Smart Growth America President and CEO Geoffrey Anderson took to the Internet airwaves yesterday on InfrastructureUSA’s blog, emphasizing the need for state, local and federal policies to take into account the interrelatedness of economic, transportation, housing, social and environmental issues.
“Obviously weʼve had a transportation program at the federal level for 50 years, putting in a national interstate system — weʼve got water and sewer grants — weʼve got subsidies for homeownership,” Anderson says. “All these things end up affecting how communities are built and what kinds of housing and community choices are out there for people and transportation choices.”
“Smart Growth America is really focused on those policies,” Anderson adds, “… and helping people understand the consequences and really showing that there is a model out there that we have neglected for a long time. And thatʼs creating complete neighborhoods where kids can walk to school, where itʼs easy to get around as an elderly person, whether youʼre driving or not driving, [and] where thereʼs a mix of housing types so that as your needs change throughout your life, you can find an apartment above retail as a young kid out of college — you can find housing with a yard as a new parent — and you can find places with amenities that have universal design and access to culture as an older person.”
To listen to InfrastructureUSA’s complete interview with Anderson, click here.