Going with the flow

“The key (to good policy) is to acknowledge what people want in their living arrangements, and to work WITH their preferences instead of against them... People want space, and they are willing to pay for it. That means larger houses and larger lots. It also means a continuing dispersal of the population – continuing suburbanization – within metropolitan areas. This preference is so strong it has persisted despite impressive countervailing forces (energy crises of the 1970s, smaller families, transit, planning etc).

“Smart growth laws will not change these trends. (They) continue an unsuccessful half century of reactionary city planning... attempting to revive the 1920s urban lifestyle of apartment buildings and mass transit. (People) want better transport – but that means roads now, not mass transit...

“And they want to preserve their current living environment. If anything they want lower population densities, not higher ones. They would like OTHER people to live in apartments in the city and to take mass transit so that they themselves will have more room and a faster commute... In any case, suburbanization will continue despite the hopes of urban planners.” -– John C. Weicher, “Arresting Urban Decline” AMERICAN OUTLOOK Summer 2000, Hudson Institute p56.