Smart Growth 101 John W. Frece, Director, Office of Sustainable Communities,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Paul Zykofsky, Associate Director, Local Government Commission
13th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference Denver, Colorado February 13, 2013
Changing the Conversation • Smart Growth Network – 45 partners
– A national coalition that defines and advances smart growth practices
• National Smart Growth Conferences
(since 1998)
• Smart Growth Online (smartgrowth.org)
• National Award for Smart Growth Achievement (since 2002) – 809 applications from all 50 states,
Puerto Rico and D.C., 52 communities selected.
Changing the Rules • Water infrastructure
– EPA works with HUD, DOT and USDA to make green infrastructure approaches more commonplace.
• 2011 SRF Procedures
– EPA provides guidance to states on Water Infrastructure Sustainability.
• Green building – EPA works with the US Green
Building Council, the International Code Council, and other standard setting organizations.
Helping the Willing • Technical assistance to state and local
governments – more than 50% of OSC’s FY12 and FY13 work plans.
• Cutting-edge issues (SGIA)
• State policy changes (GICD)
• High-visibility demo projects (GAC)
• Tools to overcome common barriers (BB)
Partnership for Sustainable Communities
1. Provide more transportation choices
2. Promote equitable, affordable housing
3. Enhance economic competitiveness
Livability Principles 4. Support existing communities 5. Coordinate policies and leverage
investment 6. Value communities and
neighborhoods
Senate Banking Committee, June 16, 2009
The Three Ages of Environmentalism
• Preserving our wilderness: Creating the National Park System (early 1900s)
• Protection from polluters: Addressing the environment as a public health crisis (mid-1900s)
• Livability: Linking the environment with economic prosperity and quality of life (late 1900s to today)
A Fourth Age of Environmentalism
• Green building
• Renewable energy
• Sustainability
What Is a Sustainable Community? A sustainable community is an
urban, suburban or rural community that has more housing and transportation
choices, is closer to jobs, shops or schools, is more energy independent and helps protect clean air and water.
Smart growth approaches can help communities
become more sustainable.
• Fiscal: Expensive for services and infrastructure
• Health: Reduced physical activity, high rates of obesity and related diseases
• Social: Can reduce race and class segregation, loss of the public realm
• Environmental: Can reduce land and resource consumption, air and water pollution, mitigate climate change
Why Should We Care?
Why Does EPA Care?
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EPA cannot meet its environmental goals through regulation alone.
If we do not also work to mitigate the adverse impacts of land use patterns, they will eat our lunch.
Population, Development and Transportation Trends
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U.S.$Popula+on$Growth$and$Land$Consump+on$$U.S. Population Growth and Land Consumption, 1982-2027
Growth of Metropolitan Areas • The land area in virtually every metropolitan
region in the U.S. has expanded substantially since 1950.
• Urbanized area increased 2.5 times faster than population growth between 1950 and 2010.
• Urbanized area continued to grow even in areas losing population.
13
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Expansion with Little Population Growth
U.S. Census 1950 1,389,582 pop.
U.S. Census 2002 1,393,978 pop.
Cuyahoga Co Land Use Maps – Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Planning Commission
Expansion of Developed Land • 1982: Nearly 71 million acres of land developed • 2007: More than 111 million acres (57% increase) • Over this 25-year period, the U.S. population
increased about half as much (30%).
15
Sources: U.S. Forest Service 2009 and U.S. Census Bureau
• Of the newly developed land: - Nearly half (17,083,500 acres) was forestland. - About one quarter (11,117,500 acres) was cropland. - The remainder was pastureland, rangeland, or other rural land.
Growth in Housing Units
16
!
0
20,000,000
40,000,000
60,000,000
80,000,000
100,000,000
120,000,000
140,000,000
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2011
Total!hou
sing!units Other
Mobile!homes
Apartments,!5!or!more!units
Apartments,!2!to!4!units
Attached!homes
Detached!homes
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau
Average Size of Single-Family Homes
17
!
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009
Floo
r!area!(squ
are!feet)
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau
Average U.S. Household Size !
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
1947 1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007
Average!hou
seho
ld!size
Building Energy Use
18
!
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
1949 1959 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Energy'use
(trillion
'British'the
rmal'units)
Residential
Commercial
Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Building Water Use !
24.3 25.2 26.0 28.0 29.4
6.98.3 9.6
10.3 10.2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Water!use!(b
illion!gallons!per!day)
Commercial
Residential
More Impervious Cover
• One estimate: 40,006 square miles—an area slightly smaller than Kentucky
• 4% increase between 2001 and 2006 – Arizona: 8.9% increase – Georgia: 8.4% increase – South Carolina: 7.9% increase
• Most cities have levels of impervious cover known to stress or seriously degrade watersheds. – One study of 18 cities in the 2000s showed a 0.31%
increase per year while canopy cover declined.
19
Sources: Xian et al. 2011; Nowak & Greenfield 2012.
More Vehicles per Household
20
!
4.6%15.7% 19.2% 19.6% 19.1% 23.2% 22.7%
26.4%
34.4%33.5%
38.4% 40.4% 37.2% 36.3%
48.4%
34.6% 33.7%32.8% 32.4% 31.4% 32.3%
20.6% 15.3% 13.5% 9.2% 8.1% 8.1% 8.7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1969 1977 1983 1990 1995 2001 2009
Percen
t!of!hou
seho
lds
No!vehicle
One!vehicle
Two!vehicles
Three!or!more!vehicles
Data source: Federal Highway Administration
More Roads !
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Miles
More Spaces for Parking
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• 2010: More than 240 million cars, buses and trucks in the U.S.
• One estimate of total parking in the United States: 820 million spaces that would cover 8,500 square miles.
• When combined with space devoted to roads: 23,900 square miles of land is paved for driving and parking—nearly the size of West Virginia.
Sources: Federal Highway Administration 2010; Chester et al. 2010
Growth in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Far Outpaces Growth in Population
22
!
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Increase!since!19
50
VMT!growth
Population!growth
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau; Federal Highway Administration
Future Trends
• 2010 to 2050 – Population growth: 42% – New housing: 52 million units – Replacement housing: 37 million units
• One estimate of acres that will be lost between 1997 and 2060: – Rural land: 60-85 million acres – Forests: 24-38 million acres – Cropland:19-28 million acres – Rangeland: 8-11 million acres
23 Sources: Vincent & Velkoff 2010; Ewing et al. 2008; Wear 2011
“Researchers estimate that the number of new and
replacement units projected to be built between 2005 and 2050 is equivalent to
about two-thirds of the 132 million housing units that
existed in 2011.”
Environmental Consequences of These Trends
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Land Contamination • Between 235,000 and 355,000 sites in the U.S. are
contaminated with hazardous waste and petroleum products: – Atlanta: 4% of land area – Cleveland: >7% of land area – Milwaukee: 7.5% of land area
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• Poor and minority neighborhoods often have a disproportionately high number of brownfields.
Photo source: Bob Jagendorf via flickr.com
Sources: EPA 2004; Leigh & Coffin 2005; McCarthy 2009; Lee & Mohai 2011
Degradation of Water Resources • Urban-related stormwater runoff is
thought to be responsible for the impairment of: – 51,548 miles of rivers and streams – 858,186 acres of lakes, reservoirs, and ponds – 1,877 square miles of bays and estuaries – 270 coastal shoreline miles – 452 square miles of ocean and near coastal
area – 13,867 square miles of Great Lakes open
water
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Source: EPA
• But the majority of U.S. waters have not been assessed.
Effects of Development on Streams • Removing vegetation decreases evapotranspiration. • Impervious surfaces increase runoff:
– Water recharge is reduced. – Floods more frequent and severe. – Water temperature increases.
• Streamflow is altered at 86% of monitoring stations in developed areas.
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Sources: National Research Council 2009; Carlisle et al. 2011
• Increased flow causes: • erosion; • wider, deeper channels; • lower flow levels.
Loss of Wetlands
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!
(458,000)
(290,000)
(58,550)
32,000!
(13,800)
(500,000)
(400,000)
(300,000)
(200,000)
(100,000)
-
100,000!
1950s-1970s 1970s-1980s 1980s-1990s 1998-2004 2004-2009
Ann
ual!change!in!wetland
s!(acres)
Data source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Dahl 2011)
Change in Forest Area,1907-2002
29 Data source: Ramankutty, Heller, and Rhemtulla 2010
Habitat Degradation • Lawns have relatively low infiltration rates; often
require irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides; and require energy for mowing.
• Non-native plants found in many managed landscapes can reduce the abundance and diversity of insect herbivores, reducing the energy available in food webs.
• Some of these non-native species have become invasive. Invasive species are at least partly responsible for the listing of about 42% of the species that are threatened or endangered.
30
Pho
to s
ourc
e: th
is ly
re la
rk (d
erya
) via
flic
kr.c
om
Sources: Tallamy & Shropshire 2009; Pimentel et al. 2005
Effects of Roads • Habitat destruction and fragmentation
– Many species cannot survive along road edges. Species density tends to increase with distance from roads.
• Estimates of land ecologically affected by roads: 20% to 50% of the United States
• Animal mortality – 1 to 2 million collisions between vehicles and large animals
per year – Major cause of death for 21 animals on the federal
threatened or endangered species list
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Sources: Federal Highway Administration 2008; Coffin 2007; Riiters & Wickham 2003; Forman & Deblinger 2000
Heat Island Effect • Cities can be 6-8°F. warmer than outlying areas
due to: – Dark pavement and roofs that absorb and reflect
more heat. – Fewer trees and less vegetation that reduce shade
and evaporative cooling.
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Sources: Frumkin 2002; Stone 2008
• Increased heat can be a health hazard:
- Heat stroke - Increased air pollution
Slippers protect Las Vegas
dog from hot pavement.
Activity Levels, Obesity, and Chronic Disease • How we build our communities affects:
– The amount of time we spend in cars. – The opportunity, practicality, and necessity of physical
activity.
• The degree of land use mix and county-level measures of sprawl both likely affect the incidence of obesity.
• As the number of minorities and poor increases in an area, the number of facilities for physical activity and recreation often decreases.
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Sources: Frank et al. 2006; Frumkin 2002; Feng et al. 2010; Ferdinand et al. 2012; Gordon-Larson et al. 2006
• Since 1990, GHG emissions from personal vehicles have risen 14% and emissions from trucks have risen 74%*
• Buildings and transportation together account for about 2/3 of U.S. GHG emissions.**
*FHWA Highway Statistics Series **US EPA 2009 Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks
Air Quality Impacts
* Source: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory, April 2012 ** Source: US EPA 2009 Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks
Effects of Global Climate Change
• Increased temperature • Rainfall changes • More frequent and intense
extreme weather events • Stronger winter storms • Increased wildfires • Rising sea level • Shrinking sea ice
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Source: U.S. Global Change Research Program 2009
Effects of Different Types of Development on the Environment
Where We Build and How We Build
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M M
M
M
M Lower Density Zoning
Lower Density Zoning
What a Smart Growth Community Can Look Like
Because of this style of development, just under 3% of the land mass of Arlington County, VA, generates 37% of the county’s tax base.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Speck, NEA
A sustainable community in rural New York.
How Where and How We Build Affects the Environment
• Where we build – Safeguarding sensitive areas – Locating development in built-up areas – Focusing development around existing transit
• How we build – Compact development – Mixed-use development – Street connectivity – Community design – Destination accessibility – Transit accessibility – Green building
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• SAVES MONEY through lower transportation and infrastructure costs.
• CREATES JOBS in construction, maintenance, rehabilitation of older buildings, or cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields.
• INCREASES PRIVATE INVESTMENTS by providing amenities like public transportation that tend to attract such investment.
• MAKES MONEY through higher property values from redeveloped shopping centers, reclaimed buildings or lots, or by providing places with more transportation or housing options.
• MEETS MARKET DEMAND at both ends of the demographic spectrum : • Helps Millennials who yearn for lively urban settings; and, • Baby Boomers who increasingly look for amenities — health care, theaters, or grocery stores —reachable by foot or transit.
Benefits of $mart Growth Approaches
Barriers to Smart Growth • Local governments influence
development choices by mandating: – Minimum lot sizes – Separation of uses – Minimum numbers of parking spaces – Minimum setbacks and street widths – Density limits – Minimum acreage requirements for
schools – Single housing types
• State and federal governments provide: – Water infrastructure and regulation – Transportation – Sometimes inflexible funding rules – Environmental requirements
EPA’s smart growth program – the Office of Sustainable Communities –
works to remove or modify these actions when they
become barriers.
Our Built and Natural Environments:
A Technical Review of the Interactions Among Land Use, Transportation, and
Environmental Quality Melissa G. Kramer, Ph.D. [email protected]
Contact Us:
John W. Frece US EPA Office of Sustainable Communities [email protected]
Paul Zykofsky Local Government Commission [email protected]
