolds]

14. That wouldn't even put a dent into the problem.

Even if it seems like an unpopular decision, it's one that NEEDS to be addressed. Problem is, the American public is not aware of the problem. Of course if we educate them they MAY be more willing to accept such a belief.

Like I said, we've kept it in the local government's hands for 25 years now and it's done NOTHING. Sprawl continues to grow. Why continue down a failed path?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

18. Why do you say that?

Why do you say it wouldn't put a dent in the problem? Do you really think if gas cost twice what it does now, people would be as eager to commute from the sprawl zone?


Just how exactly would the federal government 'take over' zoning?


And why ignore the facts that that proposal has absolutely no chance whatsover of being enacted and that proposing such an idea would be political suicide?

[Sean Reynolds]

19. But people STILL live out there.

They're still MILES away from public transit. They'll still DRIVE their cars. I'm saying that while it's a start, it can't be the ONLY thing we do.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

22. Just how would the federal government take over zoning?

It's a serious question, one that I hope you will try to answer.

Just how would this happen? What specifically is it that you are proposing?

[Sean Reynolds]

30. Easy, set laws.

Government has the ability. Say it's a national issue that MUST be addressed. If states aren't going to address them, government will.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

33. What about the tenth amendment?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

[texastoast]

2. It will become a "big government" issue

Not that it isn't needed. In Texas, we are not too far away from adjoining Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, so we have one big nice megaplex.

I agree that urban sprawl is devastating. However, my understanding is that it is more of a local issue. And I wonder if it should be made a national issue at this time. Perhaps next year? After I show Mr. Kerry my ineffectual letters on the subject to our humble Texas governor Rick Perry (who assured me there is plenty of wild land left for everyone)?

[Sean Reynolds]

7. Oh I agree it'll become a big government issue.

But we need to do something and if we continually leave it to the states the problem will only grow. The states can try their best, but it's obvious they're losing the fight.

[texastoast]

27. Some states might be trying their best

But Texas is not one of them.

Eventually, we are going to have to address the real question that no one dare speak: population. But I hope it won't be in MY lifetime, or the lifetime of MY child, or MY grandchildren, or MY great-grandchildren, etc. You would think we could be happy with a nice global population of a mere 6 billion humans. Apparently not.

Meanwhile, states can check into Smart Growth options, but my guess will be that there are a number of vested, contributing interests who have absolutely no use for containing sprawl. Those folks would likely be subdivision homebuilders, etc.

Ah, sweet America. Best government money can buy (even better than Chile's!!).

Sorry.

[sangh0]

35. Will you ever learn

to stop making predictions?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=113055#113098

[Cocoa]

3. what would be the role of the federal govt.?

I would think that local zoning laws would have the most direct impact on urban sprawl.

I guess more funds for public transportation would always be welcome, is that the kind
of thing you have in mind?

[Sean Reynolds]

5. See post #4!

Thanks! :)

[zulchzulu]

6. Some info on his ideas on urban sprawl

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=148-04212004

Although the article is from a hunting/angling angle, it comes from a strong environmental view that Kerry has:

"Expand Public Access. One of the greatest challenges facing hunters and anglers today is the dwindling access to nearby places to hunt and fish. Our great outdoors are being lost to urban sprawl, leasing of private lands for pay hunting or simply an unwillingness of private landowners to risk liability associated with public hunting or fishing on their lands. John Kerry has supported legislation to provide more money to states to open up millions of acres of private land for hunting and fishing. As President, Kerry will work to open millions of new acres of land to public hunting and fishing by better funding state walk-in access programs."

Here's another link about smart growth which Kerry is credited for:
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.com/newsroom/pressrelease072501.html

[Delano]

8. To me it's more about SUB-urban sprawl.

In the long run, something must bee done about it. Our suburbs need to be completely restructured and housing densities altered for them to continue to function, with transit being a major component of that.

For the time being, however, I have a good chuckle thinking of all the smug repugs paying $60 to fill up their SUV, then driving an hour each way to work every day, living in some monotonous suburb outside some hideously ugly city... All while I'm enjoying a modest but satisfying life in the city of San Francisco, with great transit systems, beautiful scenery, clean air, a multitude of cultures....

[Sean Reynolds]

11. What is scary is that suburbs are spawning suburbs of their own.

Salt Lake City is prime example of this. Its older suburbs have created newer suburbs, which in return will create NEWER suburbs. Then you've got the burbs that sit in the middle of no where. They've got NO commercial development, and they're just miles of housing. HOW is this good for the environment? HOW is this good for our lifestyle?

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

31. Hmm..maybe the issue is one of scale...

IPerhaps this was happening pre WWII, too, just that the scale was not so far-flung as the potential of the automobile wasnt realized yet..

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

9. I like urban sprawl! Its communistic!

The Communists, along with Frank Lloyd Wright, sort of invented the concept....

Ther was a movemen during Lenins time called the "disurbanists", that advocated rural electrification, road networks, and dispersed industrial and residential developlent, sprawl vs urban concentrations.

and here, Frank Lloyd Wright came up with pretty much the same idea in his "Broadacre City" concept.

on edit, more on the disurbanists

"... the disurbanists sought to completely abolish both town and country through a sort of boundless urban sprawl. Possibly spurred on by the sharp decline in Soviet urban populations following WWI, disurbanists saw the city itself as a passing fancy (Khan-Magomedov 1987 272), and alternatively envisioned ribbon-like networks of roads and factories (French 36-7) with relatively independent housing units (Bliznakov 1993 128).  (Incidentally, this disurbanist dream is quite similar to the type of development currently found along suburban and rural interstate routes in the United States.)  "

http://lcnl.wisc.edu/people/gary/sotsgorod/Debatesofthe1920s.shtml

[Sean Reynolds]

13. But not in the form it is today.

See sprawl in America has taken on a different term than sprawl in Europe. Why? Because we've developed different types of sprawl. Whereas European sprawl is outside their urban core, it also has the benefits of urban living. Such as closer commercial development. Easy access to transit. Neighborhoods NOT built around highways. And so on. In America (Canada too) it's totally different. OUR sprawl is NOT close to commercial development. It does not have easy access to transit. And our neighborhoods ARE built around highways.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

15. See my link...

I edited my post......the Soviets where sort of thinking along US lines, well before the US even got there....of course they would not have the same form as we do as there sprawl would not have been colored by land speculation, but I think the intent was to achieve something similar....the dissoving away of the city....

[Sean Reynolds]

16. Problem with today's sprawl is that it isn't just eating away at our cties

It's eating away at our environment. Back when Lenin ruled, the Soviet Union wasn't dependent on cars like America is today. It's hard to really say what the Soviet sprawl would look like, being 'commie blocks' were built around retail and business. So I'm not so sure we can compare the two.

[Pepperbelly]

10. I would almost like to see this topic as a full discussion in GD ...

It's a problem I have seen with my eyes and thought about a bit. I am unsure what can really be done about it and would like to see it explored.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

17. Theres a real tradeoff operating...

...to have rigid growth control would probably skew housing markets and lead to less homeownership and more apartments, and maybe even price people out of the housing market.

So, sprawl has the indirect result of increasing housing supply..as people "move up" to more expensive or newer housing, the older, smaller housing becomes available for people who might not ordinarly be able to afford houses....

[Sean Reynolds]

20. Not really.

I'm not saying build the houses like they did in the 1900s. More like build the neighborhoods like they did in the 1900s. You know, 'hoods with corner stores and what not. 'Hoods built around public transit. I don't think that'd change the market THAT much, if anything it'd spur more development because it'd create a more vibrant community.

[Pepperbelly]

21. I see your point and there are other obstacles ...

For example, the question of jurisdictions.

So much of urban sprawl in my area is growing into what is otherwise unincorporated areas. The city expands south and west, blocked by a river otherwise. But it is not pleasing. Congestion.

Manswarm.

[AndyTiedye]

25. Build Good Transit, and People Will Use It

BART gets about half of the transbay commute.
It would probably get more if there were better transit within the city.

If we spent the money on transit that we just blew on the Iraq war
the oil barons woudn't be interested in invading middle eastern countries,
they'd be trying to figure out what to do with their oil glut.

Don't give up on transit. We need to make it work in lower-density communities.
Bicycle-on-train programs should be expanded, as should secure
bicycle storage at train stations. Bicycles are not for everyone though,
so there needs to be a range of alternatives available.
A small, cheap, electric vehicle might not get you to work,
but it could probably get you to the train station, and fit into
a really tiny parking space.
Better coordination between different transit agencies would seem
like a no-brainer, but it rarely happens. The lack of schedule coordination
between regional trains and local buses is enough to send almost anyone
back to their cars.

[blm]

23. Here's a Smart Growth America press release from July2001 about John Kerry

7.25.01





SMART GROWTH AMERICA APPLAUDS THE INTRODUCTION OF
THE NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND ACT




Smart Growth America today commends Senator John Kerry on the introduction of the National Housing Trust Fund Act. The availability of quality , affordable housing is critical to regional efforts to effectively manage growth and development.

Across the nation, Americans are struggling with the harmful impacts of urban sprawl, including the loss of open space and farmland, worsening traffic congestion, and neglected older communities. Smart Growth America believes that the lack of housing choices is driving many of these problems.

The establishment of a permanent source of funding to provide Americans with more affordable housing choices is essential to helping communities fight urban sprawl,” said Don Chen, Director of Smart Growth America.

According to the National Housing Conference, 3.7 million American families spend at least 50 percent of their income on housing or live in severely inadequate housing. To reduce these costs, many families seek homes that are located very far from job centers, educational opportunities, health care services, and other opportunities. Furthermore, many families trade off housing costs for added transportation costs, which further saddles them with expenses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American families now spend as much of their family budget on transportation as they do on shelter. And the poorest fifth of America’s households, spend nearly 40 percent of their income on transportation.

“The absence of a good mix of housing and jobs, ensures that communities will face severe traffic problems, continued sprawling development, and the concentration of poverty in neglected neighborhoods,” noted Chen.

We thank Senator Kerry and the other original co-sponsors for their leadership. We look forward to working with them to see the timely passage of the National Housing Trust Fund Act.




####

[blm]

24. and here's Kerry's policy from his site.

Guess you missed it.

Promoting Smart Growth and Livable Communities

John Kerry recognizes that local communities are struggling with how to address issues of traffic congestion and sprawl. A Kerry Administration will work with states and communities to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to tackle these difficult problems. Kerry will ensure that we have “Clean and Green Communities” throughout America by coordinating federal transportation policies, federal housing incentives, federal employment opportunities and the use of federal dollars to acquire parks and open space.

Priorities

1) Provide Information and Assistance to Local Governments

It falls to local communities to create the regulations that actually control the sprawl that most people notice, but the federal government also has a role by providing small matching grants to local and state governments so that they can better plan for development, and improve their land-use regulations.

2) Remove the Incentives in Federal Regulations and Tax Policy that Encourage Sprawl
Government policies often create conditions that encourage sprawl:

• We build bigger and better roads that only serve to move people from suburbs and beyond the suburbs in largely rural areas known as exurbs to inner cities.

• We allow tax breaks of up to $2,280 per year for people to drive alone to work.

• We provide better incentives for people buying new homes than older ones.

Although federal government policies can encourage sprawl, it is state and local governments that must deal with the implications of sprawl: sprawl leads to demand for new schools, new water infrastructure, new local roads, new police and fire stations, and other public services. States and towns must raise their property taxes to provide these services. To help relieve the burden on states and towns John Kerry will modify federal regulations to eliminate incentives that encourage sprawl.


3) Use Federal Policies to Lead by Example and Improve Livability

The federal government is America’s biggest landowner, landlord, and employer. We have the opportunity to manage ourselves in a manner that benefits the local communities in which we serve. For example, John Kerry's administration will ensure that the U.S. Postal Service works with local communities to abide by a community's plans for growth management, land use, traffic management, and environmental protection.

Additionally, Federal facilities should be located in downtown areas to strengthen the economic base of cities, towns and rural communities and make them more attractive places to live and work. Locating Federal facilities in downtown areas will also support historic development patterns, limit sprawl, and have other important environmental benefits.


4) Protecting Open Space

President Lyndon Johnson pioneered passage of the Land and Water Conservation Fund – a program which provides matching grants to States and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. The program is intended to create and maintain a nationwide legacy of high quality recreation areas and facilities and to stimulate non-federal investments in the protection and maintenance of recreation resources across the United States.

John Kerry has fought for full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and he will ensure that ample funds are available to protect threatened land and water resources, to invest in urban parks, and to provide recreational opportunities for all Americans. John Kerry will work with the Congress to hard-wire this funding so that Americans can count on its availability to invest in conservation needs without relying on the uncertainty of the annual Congressional appropriations process.


5) Guaranteeing that Our Kids have Access to Ball Fields and Parks

John Kerry believes that there is a straight line between investing in our environment and improving our quality of life. All of us remember how, as kids, we enjoyed joining our family and friends in local parks, in exploring trails through the woods, and in playing on ball fields near our homes. John Kerry’s commitment to “Clean and Green Communities” means that every child in America should have access to a convenient, clean and safe ball field or park. The Kerry Administration will back this commitment to revitalize and expand our parks and recreation areas by adequately funding programs like the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery program (UPARR) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Success of the program will be measured by a simple test: do our kids have access to clean and safe ball fields and parks?

6) Federal Transportation Policy that Works for Communities

Federal transportation policy is a powerful tool for building more livable communities - those where people, businesses and neighborhoods have access to a variety of transportation choices. Transportation plays a major role in quality of life, influencing everything from access to economic opportunities to environmental quality and community safety. Having transportation choices means having the flexibility to use transportation dollars to best fit local needs such as building light rail and streetcar systems, redesigning neighborhood streets and sidewalks to be more pedestrian friendly, or reducing environmental damage caused by road projects. John Kerry will advance a federal transportation policy that gives communities this flexibility.

John Kerry will also improve the transportation planning and decision-making process by strengthening the role of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and increasing the opportunities for meaningful public participation from important and diverse community voices. Finally, John Kerry will ensure that transportation investments do not harm the environment but instead serve as opportunities to improve air and water quality, maintain critical animal habitat and crossings, preserve open space, and protect endangered species.

 




 

[blm]

29. bumping

so real info has a chance to sink in.

[blm]

34. bumping again for Sean....

In hope the question was asked in earnest.

[Dems Will Win]

26. From the Web site: Smart Growth not Urban Sprawl

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/sprawl/index.html

Promoting Smart Growth and Livable Communities

John Kerry recognizes that local communities are struggling with how to address issues of traffic congestion and sprawl. A Kerry Administration will work with states and communities to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to tackle these difficult problems. Kerry will ensure that we have “Clean and Green Communities” throughout America by coordinating federal transportation policies, federal housing incentives, federal employment opportunities and the use of federal dollars to acquire parks and open space.

Priorities

1) Provide Information and Assistance to Local Governments
It falls to local communities to create the regulations that actually control the sprawl that most people notice, but the federal government also has a role by providing small matching grants to local and state governments so that they can better plan for development, and improve their land-use regulations.

2) Remove the Incentives in Federal Regulations and Tax Policy that Encourage Sprawl

Government policies often create conditions that encourage sprawl:
• We build bigger and better roads that only serve to move people from suburbs and beyond the suburbs in largely rural areas known as exurbs to inner cities.
• We allow tax breaks of up to $2,280 per year for people to drive alone to work.
• We provide better incentives for people buying new homes than older ones.

Although federal government policies can encourage sprawl, it is state and local governments that must deal with the implications of sprawl: sprawl leads to demand for new schools, new water infrastructure, new local roads, new police and fire stations, and other public services. States and towns must raise their property taxes to provide these services. To help relieve the burden on states and towns John Kerry will modify federal regulations to eliminate incentives that encourage sprawl.


3) Use Federal Policies to Lead by Example and Improve Livability

The federal government is America’s biggest landowner, landlord, and employer. We have the opportunity to manage ourselves in a manner that benefits the local communities in which we serve. For example, John Kerry's administration will ensure that the U.S. Postal Service works with local communities to abide by a community's plans for growth management, land use, traffic management, and environmental protection.
Additionally, Federal facilities should be located in downtown areas to strengthen the economic base of cities, towns and rural communities and make them more attractive places to live and work. Locating Federal facilities in downtown areas will also support historic development patterns, limit sprawl, and have other important environmental benefits.


4) Protecting Open Space

President Lyndon Johnson pioneered passage of the Land and Water Conservation Fund – a program which provides matching grants to States and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. The program is intended to create and maintain a nationwide legacy of high quality recreation areas and facilities and to stimulate non-federal investments in the protection and maintenance of recreation resources across the United States.
John Kerry has fought for full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and he will ensure that ample funds are available to protect threatened land and water resources, to invest in urban parks, and to provide recreational opportunities for all Americans. John Kerry will work with the Congress to hard-wire this funding so that Americans can count on its availability to invest in conservation needs without relying on the uncertainty of the annual Congressional appropriations process.


5) Guaranteeing that Our Kids have Access to Ball Fields and Parks

John Kerry believes that there is a straight line between investing in our environment and improving our quality of life. All of us remember how, as kids, we enjoyed joining our family and friends in local parks, in exploring trails through the woods, and in playing on ball fields near our homes. John Kerry’s commitment to “Clean and Green Communities” means that every child in America should have access to a convenient, clean and safe ball field or park. The Kerry Administration will back this commitment to revitalize and expand our parks and recreation areas by adequately funding programs like the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery program (UPARR) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Success of the program will be measured by a simple test: do our kids have access to clean and safe ball fields and parks?

6) Federal Transportation Policy that Works for Communities

Federal transportation policy is a powerful tool for building more livable communities - those where people, businesses and neighborhoods have access to a variety of transportation choices. Transportation plays a major role in quality of life, influencing everything from access to economic opportunities to environmental quality and community safety. Having transportation choices means having the flexibility to use transportation dollars to best fit local needs such as building light rail and streetcar systems, redesigning neighborhood streets and sidewalks to be more pedestrian friendly, or reducing environmental damage caused by road projects. John Kerry will advance a federal transportation policy that gives communities this flexibility.

John Kerry will also improve the transportation planning and decision-making process by strengthening the role of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and increasing the opportunities for meaningful public participation from important and diverse community voices. Finally, John Kerry will ensure that transportation investments do not harm the environment but instead serve as opportunities to improve air and water quality, maintain critical animal habitat and crossings, preserve open space, and protect endangered species.

[AndyTiedye]

28. Build Better Schools in the Cities!

A lot of people who *like* the city
move out to the suburbs when they have kids
in search of better schools.

The good jobs are often out in the suburbs too.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

32. I think this would be a good discusson topic, yes...

...I think urban affairs is something that has really dropped off the agenda and I think it would be worth discussing....