Smart
Growth and Transportation
How Connecticut’s current
development is hurting every community . . .
and why smarter growth may be the
answer.
created by
The CenterEdge Project
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This fact
sheet is a brief summary of a translation paper on smart growth, part of a
series produced by the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable
Communities. The full papers can be
found on the Funders’ Network website, www.fundersnetwork.org |
· Current patterns of economic growth have led to an increasing
reliance on cars for transportation.
· The increased
prominence of automobile travel has had a negative impact on public health
and public safety in many communities.
· Lack of adequate public
transportation poses serious obstacles to low-income individuals, senior
citizens and others who do not drive or have limited access to cars.
· Urban residents are
severely disadvantaged by the lack of access to public transit, which
prevents them from accessing regional job centers.
· In addition, low-income
individuals are forced to devote a large portion of their income to meeting
their transportation needs by owning and maintaining a car.
· Poorly-planned
highways often bisect urban neighborhoods, bringing increased pollution,
noise and danger to the residents and eroding the neighborhood’s vitality.
· The construction of new
roads, often across or around undeveloped land, adversely affects the
surrounding environment and paves the way for increased sprawl.
· Increased air pollution and traffic fatalities result from greater volumes of traffic and the lack
of safe pedestrian routes.
· Longer commute times and the
need to take more and more car trips can place burdens on parents and strain
families.
· Promoting a more
creative mix of transportation options can increase opportunities for all a
community’s residents.
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For more information about smart
growth, how it affects your community and what you can do, contact the
CenterEdge Project. Office of Urban Affairs, Archdiocese of
Hartford 81 Saltonstall Avenue New Haven , CT
06513-4356 Contact Patricia Wallace, 203-777-7279 or
Pwallace@oua-adh.org This fact sheet prepared by Jessica
Leight, Project Assistant to the CenterEdge Project. |