The following article is from the April 2007 issue of

Can New York State grow its way to a better economy and cleaner environment? The answer is a resounding yes, as long as that growth is "smart."

Smart growth, a land-use strategy that has been taking root around the nation for over a decade, is unequivocally pro-growth. In theory, it provides an alternative to out-of-control, unplanned, and wasteful sprawl by promoting compact development. In actuality, it provides that and so much more.

That's because smart growth, though big in vision, is a practical approach. A smart growth toolkit for New York includes brownfields cleanup and reuse; investments in new transport options to reduce traffic congestion; town center revitalization; preservation of agricultural land; and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

In an age of perpetually soaring energy costs, smart growth makes sense. All of this, and it can save taxpayers money too. Put to a simple cost-benefit analysis, sprawl requires more dollars than smart growth in terms of schools, streets and other infrastructure, as well as services like police and fire protection.

A panacea? It certainly sounds that way. That is precisely why around 40 states have smart growth plans in their state policy portfolios.

Right now New York is in the smart growth game but has some major catching up to do.

What New York most needs -- and still doesn't have -- is a cabinet-level smart growth coordinator in the governor's office.

As a first step, we are also urging the governor to conduct a smart growth audit of state agency actions to identify programs that mesh (and those that don't) with smart growth goals and to initiate regional smart growth demonstration projects. Examples include the Stewart Airport in the Hudson Valley and the Tappan Zee Bridge project in Westchester.

In New York, sprawl has sapped upstate economies and devoured farmland. The years of far-flung dispersed growth have had hefty costs. If done right, smart growth could be a boon to New York's economy and a powerful source of environmental improvement. Can you imagine if development was an asset to communities most, if not all, of the time? We certainly can.

It is time to look at New York's stagnant economic growth with a fresh perspective. It is time for our elected officials to be smart about how our suburban, rural, and urban areas develop and grow.

Newsletter Issue

• Ecopolitics Monthly --- April 2007