Sprawl brings hidden costs to cities
In the latest Beacon blog, Nick Collins explains how recent discussion on whether moves to limit sprawl of our cities, particularly Auckland, are making our houses less affordable, ignores, almost completely, the growing evidence of the other costs of sprawling cities.
Beacon’s own research showed that medium density mixed-use neighbourhoods bring significant benefits to New Zealand cities. By assigning dollar values to sustainability measures, we found that cities with inner city high and medium density areas have a positive dollar sustainability value. Where the city is dominated by low density, non-mixed use neighbourhoods, it tends to generate net costs rather than net benefits.
Just released in the US is another report, “Measuring Sprawl” , which looks at other ways to measure the costs of sprawling cities. Among other things, it found high spending on transportation, reduced economic mobility, concentrated and isolated poverty, and poorer health associated with sprawling cities
Read the full Beacon blog here: