California’s Approach to Land Use and Climate Protection

This sign is displayed on the side of the Dry Goods building in Denver, a city know for its sprawl. While still largely unrealized, smart growth is a pervasive concept in cities throughout the U.S..

The passing of Senate Bill 375 in California last year was a landmark occasion marking a new approach to land use and climate protection. The bill, authored by Senate President-Elect Darrell Steinberg, is the first law in the nation to tie billions of dollars in federal and state transportation funds to plans to shorten commutes, build sustainable communities and reduce global warming.

Through various incentives, SB375 will limit California’s CO2 emissions by curbing suburban sprawl and increasing transit-based development. Communities that plan walkable, mixed-use, transit-oriented growth that reduces automobile use and greenhouse gas emissions will get moved to the front of the line for state and federal transportation funds, and buildings proposed near transit lines will have an easier environmental review process.

This legislation comes on the coat tails of a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General, Jerry Brown in 2007 against the County of San Bernardino for causing global warming through rampant suburban sprawl. In that county, households make an average of 10 car trips a day, because their homes, workplaces, schools, stores, and friends are miles apart from each other, and transit
options are limited.

California officials settled that case and agreed to monitor the effects of rapid growth on the environment. San Bernardino County, one of the fastest-growing regions in the nation, will be forced to measure how much it contributes to global warming and set targets to begin cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in the next two and a half years, according to a legal settlement.

San Bernardino is not the only culprit. Because of sprawl, the number of cars is growing faster than the number of people in the U.S. Between 1980 and 2000, 1.2 vehicles were added to the roads for every 1 person increase in the population. Between 1980 and 2000, the total number of vehicular miles driven grew by 80%, more than three times faster than the U.S. population increase in those years. Today, Americans are driving over 365 billion miles annually and producing 154 million metric tons of carbon dioxide just going to the store.

However, changing demographics are working in favor of higher density communities. U.S. household size has shrunk from 3.27 in 1950 to 2.03 in 2000. A 2006 Virginia Tech study found that 38% of today’s U.S. homebuyers prefer attached housing versus 25% of Americans who want a detached single-family house on a large lot. Furthermore, the stock of empty lots available in urban areas is ample to get started, with many green builders already aware of the issue and looking to the U.S. Green Building Council’s pilot version of its new LEED for Neighborhood Development program for some inspiration. The program provides the first national standard for neighborhood design that includes compact mixed-use development, walkability, and proximity to transit.

While creating high density mixed-use communities will be an important part of SB375, creating jobs near these centers will be equally important to avoid the proliferation of heavy commuter traffic. California will also need to develop greenhouse gas reduction mandates that look at regional emissions so that urban cities that take on larger populations are not penalized for going high density. Whatever the challenges, California is redefining land use and development in less carbon-intensive ways.