The case for developing in more compact ways

The case for developing in more compact ways — and thus reducing global warming — is made with dozens of color graphs and tables in Growing Cooler, a new book published by the Urban Land Institute. The 170-page, $39.95 hardcover explores climate-and-development findings in ten detailed chapters, the result of intensive studies. Subtitled “The Evidence on Urban Development on Climate Change,” the book is authored by Reid Ewing, Keith Bartholomew, Steve Winkelman, Jerry Walters, and Don Chen with Geoffrey Anderson, James B. Grace, Barbara McCann, and David Goldberg. The findings were first released last September and were reported in the October-November 2007 New Urban News. Among the book’s conclusions: • Vehicle miles traveled could be reduced 20 to 40 percent for each increment of new development or redevelopment, “depending on the degree to which best practices are adopted.” With compact development, total carbon dioxide emissions from transportation would drop by 7 to 10 percent by 2050, when compared to emissions generated if conventional development continues. • “The shift from sprawl to compact development will have many other economic, environmental, and quality-of-life benefits. … Compact development provides an insurance policy against the worst effects of climate change and oil price spikes.” That last message is more pertinent than ever. In a little less than eight months after the findings were released, Consumer Reports says the average US retail price of regular gasoline jumped 32 percent — from $2.81 a gallon on September 24, 2007, to $3.72 on May 12, 2008.