City Prefers Sprawl, Fights Smart-Growth Zoning

The citizens of Bordentown City, a small suburb of Trenton New Jersey, have rejected alterations to their zoning laws that would make mixed use, sustainable smart-growth projects easier to build. Why? They’re afraid of high density, urban growth that they mistake for smart growth policies.

Misunderstandings about urban planning and smart growth trends fuel situations like the one found in Bordentown. Residents, afraid that they will lose the charm of their small town, resist changes to zoning laws in order to preserve the ‘historic’ feeling of a city. However, since most cities grow regardless of the feelings of residents, freezing the development regimes in the downtown area only forces new growth to suburbs. The result is urban sprawl.

For instance, citizens of Bordentown sought to preserve street width and low clearance buildings as a means to preserving community culture. Sadly, citizens can mistake poor building practices of the past for historical charm.

Misinformation about higher density smart growth also obscures its utility. Growth changes cities, but not necessarily for the worse. Mixed-use development is unlikely to scale small towns into Manhattans, though the absence of smart growth policies could turn small towns into LA. Even small towns should accept that some growth is inevitable, and deal with it in the most sustainable way possible.

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