Evolving from Sprawl: The Way Forward

2011 (Presenter Anthony Flint, Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy) - After a half-century of car-oriented outward expansion, environmental imperatives require a turn inward to that greenest form of human settlement: our cities. The Obama administration’s support of new energy, smart growth, transit and inter-city rail is hindered by public finance in crisis, uncertainty in the housing markets and the economy, and political polarization. Just at the moment when the era of sprawl might be declared over, challenges have never been greater for metropolitan regions. In this presentation I will assess how a vision for planning and key urban infrastructure might shape the 21st century city. This lecture was recorded at "Smart Growth," the Elizabeth Babbott Conant Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment at Connecticut College on March 4 and 5, 2011. https://www.conncoll.edu/academics/majors-departments-programs/majors-and-minors/goodwin-niering-center-for-the-environment/conferences/smart-growth/