(2008-01-31) Steffen Compact Cities Instead Of Hybrids

Alex Steffen thinks it's much more important that we move to compact communities (Urbanization) than improve AutoMobile Gas Mileage to reduce Climate Change. In other words, we know that density reduces driving. We know that we're capable of building really dense new neighborhoods and even of using good design, In-Fill development and infrastructure investments to transform existing medium-low density neighborhoods into walkable (Walking) compact communities. Creating communities dense enough to save those 85 million metric tons of tailpipe emissions is (politics aside) easy. It is within our power to go much farther: to build whole metropolitan regions where the vast majority of residents live in communities that eliminate the need for daily driving, and make it possible for many people to live without private cars altogether... People in compact urban areas also pay substantially less in other energy costs. As we've discussed frequently before, dense neighborhoods are far more energy efficient than even "green" sprawl already and all the innovation trends seem to me to benefit compact development... Density is not just green, it's blue. Studies show that urban dwellers tend not only to use less water overall, but generate less Storm Water Run Off per person... Compact communities are better able to support the kinds of distributed infrastructure that lends itself to neighborhood survivability and disaster Resilience.