Vice President Al Gore has joined the ranks

Vice President Al Gore has joined the ranks of many politicians, including both Republicans and Democrats, who are starting to recognize the benefits of traditional community design. In a speech to the Brookings Institution on September 2, Gore spoke at great length about the environmental, economic, and social damage caused by sprawl. The solutions that he recommended — redeveloping cities, building town squares instead of shopping centers, recon- figuring the suburbs into compact pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods — are essentially the New Urbanism. “While the blight of poor development and its social consequences have many names, the solutions, pioneered by local citizens, are starting to coalesce into a movement,” Gore says. “Some call it ‘sustainability;’ some call it ‘smart growth;’ others refer to ‘metropolitan strategies;’ still others prefer to talk about ‘regionalism.’ In New York and Portland, in towns like Celebration in Florida and in other areas nationwide, it’s been called the movement for ‘livability.’ And that’s as good a word as any.” Gore announces a series of strategies that the federal government can follow to support this trend: 1) Federally funded buildings, such as post offices, should be located in downtown areas; 2) The government should reexamine policies that fund infrastructure, like sewer lines extended into undeveloped areas, which encourage sprawl; 3) Funding for transit and other projects should encourage compact development; 4) The federal government should be a partner with cities in supporting sustainable development. Gore announced a $100 million location-efficient mortgage program initiated by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), which will enable people living near transit in urban neighborhoods to quality for larger mortgages.