EPA chief backs smart growth

Whitman’s speech caps a well-attended event in San Diego. Speaking to a sold-out crowd at the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in San Diego, California, in late January, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Christine Whitman expressed support for smart growth. “We can grow our economy ... preserve the environment for future generations ... and live and work in healthy and convenient neighborhoods without sacrificing our quality of life,” Whitman said. “We can achieve all of these things by applying the principles of smart growth.” The San Diego speech marked the first time Whitman, a supporter of smart growth while governor of New Jersey, has spoken of this concept since she took over the reins at EPA. Whitman announced two initiatives relating to support of smart growth. The EPA will establish a National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, which will recognize communities and individual leaders who have been innovative and successfully applied smart growth principles. A second initiative will help local planners better integrate brownfield redevelopment and open space preservation through grants and technical assistance. Whitman also praised the Smart Growth Network, the broad coalition of environmentalists, other nonprofits, real estate/development interests, and public agencies (including EPA) that sponsored the conference. Whitman’s speech was short on specifics, and she stuck to noncontroversial issues like “parks and open space.” The problems of sprawl and the substance of smart growth principles were not discussed. Nevertheless, some supporters of smart growth took her speech as a positive sign. Don Chen, executive director of Smart Growth America in Washington, DC, sees signs that the Bush Administration is becoming more proactive on development issues. Chen notes that Whitman’s remarks were made two weeks after Bush signed the brownfield legislation. The president commented: “One of the best ways to arrest urban sprawl is to develop brownfields and make them productive pieces of land where people can find work and employment. By one estimate, for every acre of redeveloped brownfields, we save four and a half acres of open space.” The conference drew 950 people, more than 50 percent above expectations. The EPA attributed the strong turnout to an undercurrent of support for smart growth nationwide, and a greater number of cosponsors for this event. Among the cosponsors were the Federal Highway Administration and the California Department of Transportation, a sign that highway professionals are becoming aware of their role in smart growth (they refer to it as “context sensitive design”). New urbanists were key presenters, including planner and architect Andres Duany — who spoke three times, including a three-hour session on codes — and “walkable communities” advocate Dan Burden.