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New urbanism pushes transit systems ahead
of cars That environment would put a halt to urban sprawl and include communities designed for the pedestrian with narrower streets, green roofs, protection of the natural environment and efficient transit systems, Hudson says. The benefits include a safer, less polluted environment and more liveable neighbourhoods in both larger and smaller cities, he says. “The automobile too often takes precedence in urban planning and government spending.” The Chicago-based congress has 2,500 members and has developed a charter of the new urbanism dedicated to reclaiming the urban environment in neighbourhoods, towns and cities, Hudson explains in a telephone interview with Axiom News. “I think it’s an idea that is catching on,” he says. A red flag went up for the public with the current congestion on highways, stemming from dependence on the automobile for transportation Hudson says. “People realize urban sprawl can’t continue the way it has been going.” This concern has been sparked by recent sharp increases in the price of gasoline, with people now more ready to look at transit alternatives he says. “We should be able to walk, take a train or ride a bicycle.” People from the United States who visit Europe where transit systems are efficient and well used always comment fondly that they didn’t have to drive anywhere, he says. “They love the pedestrian environments in European cities, yet come home to the sprawl-ridden cities of North America and drive their cars everywhere.” The problem is an imbalance in money spent on roads compared to money spent on other forms of transportation, he says. In the United States, 80 per cent of federal transportation funding is spent on roads with 20 per cent on transit, Hudson says. “We would like more balanced funding.” People complain about subsidies for transit but not about subsidies for road infrastructure, he says. “The federal government in the United States didn’t even fund transit until 1991.” The congress believes in density in the urban core and that the urban core is sustainable by definition, Hudson says. The key to transit is density, to attract riders, he says. Suburbs popped up in North America beginning in the 1950s but getting a house in the suburbs has never really been the American dream, Hudson says. “It is the developers’ dream and it was skilfully marketed into the 1980s.” Urban sprawl and pollution are the result, he says. The new urbanism is focused on revitalizing towns and cities, protecting agricultural lands and ending environmental deterioration, according to the congress’ Charter of the New Urbanism. |
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Peaceful Communities is reaching more people! The Grassroots Review |
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