Growing up Urban
The political climate of land-use planning
For decades, devising a clear solution for California’s suburban sprawl and ensuing car culture has been the Holy Grail for smart-growth advocates. One trip on any of the Golden State’s perpetually clogged roadways during peak hours shows how ineffective most of those efforts have been. But with the state’s historic attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in full swing, this might be changing.
As with Assembly Bill 32, the state’s primary greenhouse gas reduction plan, the impetus for this shift has come via state lawmakers in the form of Senate Bill 375, a measure that requires regional planners to make greenhouse gas reduction part of their overall growth strategy. In theory, the measure, authored by Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a former Sacramento councilman, will do a lot more than that. According to the law’s proponents, SB 375 could finally push California developers out of the sprawl business and toward creating more sustainable communities where people live closer to public transit and their jobs. (click title to continue reading)
