It would be an understatement to say we’ve been accused of taking controversial positions on environmental issues - smart growth, global warming, government reform, fossil fuel and nuclear power, to name a few. The problem, however, is these positions are not adopted out of some pathological need to be contrarian, they spring from genuine conviction [...]

The essense of New Suburbanism is to support a clean, but wider human footprint - which is anathema to much of conventional environmentalist wisdom.  In many parts of the world, such as within the state of California, there is abundant open space. California, especially within its vast interior, has hundreds upon thousands of virtually vacant square miles of rolling foothills, [...]

This is part two of a series of comments and responses posted on www.treelink.org’s listserve, as part of a discussion regarding whether or not it is futile to try to have a viable urban forest given the ”smart growth” trends towards ultra high density cities.  Part one is entitled “Smart Growth & Housing Prices.” 

Remember the natural evolution of low
density suburbs [...]

Is it a stretch to suggest “smart growth” is encouraged by municipal bureaucracies because it causes the price of housing to rise, which in turn increases property tax revenues? Maybe, maybe not.
Our latest salvo on this topic began yesterday on a listserve we proudly belong to, and at least so far, haven’t been banished from. [...]

Our post yesterday, “Taking on Smart Growth” prompted a lengthy exchange between the author and a very well informed critic. Despite our best efforts to communicate our point of view, ultimately the critic described our criticisms of new urbanism as coming from “Wingnuttia.” Rather than continue to argue the point on yesterday’s post, [...]

Definition: “New Urbanism - the revival of our lost art of place-making, and promotes the creation and restoration of compact, walkable, mixed-use cities.”
It is completely impractical to make everything “walking distance” from everything else. People like cars. The car is the most liberating personal appliance ever invented. The new urbanist war [...]

Definition:  “New Urbanism - the revival of our lost art of place-making, and promotes the creation and restoration of compact, walkable, mixed-use cities.”
On one of www.TreeLink.org’s posts, I noticed the tag “urban forestry is America’s frontline defense against climate change.”  I couldn’t agree more.
So how is this statement reconciled with “new urbanism” and “smart growth” that [...]