Today's nightmarish economic crisis does teach a lesson. It at last illuminates the consequences of policies and practices yielding costly sprawl. It shows that growth by limitless outward expansion is no longer sustainable, no longer an option.
What's possible and desirable, if not unavoidable in the future, is growth characterized by the R-words. We must transform portions of our cities and suburbs that already enjoy favorable locations and serviceable infrastructure, but are poorly or insufficiently developed. Properties apt to become economically and functionally obsolete should be revived.
Shifting demographics make such transformations more feasible. Traditional families -- parents with children -- may continue to opt for the suburban model. But traditional families represent less than half of all American households. Millions of households are made up of singles, couples or housemates who neither want nor need the traditional suburban home. They tend to embrace a more urban lifestyle, choosing to live in mixed-use environments where they can go shopping on foot, commute via transit and get along without a car.
Investments in roads, transit and utilities must be aimed at enhancing infrastructure quality and performance within metropolitan areas, not at the fringe. Rather than continuing to suburbanize the agrarian landscape, we should urbanize more of the existing suburbs. This is the essence of "smart growth."
