Q. Doesn’t this legislation stop growth?

A. It is important to note that being against sprawl does not mean being against growth. However, it does mean being against unmitigated growth.

Q. Doesn’t unmanaged growth create jobs?

A. Growth does create new jobs, but it does not necessarily reduce unemployment. Professor Harvey Molotch of the University of California, Santa Barbara compared the 25 fastest growing cities in the United States with the 25 slowest growing cities in the U.S. in terms of unemployment. He found no statistical correlation between growth rates and unemployment rates. Faster-growing cities do create new jobs, but they also attract new residents who don’t find jobs.

Q. Doesn’t unmanaged growth increase the tax revenue?

A. Growth does increase the tax base, but it does so at a substantial cost to taxpayers. That is why larger cities have higher per capita taxes. For example, from 1971-1981, Springfield, Illinois went through a period of rapid growth. At the same time, total indebtedness quadrupled, total municipal spending quadrupled, and per capita spending tripled. Growth creates costs as well as revenue.

Q. Doesn’t unmanaged growth create a good business climate?

A. Some people argue that growth creates a good business climate, which increases the prosperity of a community. A study by William R. Freudenburg of the University of Wisconsin compares the prosperity of states with “good” business climates and those with “bad” business climates. Freudenburg found that states with “good” business climate ratings actually had worse economies than those with “bad” business climate ratings.

 

Growth is good, but unmitigated growth can have a negative fiscal impact on a community. Stopping sprawl and planning growth can save citizens significant amounts of money.

 

The above policy answers rely in large part on information provided by the Center for Policy Alternatives.

Q. Doesn’t limiting sprawl limit people’s choices?

A. No. Limiting sprawl creates more choices. Studies show that Americans want nice neighborhoods and clean communities where they have easy access to markets, shops, entertainment, and schools, and the choice to walk or bike to work. Sprawling development divides residential areas from the places we work, shop, and play. Smart growth offers greater choice for homebuyers and renters by making communities more livable. Smart growth offers citizens a greater range of transportation choices, so walking, biking, riding the train, or driving are all options. Smart growth also helps protect cherished open spaces from development.

Q. Won’t new roads relieve some of the sprawl problems, like traffic congestion?

A. No. New roads may ease congestion for a short while, but they also attract more cars, and lead to more sprawling development and more traffic when everyone tries to get to places far from home. According to a recent study by the American Farmland Trust, highways are the number one cause of sprawl.

Q. America is huge! How could we be running out of land?

A. What we are running out of is our most important and productive land. Most of the land that is being paved to build scattered residential or business developments is prime farm land. Developers destroy almost 50 acres of productive farm land each hour. More than 100,000 acres of wetlands that prevent flooding, help purify our drinking water and provide habitat for many plants and animals are being drained and developed each year.

Q. Don’t growth boundaries and other limits on development violate private-property rights?

A. Not for most of us. We all live by certain rules governing our property, like zoning laws. Many of us have property values at stake. Relatively few people profit from sprawling development while many may see taxes rise and property values fall as a result of sprawl.

 

Also, private interests must be balanced against public interests like preserving our precious natural resources and reducing pollution.