Harold Henderson’s article on the “‘new urbanism” (“Come a Little Bit Closer,” July 7) contained a lot of interesting ideas–with one glaring omission. Citing planner Joel Stauber, Henderson wrote that neotraditional communities may not become popular until “more efficient economies, such as Japan and Europe, out-compete us because they don’t waste money building on the fringe while closing down their inner cities.”
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The omission? Whether or not one agrees that the “new urbanism” is one of the best solutions to regional sprawl, why wait until disaster strikes to deal with the problem?
Other regions have already taken measures to curb these huge, unnecessary expenses. Portland, Oregon, has set up an urban growth boundary, which keeps new development more compact and cuts infrastructure costs and taxes. The Chicago region probably isn’t ready for a similar boundary. But two facts are certain.
Metropolitan Planning Council
