Healthy communities still more useful than sprawl
By Rick Bettis
The dedicated group of young volunteers at "Food Not Bombs" prepares and serves weekly meals to those in need. Their name makes a clear and cogent statement about the need to change our national priorities. Thinking of this organization makes me long for a "Farms Not ‘Burbs" because the history of land use in the Sacramento area has been characterized by poorly planned urban sprawl.
This development pattern is largely a result of our car culture that rapidly developed following World War II. The private automobile had made earlier inroads following Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line, making cars affordable for many. However during the post-
The decision to construct the federal Interstate Highway System was made by the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s. The largest of these freeways comprised the "Interstate Defense Highway System," a road network intended to provide routes for the transport of military personnel and weapons. Ironically the increased travel enabled by these highways has resulted in our reliance on oil imports with the resulting international competition and insecurity, and the "war for oil" syndrome.
The legislation establishing the Interstate Highway System specifically designated these freeways for "interurban travel"—between cities, and not "intraurban travel"—within a city. However, as the result of pressure from developer interests, this rule was dropped resulting in the many off-ramps and interchanges that facilitated urban sprawl.
Prior to World War II, Sacramento, like other cities throughout the nations had an excellent public transit system. Trolley routes were within approximately a three-block walk of area locations throughout the city. However, following the war, a consortium including General Motors, Standard Oil, and Firestone tires purchased the transit system in Sacramento and elsewhere. They soon began removing the trolley tracks and replacing them with buses manufactured by GM, fueled by Standard Oil and riding on Firestone tires.
This was also the era of very inexpensive fuel, and affordable, if not always reliable, autos. Prominent among are cultural icons were such advertising jingles as "See the USA in your Chevrolet." As observed by one enlightened urban planner, the Executive Director of the Local Government Commission: "we became a society who will jump in their SUV and drive a mile or two to a health club and get on a treadmill for some exercise."
Included in the many problems caused by urban sprawl are potentially catastrophic global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, health damaging air pollution, overuse of resources such as water and energy, lack of exercise from walking and biking, loss of agricultural lands and the availability of locally produced foods, the loss of open space, natural habitats, and biodiversity, as well as the economic and national security issues mentioned previously.
Another significant impact is the loss of a sense of community that can result from the "my home is my castle" mentality, in contrast to the "neighbors and friends on the front porch" culture of the past. The current economic meltdown taking place can in large part be traced to this seemingly "Wild West" culture of uncontrolled and unsustainable growth where GM has finally gone bankrupt.
In recent years there has been progress made in the attempt to reverse this trend toward an automobile dominated suburbia. Locally the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) conducted a public planning process that resulted in the "Blueprint" conceptual plan for growth in six Sacramento county regions for the next 50 years. This plan was based on such "Smart Growth" principles as making development more compact and using "mixed" land uses such as integrating commercial and residential uses to reduce travel.
SACOG has prepared a Metropolitan Transportation Plan based on this Blueprint. They are working with and conducting educational workshops for local Planners in an effort to implement the "Blueprint" principles. Local governments including the city and county of Sacramento have updated their general plans for future development based on the "Blueprint" principles. They have also adopted, or are preparing, sustainability and climate action plans that are intended to reverse the problems caused by sprawl.
The State has also seen some positive action since Assembly Bill 32, which was passed in 2006, set strong goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Senate Bill 375, authored by Sacramento Senator Darrel Steinberg, will potentially improve chances for state transportation funding to communities that adopt plans and policies to reduce sprawl and implement the Smart Growth principles. Similar measures, such as the Waxman-Markey "American Clean Energy and Security Act," and accompanying land use planning legislation are sitting in the US Congress.
Public awareness and involvement have markedly increased. There are many conferences and workshops addressing these important issues. Examples are recent workshops on energy conservation and on the implementation of the SB 375 land use legislation. On July 10 there will be a "Complete Streets" symposium that will explore ways to enhance the walk-ability and bicycle usage in our communities (see www.lgc.org for more info).
We have not yet reached the "Tipping Point" described in the book by Malcolm Gladwell of the same name; however we have turned a corner that can put us on a path toward healthy, livable and sustainable communities.
Rick Bettis is a retired civil engineer. He is a member of Common Cause, Sacramento Media Group and League of Women Voters.
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