New report on sprawl ranks the large metros Thursday, December 12, 2002 A new report on sprawl ranks the largest 83 metro areas. The report, a product of three years of research by Reid Ewing of Rutgers University and Rolf Pendall of Cornell University, represents the most comprehensive effort yet undertaken to define, measure and evaluate metropolitan sprawl and its impacts. EDPros in these large metro areas should download the report to get the latest on this emerging economic development issue. Go Sprawl matters as an economic development issue for at least three reasons: First, sprawl tends to "hollow out" a regional economy, creating a divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots" (See Metro Politics, an excellent book by Myron Orfield on this issue.) Second. sprawl, as Orfield points out, tends to lead to more difficult regional politics. Unless the region can take steps like Louisville to establish a regional city/county government, political consensus is more difficult to reach. (For more on Louisville, see the recent Brookings strategy report.) Finallly, sprawl creates a higher "overhead" for an economy to support. More roads, sewer lines, public safety personnel and facilities. Pioneering studies at Rutgers in the 1990's by Robert Burchell point to a simple fact: sprawl costs more. (For more on the costs of sprawl, see this guide prepared by PlannersWeb.) posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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