The Implications of the Breaking the Logjam Project for Smart Growth and Urban Land Use

Abstract

This article describes in detail the many strategies that have been and are being used to contain urban sprawl and foster smart growth and explains the relevance of the principles of the Breaking the Logjam project to urban land use planning. The authors note that most of the strategies discussed are locally based and emphasize the generally limited role of the federal government in land use planning. They conclude by noting that there may remain a modest role for federal legislation in affecting urban land use planning and recommend that the implicit spatial impacts of federal laws such as the Endangered Species Act be taken into account if these laws are revised.