New Report Indicates State Dollars are Driving Sprawl

Last month, the Vermont Smart Growth Collaborative, on which VNRC serves as a member, released a report highlighting the fact that the State of Vermont is spending tax dollars on projects that are driving sprawl and contributing to global warming. The State of Vermont Smart Growth Progress Report concluded that the state has done little to strengthen existing communities, safeguard Vermont’s working landscapes, and protect our natural resources. To address this problem, the report makes many recommendations that would redirect Vermont dollars toward smart growth initiatives.

The Smart Growth Collaborative analyzed five years of data for several state agencies and concluded that the state continues to favor using Vermonter’s hard-earned tax dollars to pave highways through our rural lands and build sewers to serve new developments far from town centers. These investments are catalyzing sprawl, chewing up land, and spewing more global warming gasses into the air by creating places only accessible by car.

“It’s clear that state spending priorities, particularly for transportation and sewer construction, need radical surgery to avoid further sprawl and environmental degradation. This report offers practical solutions to help the Administration correct these problems” according to Steve Holmes, VNRC Sustainable Communities Program Director.

To read the State of Vermont Smart Growth Progress Report, click here.

Comments