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Panelists say compact living key to a healthy future for the region
By KATIE ZEMTSEFF
Journal Staff Reporter
Gene Duvernoy, executive director of the Cascade Land Conservancy, said compact communities connected by transit are essential for this region to be environmentally, socially and economically successful.
Duvernoy spoke at the Seattle-Northwest Securities Municipal Finance Conference Tuesday in a panel discussion on urban density and transit, along with King County Executive Ron Sims.
Regional projections say by 2040, the greater Puget Sound area will have added 1.7 million people and 1.2 million jobs.
Duvernoy said the region now is staying within the urban growth boundaries set under the Growth Management Act, but he said those boundaries will sprawl further over the next 100 years unless policy is enacted regionally to increase density and protect open lands.
Sprawl increases driving, converts valuable open space and is expensive, he said. The region will “kill the golden goose” if it doesn't fix the problem, he said. Density does not mean everyone living in urban high rises, he said.
One way to curb sprawl is to convince people they want to live in cities and towns, but policy and infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest has traditionally supported sprawl, he said. “Let's get the infrastructure dollars in this government to really reward those cities and towns that are taking on density.”
He said the state's biggest challenge is aligning infrastructure with urban centers, and turning them into spaces that attract people. “We know how to build dense, well and cheaply,” he said. “We don't know how to do all three.”
Creating urban spaces where people want to live means investing in public open spaces and civic centers so people feel comfortable, he said. It also means investing in schools and amenities so people can have what they need nearby.
Affordable housing is critical or else people with lower incomes will continue to be forced farther out.
“The most fundamental environmental issue we have today is affordable housing because if we don't create affordable housing, cities will continue to sprawl,” Duvernoy said.
Transit investments are needed so people can easily go from one place to another without relying on cars. Duvernoy said there needs to be at least seven housing units per acre to make bus service feasible, but frequent bus service requires 15 units per acre.
Sims said land use will be the big factor in whether this region reaches its greenhouse gas emission goals. Livable communities are key because people drive less in compact areas. One answer, he said, lies in congestion pricing and variable tolling.
Variable tolling is distance-based and would help reduce peak-hour traffic. The idea is that people would rethink their trips, and their decisions about where to work and live. Sims said one of his goals is to have every resident's commute to work take half an hour or less. “I think it's the wave of the future and in my opinion, it's unavoidable,” he said.
Sims said a recent poll showed 70 percent of county citizens preferred variable tolls to taxes when it comes to funding state projects such as state Route 520, as long as they have access to good public transit. He said respondents said a large toll would make them find alternatives to driving — somewhere around $6.
If the region does not create better policies and support dense communities it will be “death by a thousand cuts,” Duvernoy said. “Whether it's climate change, Puget Sound, loss of habitat, all those environmental problems... they have one real solution and that's learning how to live well and live compactly.”
May 1, 2008
©2008 Seattle Daily Journal and djc.com.
Journal Staff Reporter
Gene Duvernoy, executive director of the Cascade Land Conservancy, said compact communities connected by transit are essential for this region to be environmentally, socially and economically successful.
Duvernoy spoke at the Seattle-Northwest Securities Municipal Finance Conference Tuesday in a panel discussion on urban density and transit, along with King County Executive Ron Sims.
Regional projections say by 2040, the greater Puget Sound area will have added 1.7 million people and 1.2 million jobs.
Duvernoy said the region now is staying within the urban growth boundaries set under the Growth Management Act, but he said those boundaries will sprawl further over the next 100 years unless policy is enacted regionally to increase density and protect open lands.
Sprawl increases driving, converts valuable open space and is expensive, he said. The region will “kill the golden goose” if it doesn't fix the problem, he said. Density does not mean everyone living in urban high rises, he said.
One way to curb sprawl is to convince people they want to live in cities and towns, but policy and infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest has traditionally supported sprawl, he said. “Let's get the infrastructure dollars in this government to really reward those cities and towns that are taking on density.”
He said the state's biggest challenge is aligning infrastructure with urban centers, and turning them into spaces that attract people. “We know how to build dense, well and cheaply,” he said. “We don't know how to do all three.”
Creating urban spaces where people want to live means investing in public open spaces and civic centers so people feel comfortable, he said. It also means investing in schools and amenities so people can have what they need nearby.
Affordable housing is critical or else people with lower incomes will continue to be forced farther out.
“The most fundamental environmental issue we have today is affordable housing because if we don't create affordable housing, cities will continue to sprawl,” Duvernoy said.
Transit investments are needed so people can easily go from one place to another without relying on cars. Duvernoy said there needs to be at least seven housing units per acre to make bus service feasible, but frequent bus service requires 15 units per acre.
Sims said land use will be the big factor in whether this region reaches its greenhouse gas emission goals. Livable communities are key because people drive less in compact areas. One answer, he said, lies in congestion pricing and variable tolling.
Variable tolling is distance-based and would help reduce peak-hour traffic. The idea is that people would rethink their trips, and their decisions about where to work and live. Sims said one of his goals is to have every resident's commute to work take half an hour or less. “I think it's the wave of the future and in my opinion, it's unavoidable,” he said.
Sims said a recent poll showed 70 percent of county citizens preferred variable tolls to taxes when it comes to funding state projects such as state Route 520, as long as they have access to good public transit. He said respondents said a large toll would make them find alternatives to driving — somewhere around $6.
If the region does not create better policies and support dense communities it will be “death by a thousand cuts,” Duvernoy said. “Whether it's climate change, Puget Sound, loss of habitat, all those environmental problems... they have one real solution and that's learning how to live well and live compactly.”
May 1, 2008
©2008 Seattle Daily Journal and djc.com.
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