The Costs of Sprawl in Pennsylvania

The Costs of Sprawl in Pennsylvania Executive Summary J a n u a ry 2000 Executive Summary of the Study on the Costs of Sprawl in Pennsylvania Conducted by Clarion Associates, Inc. Prepared for 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania and Sponsoring Organizations 21 Communities Studied in the Costs of Sprawl in Pennsylvania • Lehigh Valley Area (Includes Allentown, S. Whitehall, N. Whitehall) • Meadville Area (includes Meadville, W. Meade, Vernon) • Philadelphia Area (includes Philadelphia, Bensalem, Buckingham, Tredyffrin Township, Upper Darby Township, Uwchlan Township) • Pittsburgh Area (includes Pittsburgh, Monroeville, Hempfield) •Williamsport Area (includes Williamsport, S. Williamsport, Loyalsock) •York Area (Includes York, Spring Garden, Springettsbury) C O N T E N T S 3 Introduction 6 Sprawl Increases the Costs of Roads, Housing, Schools, and Utilities 7 Sprawl Increases the Costs of Transportation 8 Sprawl Consumes Agricultural Lands, Natural Areas, and Open Spaces 9 Sprawl Concentrates Poverty and Accelerates Socio–Economic Decline in Cities, Towns, and Older Suburbs 11 Sprawl Increases Pollution and Stress 12 Conclusion 13 Acknowledgements What are the hidden costs of sprawl in Pennsylvania, h o w b ig a re they, and who pays for them? 3 I N T R O D U C T I O N Americans are good at making choices - and pride t h e m s e lves on their ability to make them w e l l . Our thriving market economy provides us with a staggering variety of goods and serv i c e s f ro m which to choose. In fac t, most Americans have developed skills to wade t h rough the da i ly ocean of information and come to a relat i v e ly quick decision as to “ w h at I want to buy.” Th e question then becomes “ w h at does it cost?” In many cases, the answer is easy – it’s the price writ- It has become increa s i n g l y clear that decisions about ten on the price tag. In other cases, it is not so easy. wh e r e to buy a house or locate a business are being A car or a refrigerator has costs, beyond the initial made without a true understanding of the full costs price, that are ongoing, but those costs can be quan- involved. As the rate of sprawl has increased during tified with relative ease. the 1980s and 1990s, Pennsylvanians’ concern s about the impacts of sprawl have also increased. U n f o rt u n a t e l y, it is much harder to quantify the tru e costs of our public policy and investment decisions The Costs of Sprawl in Pennsylvania study was with re g a rd to land use. Ever since World War II, u n d e rtaken in the belief that Pennsylvanians want Pennsylvania, along with most states, has been mak- and have the right to know what those costs are , ing or tolerating public investment decisions and how big they are, and how they may be re q u i red to land use policies that have contributed to “sprawl” pay those costs. They know that investment deci- development patterns. In recent years, analysts’ sions do change when true costs are known, and that w a rnings that sprawl carries hidden costs that are the economy will adjust to provide what people want not being priced in the marketplace have begun to to buy when they know what it really costs. ring true in many people’s experience. Citizens and T h e re is no denying that some aspects of sprawl taxpayers who move to more rural suburbs for open development create benefits that are valued by many space and inexpensive living find traffic congestion, Pennsylvanians. In fact, the benefits of larger private d e c reasing open space, and increasing taxes to pay open spaces and the freedom of individual automo- for new schools and services. Citizens and taxpayers bile travel appear to be valued in every society where in Pennsylvania’s many cities, towns (boroughs), and they are made available without reflecting the costs suburbs experience decaying infrastru c t u re, loss of of use. But, it is important to realize that those ben- p ro p e rty values, and declining quality of life. All tax- efits have costs associated with them that are bo rn e payers, re g a rdless of where they live, by the general public, as well as individuals. often end up paying for these costs in duplicate as new The Costs of Sprawl in Pennsylvania attempts to i n f r a s t ru c t u re, schools, and answer the basic question: s e rvices create new tax bur- What are the hidden costs of sprawl in Pennsylvania, dens in addition to those how big are they, and who pays for them? that already exist. 4 What is Sprawl and How Do The ‘costs’ of sprawl are: As shown on the map on the inside We Measure its Impact? co v e r , a wide range of areas from 1. Costs to the individual, to the ac r oss the state was chosen for Although most Pennsylvanians community, and to society; Sprawl the study to compare the impacts pr obably “know it when they see 2. Physical, monetary, temporal, of sprawl development among it,” sprawl is difficult to define. and social/psychological; and a geographically and economically The study defines “sprawl” accord- diverse group of communities. ing to the latest nationwide study 3. The resources expended Sp e c i f i c a l l y , the study examined evaluating the costs of sprawl.* relative to a type, density, and th r ee diffe r ent community sizes location of development. Sprawl is a regional pattern of (small, medium, and large) in six real estate development that is Using this definition, the study di ff e r ent sample areas (Meadville, characterized by: documented as many costs as Wil l i a m s p o r t, Lehigh Val l e y , Yor k , were capable of being quantified Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh). The • Low density; with available data. It identified communities were characterized as • Unlimited and non-contiguous not one, but many different price a Core City, Inner Suburb, or Outer ou t w a r d expansion; tags for sprawl. Suburb as follows. • Spatial segregation of diffe r ent land uses; Methodology • Consumption of outer suburban The study documented the costs of agricultural lands and sprawl through: a summary of en v i r onmentally sensitive lands; national literature; a summary of 1 • Travel dominance by motor Pe n n s y l v a n i a ’ s literature and ve h i c l e ; specific studies on aspects of 2 sprawl; seven case studies about • Small developers operating 3 the costs of sprawl in 21 independently of each other; and Pennsylvania communities; and • Lack of integrated land use a final rep o r t on the costs of planning (due to a fragmented sprawl in Pennsylvania that synthe- 1. Core City represents the system of local governments with sizes key information from the first historical center city of the area; va r ying fiscal capacities). th r ee phases (supplemented by 2. Inner Suburb is a jurisdiction local government statistics, U.S. All of the metropolitan reg i o n s representative of the first ring of Census data, and other studies) analyzed in the study are post-WWII expansion outward and draws conclusions about experiencing sprawl according from the Core City; and sprawl in Pennsylvania. to this definition. 3. Outer Suburb is a fringe area, further away from the Core City, which is still feeling the effects of active land development and grow t h . The study also examined data from th r ee diffe r ent suburban townships in southeastern Pennsylvania (Upper Darby, Tred y f frin, Uwchlan) to provide more detailed data on the impacts of sprawl on older, ma t u r e, and expanding suburbs. * B u rchell, et al. The Costs of Sprawl-Revisited: Tr a n s p o rtation Research Board , National Research Council (1998) 5 Clarion Associates, Inc., the firm Major Findings Sprawl imposes five that conducted the study, is a The study found that sprawl national real estate and land-use imposes five important types of i m p o rtant types of costs, consulting firm with offices in costs, those costs are substantial, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, and and most Pennsylvanians pay for Wayne, PA. With over 70 years those costs are those costs in one way or another. of combined experience, Clarion’s Sprawl development patterns crea t e principals have worked for a hidden costs that are borne by substantial, and most variety of clients, including finan - the people in the regions where the cial institutions, developers, sprawl occurs, and in some cases, Pennsylvanians pay corporations, law firms, arch i t e c t s , by all of the people of Pennsylvania. no t - f o r- p r ofits, and governm e n t Some of the costs are paid throu g h agencies. Some of Clarion’s clients for those costs in one taxes and charges that are higher include: Allegheny County, PA; than they would be if sprawl did City and County of Denver, CO; not occur. In other cases, they are way or another. City of Anchorage, AK; Montex “paid” through losses in the Pro p e r ty Management; Rockford quality of life in the region where In t e r national Airport, Rockford, the sprawl occurred.

Load more