Gore’s agenda needs defining

It was good to hear the Clinton administration weigh in on the sprawl issue, unveiling a “Livability Agenda.” Vice President Al Gore outlined the proposal in early January, which includes a host of initiatives. These include: tax credits of $700 million over five years to finance bond offerings for preserving and creating greenways, parks, farmland, and open space; $50 million in matching funds for regional “smart growth planning”; a record $6.1 billion for transit and $2.2 billion to help communities create regional transportation strategies, improve roads and encourage alternative transportation. At the same time, Gore has been making speeches promoting concepts like “the architecture of community.” He told the American Institute of Architects: “At our best in America, we have built for people gathering together: from the open village greens of our serene New England towns, to the mixed-use downtowns of our most vibrant cities … our architects and developers have a rich tradition of building in ways that have enhanced civic life and family well-being.” He compares that design tradition favorably to “the sprawl that has developed around our cities and has transformed easy suburbs into lonely cul-de-sacs.” No argument there from new urbanists. The problem is that Gore’s proposals, as announced, are as yet too vague to see clearly how they will contribute to building better places. When Gore talks about open space, is he talking about neighborhood greens, squares and parks, or left over parcels with little public utility? Is it natural green space preserved in a coordinated regional system, or parcels haphazardly chosen? How precisely is “smart growth planning” defined? Will the transit be connected to compact, walkable development? The images that Gore is presenting are good, and few can argue with his contention that sprawl is a problem. Whether the policies are effective depends on how closely they are connected to providing incentives for development and revitalization of human-scale neighborhoods, instead of automobile-oriented sprawl. u