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Monday, June 21,
1999 The Environmental and Energy Study Institute and the Senate and House Northeast-Midwest Coalitions cordially invite you to a briefing on the reasons why U.S. cities have been more prone to sprawl than their European counterparts, which tend to be more compact. The briefing will feature the authors of two very recent books on sprawl: Laws of the Landscape: How Policies Shape Cities in Europe and America, by Pietro S. Nivola, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Once there Were Greenfields: How Urban Sprawl is Undermining America's Environment, Economy and Social Fabric, by Don Chen and Kaid Benfield directors of the Smart Growth programs at the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), respectively. In contrasting U.S. and European metropolitan development, Nivola examines the effectiveness of traditional urban programs, such as core area reconstruction, mass transit investments, urban growth controls, and metropolitan organizational rearrangements, in controlling sprawl, and the effects of "accidental urban policies," including national tax systems, energy conservation efforts, agricultural supports and protection from international commerce. Based on the successes and failures of the European experience, he recommends a number of U.S. policy reforms regarding taxes, transportation and federal regulation. Chen and Benfield document the extent to which sprawl has occurred in major U.S. metropolitan areas, the reasons for it, and its environmental, economic, fiscal and social effects, including overall quality of life. They also make a number of policy recommendations to promote smarter growth and cite models in the U.S. as well as the European experience. Following the speakers' presentations there will be time for questions from the audience. The briefing is open to the public, and no reservations are required. For further information call Michael Chelius of EESI at (202) 662-1886. |