Economists and urban planners are beginning to look at the hidden costs of sprawl. They're finding many people pay, but only a few benefit from the costs. Photo by Lester Graham.
Economists and urban planners are beginning to calculate some of the hidden costs of urban sprawl to society. The experts say those costs are often borne by people who don’t enjoy the benefits of living in the expensive new suburbs. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
Economists and urban planners are beginning to calculate some of the hidden costs of urban sprawl to society. The experts say those costs are often borne by people who don’t enjoy the benefits of living in the expensive new suburbs. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
When a town in a sprawling metropolitan area limits development to big expensive houses, that means the people who work in the service stations and the restaurants have to live somewhere else. They are forced to commute. That means a greater demand for roads. And that costs all of us. William Testa is with the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. He says an even greater cost is lost opportunity for those who can’t even afford to make the commute to the jobs…
“The higher costs may be on people in the inner-city – or wherever – in low-income areas who can’t afford to live close to the places where the job demand is, where the jobs are being created.”
Testa says developing suburbs should consider building affordable housing for workers. If that doesn’t happen, he says society should find a way for those suburbs to pay the cost of their decisions.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.