Don't Forget Roads, Says Kotkin

Joel Kotkin explains why the Obama Administration's focus on transit is wrong-headed and doesn't do anything for the majority of Americans.

1 minute read

September 14, 2009, 1:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


"It's difficult to imagine a policy that disses roads, small towns and suburbs could pass Congress, 80 percent or so of whose constituents don't live in the favored dense urban environments. And what about the 95 percent or so of Americans who get around by car? More likely, any spate of new transit and land-use regulations will be enforced through the apparat. In one scenario, administrators at the EPAcould simply oppose any transport project - for example, new roads - on the basis of carbon emissions and potential pollution. States and cities with projects not deemed 'smart' enough by administrators at the Department of Transportation or HUD might be threatened with loss of funding."

Monday, September 14, 2009 in New Geography

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