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The Politics of Smart Growth Strengths & Weaknesses Ed Braddy January 23, 2009. About Us. American Dream Coalition promotes market-oriented alternatives to urban issues such as transportation, land-use, and property rights We defend freedom, mobility, and affordable homeownership - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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The Politics of Smart Growth Strengths &
WeaknessesEd Braddy
January 23, 2009
About Us American Dream Coalition promotes
market-oriented alternatives to urban issues such as transportation, land-use, and property rights
We defend freedom, mobility, and affordable homeownership
We believe markets, not mandates, are the best approaches consistent with free people living in a free society
About Us Executive Director of the ADC
Annual Conference & Strategic Partnerships City Commissioner from 2002-2008
Gainesville, Florida – mid-size city (120,000)
About Us Exceptionally Effective!
Qualifications Not an economist Not a planner Not an engineer Not a developer Basically, I got here with nothing … … and I still have most of it left! Perspective is that of elected official who
had to communicate with voters
Smart Growth Why is Smart Growth politically popular? Why is it appealing? Strengths
Emotional Rhetorical
Weaknesses Emotional Rhetorical
On its own terms …
“In general, smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to city centers and older suburbs.” (Why Smart Growth: A Primer)
Downtown centered Transit & pedestrian oriented Mixed uses – commercial, housing, retail Open space & environmental protection
On its own terms …
Create a range of housing & transportation choices
Foster distinctive communities with an unique sense of place
Make development decisions cost-effective Direct development towards existing
communities Take advantage of compact building design
Smartgrowth.org & the Sustainable Communities Network
On its own terms …
Smart Growth’s Appeal
It’s the Sizzle,Not the Steak
We know the effects (substance) of Smart Growth
But Smart Growth is politically popular because of its intent
Smart Growthers sell the sizzle to a hungry population
Hungry for what?
Smart Growth’s Appeal
People desire order and predictability People believe in planning because they
do it in their private lives People do not draw the distinction
between public v. private planning See Randal O’Toole’s Best Laid Plans
Smart Growth’s Sizzle
Smart Growth is a political promise that your community will grow in an orderly and predictable manner
Smart Growth promises a dynamic economy, vibrant society, and healthy environment
The growth of Smart Growth, despite its opposite outcomes, is proof of its sizzle (emotional and rhetorical appeal)
By way of analogy …
By way of analogy …
Sexy Smart Growth
Sexy Smart Growth
Words Work Like any effective political movement, it
utilizes rhetorical and emotional strategies Title Trump
Smart Growth – Who’s for Dumb Growth? Alternatives = Opposites
Clever Slogans “You can’t build your way out of congestion” “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”
Campaign Messaging
The Politics ofSmart Growth
Smart Growth’s stated goal is to stop sprawl The term “sprawl” has become a substitute
for “suburbanization” Creates a negative image whereas, historically,
“suburbs” do not By stigmatizing suburbs and exploiting our
fears, Smart Growthers have legitimized excessive land use regulations
Smart Growth is really about control in order to re-order society
Political Indoctrination
Not everyone is a control freak Sincere people get suckered “Real Estate Principles” – college textbook
Chapter 5, Learning Objective 1: “Cite three reasons why the market system may not operate to maximize the net social benefits of land use”
#4: “Identify three possible adverse effects of traditional zoning”
#6: “Identify four tools of land use control widely adopted since 1970 and contrast new urbanism with traditional land use”
Smart Growth Weaknesses
We need the sizzle! Rhetorical & Emotional
The numbers are on our side
We’ve got the big guns pounding the beachhead
Smart Growth Weaknesses
Put faces on the numbers Mom & Pop Shops Minority Businesses Entrepreneurs
Slogans“You can’t regulate
your way into prosperity”
Smart Growth Weaknesses
We need the sizzle! Rhetorical & Emotional
It’s not just jobs! There’s a transaction at the end of every
car trip Economic, social, cultural, religious,
recreational, familial, educational, etc.
The Cost of Smart Growth
In 2007, the median price of a home was $219,000
Smart Growth Cities: Boulder, CO - $615,000 Denver, CO - $400,000 Minneapolis, MN - $415,767 Portland, OR - $317,500 San Jose, CA - $1,145,000 Seattle, WA - $555,839
Source: National Association of Realtors
The Cost of Smart Growth
Smart Growth Cities Boulder, CO - $615,000 Denver, CO - $400,000 Minneapolis, MN -
$415,767 Portland, OR - $317,500 San Jose, CA - $1,145,000 Seattle, WA - $555,839
Planning Penalty Boulder, CO - $117,440 Denver, CO - $57,831 Minneapolis, MN - $32,133 Portland, OR - $60,460 San Jose, CA - $513,002 Seattle, WA - $132,965
Sources: Randal O’Toole, The Planning Penalty, ADC Publication
More faces, fewer numbers
“… women and minorities hardest hit”
Americans love the underdog!
(Home of Edith Macefield who refused to sell her home to developers, even for a million dollars. She passed away at age 86.)
Economics 101 “The affordability of housing is
overwhelmingly a function of just one thing: the extent to which governments place artificial restrictions on the supply of residential land.” Donald Brash, Governor of the Reserve Bank of
New Zealand. Source: 4th Annual Demographia International
Housing Affordability Survey (2008)
Naming Names Planners are bureaucrats Most Americans have distrustful/disdainful
feeling for “bureaucrat” but not for “city planner”
“Well, the city’s bureaucratic planners are pushing light rail again.”
Sell the Sizzle Suburbia is good! Robert Bruegmann: “the preferred settlement
pattern everywhere in the world where there is a certain measure of affluence and where citizens have some choice in how they live”
“As cities have become economically prosperous, they have spread outward at decreasing densities.”
•Elitist know-it-alls love Smart Growth
•And Americans don’t like elites!
… even eco-elites
Play Emotional Hardball
Smart Growth Is All About Groupthink Irving Janis, Groupthink: Psychological
Studies of Policy Decisions & Fiascoes (1982): “members striving for unanimity overriding their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.”
Characteristics: holding defective beliefs; concurrence seeking; self-validation; exclude challenges to core beliefs; create “in-group”
Play Emotional Hardball
Planners find their validation in belonging to the planning profession
They share a vision among themselves that is at odds with the people they occasionally interact with
They believe regular people cannot understand their complex vision but will benefit from it
Symptoms of Groupthink
Illusion of invulnerability Belief in their inherent morality Collective rationalizations Stereotypes of out-groups Pressure on Dissenters Incomplete survey of alternatives Failure to reappraise
In other words, this ain’t rocket surgery!
Play Emotional Hardball
Ridicule is a legitimate political strategy
Hit ‘em where they ain’t
We’re Unique … Just Like Everyone
Else
Why Not Call It “McUrbanism”?
Franchising New Urbanism
Think I’m Kidding? McUrbanism
Smart Growth Reality
1. Urban Growth Boundary2. Mixed Use Development3. Common Areas4. Preservation of Open
Space5. Walkable Neighborhoods6. Sustainable Energy Supply7. Wetland Restoration8. Unique Sense of Place
What affordable McUrbanism looks like
Ed Braddy7th Annual Preserving the American
Dream Conference – Bellevue, WashingtonApril 19, 2009
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