Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Planning and Density: Who’s Forcing Whom?

Today we're talking development and density. Greater Greater Washington has a post about zoning policies and traffic congestion in Montgomery County, Maryland, where a debate over growth policy that would encourage in-fill development near existing transit is getting heated.

David Alpert's post asks why planning for "low-traffic growth" is so often seen as coercive, whereas policies that encourage sprawl and car dependency are not:

18464893_57a2ebdbce.jpgPhoto by Dean Terry.

Somehow…the way elected officials, reporters, and
others discuss development has become turned around. Instead of
worrying about policies that force people to live far away, they worry
that accommodating more people near their jobs will worsen congestion.
And when anyone dares to suggest that that ought not be the overriding
public policy consideration, they're accused of trying to "force people
out of their cars."

If an airline sells more seats on a flight so you can't get an empty
seat next to you, should we ban that because it'll "force people out of
their extra elbow room"? When stores have special Thanksgiving sales
that bring a lot of people to the store, do we decide to ban them
because it would "force people out of the aisles"? Do we outlaw special
events like inaugurations because the extra people drinking will "force
people out of their bars?"

Where did we get the idea that people in a neighborhood have
an inalienable right not to share their roads with anyone new, but new
people don't have a right to live where they want to? Well, we got that
idea because the existing residents vote and the new ones don't. But
the whole idea is fallacious. The new residents are going to clog up
the roads just the same. Instead of driving from a house near Rockville
to a job in Bethesda, they'll drive from a house in Clarksburg to a job
in Bethesda, which is worse. Plus, they really have no choice but to
drive, unlike the person living in infill development.

Ryan Avent and Matthew Yglesias address similar issues as they're playing out in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Better news from the D.C. area comes from The WashCycle, which has a sneak preview of the city's forthcoming Bikestation.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Civic Panel Dings Adams For Cutting Bike and Bus Lanes Out of Fifth Av. Redesign

Mayor Adams's scaled down redesign of Fifth Avenue isn't a "real solution" to safety issued on the packed retail corridor.

July 14, 2025

Monday’s Headlines: E-Bike Regulations Edition

Monday is a big day for the future of e-bikes in the Big Apple. Plus more news.

July 14, 2025

‘Preventable’: Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Two on Third Av. Corridor Eric Adams Refuses to Make Safer

A motorist struck and killed two men on a strip where Mayor Adams recently shelved a safety redesign amid a backlash from local business interests.

July 11, 2025

Why No BRT For NYC? Two New Reports Tackle Why Your Bus Service Sucks

Years of bus priority projects barely made a dent in speeds because Big Apple leaders won't install real bus rapid transit, two recent reports argue.

July 11, 2025

Citi Bike Riders Are Pissed About Eric Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit

Citi Bike's new 15 mph max speed limit is a bad deal for riders and a potential threat to safety, riders said.

July 11, 2025
See all posts