A national program to encourage high-density, mixed used development serviced by regional and local mass transit systems

Suburban sprawl was the result of deliberate economic priorities set by the federal government after World War 2 to encourage automobile use and the building of highways and housing. At the time, it was seen as a way to guarantee long-term economic growth. Today, we know the failures of that policy: suburban infrastructure is crumbling and too expensive to maintain. Suburbia requires a lot of fossil fuels just to keep it running, and it creates towns and cities with no vital center of culture and commerce. But the market is already moving another direction: the walkable, mixed-used downtowns of small and mid-sized cities all over the country are now some of the most desired places to live. Let's encourage responsible development, not suburban sprawl, and repair the fabric of America.