What is "sprawl" and what is being done about it in Oregon? |
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There is no consensus on the definition of urban sprawl, but many people associate it
with low-density and non-contiguous land development. A recent study by Smart Growth America tries to
quantify sprawl for 83 metropolitan areas in the U.S. (see the Measuring Sprawl report at
www.smartgrowthamerica.com). The researchers involved in the study constructed an index for each
metropolitan area that measures residential densities; neighborhood mixes of jobs, homes, and services;
strength of activity centers and downtowns; and connectivity of street networks. By their measure,
Portland ranked as one of the least sprawling metropolitan areas in the country. The New York
metropolitan area had the least sprawl and the Riverside, California, metropolitan area had the most.
Oregon is unique among the fifty states in their efforts at urban planning. What distinguishes Oregon is the pursuit of statewide planning goals overseen by a state-level agency, the Land Conservation and Development Commission (http://www.lcd.state.or.us). In many states, urban development plans (often called comprehensive plans) are adopted by local jurisdictions such as cities but these plans are not coordinated across jurisdictions. Sprawl can be one result of this lack of coordination. For example, if a city restricts development, incentives may be created for development in surrounding counties that do not impose such restrictions. ~
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