Environment:

Sprawl

Nearly everyone but the most brazen of developers now opposes sprawl. Sprawl fuels racial polarization and social inequity, causes air pollution, destroys farmland and rural communities, siphons resources away from urban communities and undermines the quality of life for tens of millions through gridlock, loss of green space, wasted commuting time, cultural homogeneity and numerous other blights on community well-being.

Often unrecognized in the analysis of sprawl is its perverse effect on communities of color and low-income communities that suffer multiple kinds of harm from sprawl-related disinvestment. As businesses and jobs migrate to suburbs, the urban poor may not be able to get to better-paying jobs -- they may not be able to afford cars, and public transportation may be expensive, highly inconvenient or nonexistent. Racial segregation is also entrenched through "transit racism," the practice of deliberately planning routes in ways that effectively segregate people of color and low-income people from middle-class whites.

While criticizing sprawl is easy, few politicians are willing to identify its underlying causes, confront the developer interests which favor sprawl, and advance a policy agenda to effect real change in development patterns.

The sources of sprawl include under-investment in urban schools and communities; massive investment in roads and highways at the expense of public transit; local and state corporate tax welfare that encourages development in undeveloped areas, and federal subsidies for suburban roads, sewers and services. These factors and others intermix in a complicated dynamic that produces sprawling metropolitan areas that leave everyone unhappy -- from rural residents to those in idyllic suburbs that suddenly suffer from traffic jams, to those in urban areas.

Given the complexity of the problem, only a broad policy package offers hope of meaningful solutions. Many elements of such a policy must be implemented at the state and local level; but key decisions rest with the federal government. Among other measures, the federal government should:

* rapidly ratchet up its support for public transportation;

* provide funds for the rehabilitation of old schools in old neighborhoods, not just construction of new schools;

* build more affordable housing and invest in urban neighborhoods; and

* support state and local efforts to encourage smarter development, rein in sprawl, and preserve farmland.