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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the Senate Smart Growth Task Force, and the House Livable Communities Task Force invite you to a Congressional briefing on growing public demand for solutions to sprawl. The briefing will feature five speakers representing Smart Growth America, a new national coalition of more than 60 public interest groups concerned about sprawl.

The pace of land development in the United States has roughly doubled over the past decade; traffic congestion is hitting unprecedented levels, and metropolitan areas are witnessing new housing shortages and escalating prices because of the New Economy. The speakers will report new evidence showing that Americans consider sprawl-type development out of control and support "smart growth" policies to reduce traffic congestion, preserve existing communities, ensure greater housing affordability and protect the environment and open space. They will cite public polls, results from recent ballot measures, real estate trends and a recent upsurge in public transit usage.

The speakers, from environmental, community reinvestment, farmland, transportation and other stakeholder groups, will discuss how their own organization's work contributes to the goals of smart growth. They will also describe how Smart Growth America, whose membership includes a wide spectrum of public interest groups, will contribute to a national debate on how sprawl development is endangering our nation's communities.

The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session. The briefing is free and open to the public, and reservations are not required. For more information, please contact Amy Brooks at EESI (202-662-1897/ abrooks@eesi.org).