2007 Sprawl Indicator - At a Glance
The most important findings from the Cascadia Scorecard sprawl indicator for the Northwest.
Highlights from the most recent edition of the Cascadia Scorecard.
The score
57 years behind targets
The trend
Slow improvement
Soundbite
In just two years Oregon's Measure 37 has unleashed claims in metro Portland that could result in as much low-density sprawl as Clark County, Washington, endured in the entire decade of the 1990s.
2007 results at a glance
Low-density sprawl is still the norm in Cascadia’s cities. The good news is that compact communities are staging a resurgence. The share of residents living in walkable or transit-oriented neighborhoods has increased in each major metropolis.
Still, it will take 57 years for the Cascadian city average to match what Vancouver, BC, the Scorecard's model for success, has already achieved.
As a new Sightline mapping analysis shows, Oregon's leadership in smart growth has been threatened by Measure 37, a “pay-or-waive” law that forces taxpayers to offer compensation or waive restrictions when zoning rules limit what property owners can do with their land.
2007 results in detail
- Sprawl -- the share of residents who live in neighborhoods that allow bus transit and walking as alternatives to the car -- has seen slow improvement. Recent analyses showed that as Northwest cities grow in population, they are gradually channeling new growth into compact neighborhoods.
- Vancouver, BC, has the most compact urban structure of any of the 19 cities studied by Sightline. Its development trends focus on protecting open space and designing compact neighborhoods.
- Oregon’s success in containing sprawl could be diminished by the more than 7,000 applications for Measure 37 waivers. If taxpayers cannot pay, as is almost always the case, then these claims could add nearly 14,000 housing units, mostly on the urban fringe outside of agreed-upon growth boundaries.
- In 2006, a national anti-planning movement seized on Measure 37’s victory at the ballot box and pushed copycat initiatives in six Western states including California, Idaho, and Washington. Fortunately, voters in these states soundly rejected pay-or-waive laws.
Solutions
Compact communities are key to health, energy efficiency, and curbing sprawl
The keys to combating sprawl are protecting farmland, promoting infill development, and limiting sprawl-inducing road projects.
The rejection of pay-or-waive laws by Northwest states and a mounting backlash against Measure 37 in Oregon reaffirms the importance of land-use planning and democratic decision-making. Oregon voters will have the opportunity to vote on a rewrite of Measure 37 in November 2007.
Planning is a tough process, but it is vastly preferable to the alternative: unplanned, wasteful sprawl.
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