Southern Sprawl and Smart Growth

Public awareness and concern with problems relating to sprawl development is growing, creating pressure for change and significant opportunities to promote new approaches that can capture the benefits of growth while reducing the environmental, health and economic costs. But there is still much to understand about the causes and solutions of current growth trends. The following reports and articles, most of which focus on the South, shed light on many of these issues.

Stuck in the Sand: How Trillions Spent on Highways Keep America Dependent on Middle East Oil: A report by the Environmental Working Group. Amid rising gas prices and calls for energy independence, this analysis of the dependence of metro areas on oil - particularly in the South - underscores the urgent need to broaden transportation options for gridlocked, car-dependent communities in order to decrease reliance on Middle East oil sources and increase national security over the long haul. (Sept 2005)
Driven to Spend: Pumping Dollars Out of Our Households and Communities: Report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project and the Center for Neighborhood Technology shows that people in areas with more sprawl pay more for transportation versus other household costs. (June 2005)
Getting There: Sustainable Transportation and Smart Growth: Report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project and the Center for Neighborhood Technology shows that people in areas with more sprawl pay more for transportation versus other household costs. (June 2005)
Where Are We Growing? Land use and transportation in Richmond, VA: SELC report analyzing population, transportation and land use trends in metro Richmond, and examines alternative ways to grow. (November 2003)
Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl: A national report by Smart Growth America on sprawl and obesity. (September 2003)
Reinventing Growth: An article by SELC attorney Trip Pollard in Urban Land. (2003)
Where Are We Growing? Land use and transportation in Virginia: SELC report on sprawl and smart-growth solutions in Virginia. (2003)
Smart Growth and Sustainable Transportation: Can We Get There From Here?: A regional look at the problems, and solutions, written by Trip Pollard Fordham Urban Law Review. (April 2002)
Growth in the Southeast: Trends and Choices: Article by Trip Pollard in Carolina Planning Journal. (Fall 2002)
Southern Water Resources Hardest Hit by Sprawl: A national report on how sprawl aggravates drought. (August 2002)
Where Are We Growing? Land use and transportation in Middle Tennessee: SELC report on sprawl and smart-growth solutions in Middle Tennessee. (May 2001)
Smart Growth in the Southeast: A report by SELC and the Environmental Law Institute. (1999)