Sprawl Is Good for You

[erick295]

Originally Posted by jsvh

And countries with less sprawl in Europe and Asia have longer life spans than us. Correlation does not mean causation. The scientific method needs to be used via studies and / or experiments to isolate variables to determine cause.

That's exactly right, which is why you shouldn't assume that sprawl makes people fat. There are many other factors at play there. For example, in Atlanta, living in town is much more expensive than living in the 'burbs. There's a different mix of economic classes because of that, and I probably don't have to tell you that wealthy people tend to be healthier no matter where they live.

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

The solution to sprawl, traffic, etc is very simple: Heavily tax all new development to fund the infrastructure expansion it requires. We allow new Atlanta residents to mooch off of the existing infrastructure instead of paying for their own.

Why don't we do this, or even talk about this? Because Atlanta (like most cities) is corrupted by the massive profits earned by real estate developers.

We do do that. They're called improvement districts, and property owners pay higher taxes to fund infrastructure improvements. New developers also have to pay for a portion of new infrastructure, although I can't remember what that's called (maybe it's part of the same thing).

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by erick295

New developers also have to pay for a portion of new infrastructure, although I can't remember what that's called (maybe it's part of the same thing).

Impact fees they are called, but they are only collected in some parts of town. Where they get spent is another whole can of worms.

[erick295]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Impact fees they are called.

Yup. That's the term I was looking for.

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by erick295

We do do that. They're called improvement districts, and property owners pay higher taxes to fund infrastructure improvements.

Yes, we do that but not enough.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by MattCW

All that said is that in places with less transit, there is less transit use, and that you can get bigger lots in the suburbs. It reads as nothing more than a puff piece by the asphalt and oil lobby to try and convince people to do nothing but build road roads and more roads! The fact that this publication is known for its right-leaning stance only leads credence this.

Look arjay, we all know by now that you want to have 5 acre lots right downtown to get some "elbow room" but you're not helping yourself with this article.

HA HA.....this thread though....