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September 2002 T G R R O A W smart growth M T AMERICA S H V OLUME 1 IS SUE 2 Business Councils Promote SMART GROWTH FOR A STRONG ECONOMY Smart Growth as BY DON CHEN Smart Business Four case studies: he growth beat’s been a tough gig lately, services for homeless families. David Goldberg Atlanta, Denver, Chicago, Silicon Valley especially with shrunken stock values, profiles SVMG and three other business-led smart T BY DAVID GOLDBERG shriveled government budgets, and a diminished growth initiatives in his article. transportation trust fund weighing heavily on peo- Such business leadership reflects the enlight- ou could almost see it, the moment the light ples’ minds. But we’re bullish on smart growth. In ened outlook adopted by many in the real estate Y bulb went on for business leaders in metro fact, it embodies some of the best ideas for bring- industry. One leading industry report, Emerging Atlanta. It was early 1998, roughly 18 months ing our stalled economy back to life. Trends in Real Estate Development, sized up the after the city had played host to the world, but For starters, even in recession, growing num- post-September 11th landscape and cautioned already Atlanta was losing its Olympic luster. bers of business leaders are pushing for smart investors against backing sprawl development, Suddenly, business travelers from the economic growth reforms, focusing on affordable housing, contending that “... properties in better-planned, powerhouse of the South were hearing associates workforce development, environmental protec- growth-constrained markets hold value better in from other locales referring to their home town tion, and easing traffic. For example, the Silicon downmarkets and appreciate more in upcycles.” as the “L.A. of the South” or “poster child for Valley Manufacturing Group (SVMG) has been a Projections of consumer demand indicate a suburban sprawl”. strong supporter of affordable housing efforts in sharply growing preference for compact, walka- The sudden, negative scrutiny arrived on the California’s Santa Clara County. As of March, they ble neighborhoods over the next decade, largely heels of Atlanta’s collision with the national Clean had endorsed plans to build over 31,000 for-sale because of baby boomer homebuyers who will Air Act. Because the region’s road-heavy trans- and rental homes that are located in relatively dominate the real estate market. According to a portation plans failed to stay within the emissions compact, walkable and transit-rich neighbor- recent University of Southern California study limits set by the state’s own plan for cleaning up hoods, and are primarily intended for lower-wage sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation and smog, metro Atlanta was barred by law from workers. They also have spearheaded efforts to Bank of America, between 31 and 54 percent of spending federal money to expand road capacity in create a private-public affordable housing trust older Americans will demand New Urban-style the 13 counties suffering from bad summertime air. fund, increased public transit investment, and neighborhoods in the 2000s, up substantially from Sam Williams, the president of the Metro 15 percent in the 1990s. Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, called it a “train Public officials are turning to smart growth as wreck”. He wasn’t alone in his concern. With the well, especially fiscally responsible infrastructure growth machine threatening to grind to a halt, policies that support investment in existing com- even the region’s most ardent cheerleaders began munities over subsidizing new development. This to wonder whether Atlanta’s famous growth-at- is the hallmark of many smart growth policies, as any-cost approach was coming at too high a price. exemplified by Maryland’s Priority Funding Areas Since that time, the issues around managing program, New Jersey’s Fix-It-First transportation Atlanta’s growth — whether transportation, policy and countless local measures requiring water quality and supply, air pollution or work- adequate public facilities. As pre-recession projec- force housing — have occupied the very top of tions of surpluses give way to budget cuts, cities the business leadership’s agenda. Those leaders’ are looking for more efficient ways to meet cur- advocacy for smart growth has led to the creation rent demands, accommodate new growth and of a regional transit agency with some land use, as expand their tax base without having to build well the establishment of a new structure for expensive new infrastructure or raise taxes. In planning and managing north Georgia’s water isis stillstill relevantrelevant Smart growth resources. during an “economic downturn.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 6> CONTINUED ON PAGE 4> I N T HIS I SSUE Labor Page 3 Field Notes Page 7 Brain Food Page 11 Smart Tools Page 9 Unions locally and nationally Smart Growth news from around “Solving Sprawl” lauds smart Community banks turn your deposits recognize that sprawl harms union the country. What’s happening in development, leaves hyperbole into revitalized neighborhoods. members. your back yard? at the door. 1 Smart Growth is Becoming We finished the day by mapping the voting records of state legislators and members of SMART GROWTH PRIORITIES ADVANCE: THE FARM BILL, HOUSING AND MORE Congress, based on non-partisan ratings by the a AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education. The Union Thing. maps clearly show that elected officials from BY KATE BICKNELL Chicago and its inner-ring suburbs to the south BY GREG LEROY and southwest vote far more often for working very five years or so, Congress reauthorizes a farm bill that determines America has joined the Alliance for a New Transportation Charter, a broad- families than those everywhere else. how billions of dollars will be spent on commodities (primarily grains E based coalition organized by the Surface Transportation Policy Project Soon after the Chicago conference, the CFL and cotton), conservation, nutrition assistance (such as food stamps), rural ew union leaders are aware of sprawl The sessions pointed out how workers in sev- (STPP) that is working to make transportation investments serve communi- executive board authorized Turner to represent development, forestry and other programs that profoundly affect the pattern eral industries are affected by Chicago’s sprawl: ties better. Launched in December, 2001 with over 300 endorsements, the by its name. But unions locally and the federation’s interests on smart growth. of land use in the United States. F New Transportation Charter recognizes that transportation is a tool for HOSPITALITY: Good Jobs First mapped Together with the Contra Costa County Central Federal farm subsidies reach only about 40 percent of farms. While farm- nationally are beginning to recognize that achieving better outcomes in public health, affordable housing, access to unionized hotels and hotel jobs. The Hotel Labor Council and the Cleveland Federation of land production has more than doubled over the past fifty years, the number jobs, energy efficiency and livability. In addition to this effort, Smart Growth because sprawl harms cities, it also harms Employees and Restaurant Employees Labor, Chicago submitted a smart growth resolu- of farms has declined by more than two-thirds. Economic challenges, cou- America’s coalition is developing a number of proposals to better integrate union members. International Union (HERE) has only three con- tion that was adopted at the national AFL-CIO’s pled with growing development pressures, have resulted in the loss of much transportation and land use. tracts outside of centrally located Cook County. December 2001 convention. Since then, similarly- of our highest quality farmland to urban sprawl. (see the American Farmland Anti-sprawl resolutions have recently been Meanwhile, the Bush Administration and Congress are working to devel- This is a typical pattern for HERE, which has suf- worded resolutions have been passed by the Trust’s research at http://farmland.org.) adopted by the national AFL-CIO, by one of its op their proposals for the bill’s reauthorization. The Administration’s pro- fered due to the growth of “edge cities” and Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and by the national con- Efforts to preserve farmland and restore forests and wetlands at the urban largest affiliates, and by a state labor federation. posal is likely to be sent to Congress for consideration in January of 2003, their companion hotels. vention of the 1.4 million-member American fringe rely heavily on federal support, which has been woefully underfunded. with final passage expected next fall. One union — the 1.4 million-member United HEALTH CARE: A map of hospital closures Federation of State, County and Municipal In fiscal 2001, only 16 percent of farmers’ requests from USDA conservation For more information on the Alliance for the New Transportation Charter: www.antc.net; on the Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) since 1972 shows they are completely concen- Employees (AFSCME), one of the AFL-CIO’s programs were granted. reauthorization of TEA-21: www.antc.net and www.tea3.org — knows the sprawl issue because of its long trated in Chicago and in immediately-adjacent most politically active unions. Many legislators had hoped this year’s bill would result in a more equitable antagonism with virulently anti-union Wal-Mart. Planning parts of Cook County. Seven of the 27 closed In popular communications terms, sprawl is distribution of farming assistance and significantly increased conservation And a few unions that represent public transit Senate bill 975, also known as the Community Character Act, would facilities were unionized, affecting four different both “hard” (i.e., abstract) and “cool” (i.e., not funding. One House version would have tripled funds for agricultural conser- workers, especially the Amalgamated Transit authorize $25 million per year for five years to assist states in reforming unions. Both health care jobs and access to care easily approached).

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