Volume 4, Number 1 - Urban Economic Development - Spring 2000

Title: The Market for Smart Growth

Author: John Haugland

Abstract: Conventional development patterns of low-density, single-use, and automobile-dependence have increasingly come under fire for a host of fiscal, social, and environmental costs. Concentrating on the latter, these patterns contribute to the depletion of finite natural resources and to the degradation of ecological functions, and they increase pollution that the larger ecosystem struggles to assimilate. In addition to its positive social and fiscal impacts, Smart Growth alternatives can be promoted for their positive environmental effects. There is strong evidence for a market demand for Smart Growth alternatives. However, the demand for Smart Growth is not currently represented by market share due to a variety of government incentives for sprawl from local to federal levels. Recognition of both the true demand and of government barriers to that demand can help those who promote the efficiency of Smart Growth within their own communities.

About the Author: John Haugland has been with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since 1990. He is currently promoting innovative perspectives in sustainability. Mr. Haugland holds a Master of Public Policy Studies from the Harris School of Public Policy (1990), a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Southern California (1987), and Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Chicago (1982).

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