Issues: Smart Growth

People in spread-out locations drive more -- much more. With no mass transit nearby, and stores clustered on highways far away, even a simple errand to pick up a loaf of bread requires a car. At least partly as a result of sprawl, a typical new household puts about 31,000 miles per year on its 2.3 cars, making roughly 12 trips each day. As a consequence, the number of trips taken on foot has dropped by 42 percent in the last 20 years, with almost 70 percent of children's trips taken in the back seat of a car.

Smart-growth communities like this one (the Kentlands, in Montgomery County, Maryland) encourage walking and neighborhood activities. Walks are visually interesting because houses are closer to the street and different areas of the community are connected by networks of pleasant streets, parks and wide sidewalks. Streets are made more pleasant by the presence of gardens and inviting shops. Because smart-growth communities are designed for people, not cars, traffic-calming devices, such as traffic circles, speed bumps, and brick cross-walks, may be used to slow cars that pass through.

Photos: Top, Chesapeake Bay Foundation; Bottom, Susan Handy