Over the past two decades, the term “smart growth” has become part of the national lexicon. Used frequently by policymakers and activists, the term describes a planning vision for transportation and development that purports to preserve the American dream of home ownership, mobility, and freedom.
Proponents contend the result will be an ideal lifestyle that uses resources in the best interest of cities, towns, and their residents. But the ramifications of what is in reality a stifling and coercive approach to public policy are starkly different from the utopian-sounding rhetoric.
On Jan. 10, the Center for Local Innovation will host “Innovate 2004: Preserving the American Dream in North Carolina,” a discussion of the consequences of the smart-growth movement, a look at the experiences of other states, and thoughts on what’s in store for North Carolina if smart-growth policies continue to be implemented. Transportation and growth experts from around the nation and across North Carolina will share perspective on the movement’s threat to liberty and freedom as demonstrated by transit and land-use regulations that promote dense urban development and restrict rural development.
To kick off the conference, rail transit experts Thomas Rubin and Ted Balaker will team up for “What Will Rail Transit Do for North Carolina?” To set the framework, Rubin, a certified public accountant and independent consultant who was controller-treasurer of the Southern California Rapid Transit District during the construction of the Los Angeles Red Line subway, will review results of rail projects already operating. In the process, he will offer evidence of rail’s exorbitant cost, ineffectiveness at reducing road congestion, and inefficient use of transportation dollars.
Balaker, Jacobs fellow in transportation policy for the Reason Public Policy Institute in Los Angeles, will bring the discussion home to North Carolina as he weighs in on the feasibility and cost of rail in North Carolina, including proposals for Charlotte and the Triangle. His presentation will include preliminary results of a North Carolina rail study he and others are conducting for the John Locke Foundation. The study will be released in early 2004.
“Light-rail projects tend to focus on one small area of a city and they generally don’t do much to improve overall mobility,” Balaker said. “It will be interesting to see if the North Carolina projects focus on improving overall mobility and especially improving the mobility of the working poor, who often have no alternative to public transit.”
If rail isn’t the answer, then what are the components of sound transportation policy for North Carolina’s growing cities? Urban policy and transportation specialist Wendell Cox will offer his expertise and analysis for “How Does North Carolina Best Meet Its Urban Transportation Needs?” According to Cox, a principal of the international public policy firm Wendell Cox Consultancy, those who try to make policy with an eye toward limiting the use of cars are heading down the wrong road.
“The regional planning organizations in all North Carolina urban areas project that virtually all new urban travel demand will be for automobiles,” Cox said.
“There is good reason for this. The modern urban area, whether it be in the United States or Europe, is automobile-oriented. Transit can serve only the large downtowns, and there are none in North Carolina. The critical challenge is to keep the traffic and the economy moving,” he said.
Joining Cox will be UNC-Charlotte Professor of Transportation Studies David Hartgen, author of the Locke Foundation’s recent policy report “Highways and Sprawl in North Carolina.” Hartgen’s study of North Carolina road construction projects during the 1990s disproved the common smart- growth argument that roads create sprawl. In fact, Hartgen’s research proved the opposite is true: roads follow growth.
While the foundation is analyzing transportation policy in North Carolina, the American Dream Coalition studies policy decisions around the nation and analyzes their impact. Randal O’Toole, the group’s director, will join “Innovate 2004” to provide perspective for “What Will Smart Growth Do for North Carolina Land Uses?” A specialist in environmental and natural resources at the Thoreau Institute, O’Toole will offer a look at the movement’s oppressive restrictions on property owners and businesses.
Negative consequences of smart-growth land policies include increased costs for homebuyers and consumers, and limited economic freedom for owners. In fact, according to the Heritage Foundation’s 2002 Index of Economic Freedom, nations that protect economic freedom and property rights have per-capita incomes at least six times greater than nations that don’t.
O’Toole believes smart growth is an elitist movement that favors those who can afford high housing prices and who prefer to ride transit, even though the vast majority of Americans find auto driving to be convenient and prefer to live in single-family homes with yards.
“Efforts to promote smart-growth planning in North Carolina will have the same effects as they have had in Oregon, California, Colorado, and elsewhere: unaffordable housing, declining rates of home ownership, increased traffic congestion, and higher taxes to pay for subsidies to little-used trail transit and less desirable high-density housing,” O’Toole said.
Marlene Sanford of the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition will add a North Carolina perspective. Sanders’ work gives her detailed knowledge about the oppressive effects of land-use and transportation policies, particularly on home buyers.
According to the American Dream Coalition, a significant majority of Americans say their ideal home is a single-family house with a yard. Despite that clear desire, smart-growth advocates endorse growth boundaries and construction regulations that can push young home buyers out of the market. The result is that housing in less-regulated areas such as Las Vegas and Phoenix is more affordable than housing in smart growth-friendly markets such as San Jose, Portland, and others.
Kay McClanahan, founder of South Carolina Property Rights Watch, will join O’Toole and Sanders. Her fight against smart-growth regulations, and other landowners in Richland County, S.C., will put a human face on the movement’s effects.
While the implications of smart-growth policies are stark and clear, there are ways to fend off the encroachment on personal choice and property rights. In the conference’s final session, “What Should North Carolina Do to Protect Land Values and Lifestyles?,” John Charles and Chris Sinclair will outline strategies to defeat the challenge with empirical evidence and factual arguments.
Charles, senior policy analyst and environmental policy director with the Cascade Policy Institute in Portland, has conducted detailed research into Portland’s transit-oriented policies and other smart-growth plans. Sinclair, president of the Triangle Community Coalition, will discuss how his organization advocates policies that protect the rights and interests of property owners while promoting balance among economic growth, development, the environment, and community needs.
Donna Martinez is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.