Update to a post about Portland sprawl and urban planning
This post is sort of an update to a previous post about Portland sprawl and urban planning.
The information in the news story from USA today is a few years old but still seems to be relevant, at least according to the person who sent me an email with the link.
The following is an excerpt from a story in USA today.
A comprehensive look at sprawl in AmericaBy Haya El Nasser and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY
Los Angeles, whose legendary traffic congestion and spread-out development have epitomized suburban sprawl for decades, isn’t so sprawling after all.
In fact, Portland, Ore., the metropolitan area that has enacted the nationís toughest anti-growth laws, sprawls more.
The news article even offers a definition of sprawl.
sprawl (sprÙl) v. To spread out in a straggling or disordered fashion, n. Haphazard growth or extension outward, especially that resulting from new housing on the outskirts of a city.
It seems like I can ask five different experts about urban planning and sprawl and get five different answers.
My own personal opinion is that the preservation of farmland in the tri-county area should be taken into account when deciding whether or not to extend areas for necessary housing, manufacturing, etc.
I don’t think that the preservation of farmland should be the deciding factor or even the most important factor, just that it should be one of the factors taken into account when extending urban growth boundaries.
On an unrelated note: I don’t think I’m going to link to many more Oregonian stories because of link rot. It seems after 14 or so days the story any link links to disappears into the archives from hell.
Related posts:
Amen. Stupid Oregonlive.com. There are no archives as far as I can tell. Once it’s gone, it’s just gone. Google should stop linking to them after all the dead links I’ve followed. (Well, not dead, but barren, with only ads and no content.)