Map-21 is a highway bill, not a transportation bill, it cuts support for public transit in favor of highway expansion



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Sprawl Advantage




Status quo transportation policies encourage private automobiles over mass transit thus creating sprawl.


Meredith 3 (Jeremy R., Policy Analyst at District of Columbia Public Schools, “Sprawl and the New Urbanist Solution,” Virginia Law Review, 89(2), April 2003, p. 475-476.) CO
First, the federal government's transportation policy contributes to sprawl by encouraging automobile travel over mass transit.168 The government encourages sprawl both directly, through subsidies, and indirectly, by failing to make commuters responsible for the full costs of driving to work. Since the passage of the Highway Trust Fund169 in 1956, the highway system has thrived because it has been considered a public good by the government.'70 At the same time, mass transit has struggled, in part because the government decided to treat it as a private investment that should not draw upon common taxpayer money.'17 Meanwhile, highway programs have transformed once inaccessible land into areas prime for development.172 Once highways are constructed, commercial and resi- dential centers quickly develop around them.73 The highway sub-sidy continues today in the form of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act ("ISTEA"),174 which granted $108 billion of federal aid to highways over six years,175 and the Trans- portation Equity Act for the 21st Century ("TEA-21"),176 which provides over $171 billion to federal highway programs over four years.'77 Government transportation policies also encourage sprawl because they do not force drivers to internalize their costs on society. These costs include those relating to traffic accidents, routine street maintenance, air pollution, the strategic petroleum reserve and military costs associated with serving gasoline-based interests in the Persian Gulf.178 Second, federal housing policies have also encouraged the development of sprawl in the United States. The Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") has contributed to the spread of low- density housing through its selective insurance of home mortgages and its preference for home construction over home repair. From its inception in the 1930s to the 1960s, the program's anti-urban policies and administration made residential development cheaper in the suburbs and, in some cases, the only option available.179 Federal tax regulations also contribute to sprawl through policies such as, "accelerated depreciation; five-year amortization; and deductibility of 'passive' real estate losses," that make suburban development cheaper than urban development and building new houses cheaper than repairing old ones.180 These policies also contributed to the racial segregation seen in urban sprawl. During the early years of federal insurance, mort- gages often required racially restrictive covenants, prohibiting blacks from taking advantage of these subsidies.'8' Not only did the FHA insure mortgages with racially prejudicial requirements, it advocated their use."82 Even after racially restrictive covenants were found unconstitutional, the agency continued to enforce racial segregation for twenty more years by consistently giving black neighborhoods the highest risk ratings.183 While the FHA has now acted to prohibit the racist administration of these programs, some accuse the government of failing to take the proper measures to prevent it from occurring in the private mortgage market.8

Improved transit limits sprawl


Su 6 (Qing, Professor of Econ at the University of South Florida, “The Effect of Transportation Subsidies on Urban Sprawl,” Graduate School Thesis and Dissertations, May 2, 2006, http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=3715&context=etd.) CO
Since this thesis focuses on the effect of transportation subsides on urban sprawl, we emphasize the transportation policies or practices that may be effective in curbing sprawl. Our empirical analysis provides evidence that the spatial size of an urbanized area is negatively related to the transit subsidy and the percentage of the working-age population using transit and positively related to transit cost. This suggests that improving transit use may help curb urban sprawl but that the effect may be small. Transit ridership is influenced by a variety factors, both internal and external to the transit system. Internal factors refer to those under the control of transit agencies, such as the level of service provided, fare structures and levels, service frequency and schedules, route design, and size of service area. External factors, on the other hand, are those outside the transit agency’s control, such as population and employment growth, residential and workplace location, and factors that affect the relative attractiveness of transit to other modes, such as gas price and parking costs (Mineta Transportation Institute 1991).

Increasing public transportation would encourage denser urbanization.


Meredith 3 (Jeremy R., Policy Analyst at District of Columbia Public Schools, “Sprawl and the New Urbanist Solution,” Virginia Law Review, 89(2), April 2003, p. 482-483.) CO
To achieve these goals, New Urbanists encourage activity on three different scales. The largest scale, the region, consists of the metropolis, city, and town.226 According to the Charter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, "[m]etropolitan regions are finite places with geographic boundaries derived from topography, watersheds, coastlines, farmlands, regional parks, and river basins."227 Within these regions, the proponents of New Urbanism suggest coordinated strategies of "economic development, pollution control, open-space preservation, housing, and transportation."228 These regional goals should include transportation connections, deconcentration of poverty, urban growth boundaries, tax-base sharing, and balanced education systems.29 New Urbanists call for these strategies to be carried out by both the private and the public sectors; however, they do not provide many specific guidelines for implementation at this level.230 The middle scale includes the neighborhood, the district, and the corridor.231 While the regional scale concerns mostly policy objectives, this level primarily focuses on urban planning doctrine. This scale "is the heart of New Urbanism: the reassertion of fundamental urban design principles at the neighborhood scale and their unique accommodation to the contemporary world."

Mass transit investment would spur urbanization


Dzurik no date (Andrew Dzurik, writer for Urbanicity, “Mass Transit and Sustainable Urban Environments,” Urbanicity, n/d, http://www. urbancity.org/site/articles/dzurik.aspx) CO
There is no question that urban sprawl is closely linked to the use of the private automobile and to a variety of environmental and social problems. In contrast to sprawl, many people throughout the world have viewed land as a scarce commodity to be protected and used wisely. Increased mass transit use and controlled or decreased automobile use can help to alleviate many of the problems of sprawl, particularly environmental, health and social effects (Kenworthy, 1996). Most developing countries have yet to reach a high level of automobile ownership, although they are experiencing rapid urban growth. As economies develop, however, there is a tendency for more private automobiles. Thus, investment in effective urban mass transit systems can be an important tool in making wise use of the land in the face of increasing urbanization. There is a need to improve urban transportation infrastructure in both developed and developing countries in order to provide fast and efficient transportation alternatives, and to minimize the potential environmental effects of the automobile. Certain transportation systems, such as subway and light rail, may appear to be an ideal solution, but such systems are costly and tied to fixed routes. Thus, cities should do careful planning and budgeting in order to avoid making the costly mistakes of choosing an inappropriate form of mass transit. Lower-cost solutions, such as buses, may prove to be the best answer for cities in developing countries, especially in the early stages of urbanization. Of the various options available for public transportation, efficient bus systems can be effective and affordable. Although taking no more roadway space than two cars, buses can carry as many as 80 passengers in peak hours (Asif Faiz, et al., 1990). Nevertheless, many existing bus systems are outdated, noisy, uncomfortable and polluting, so it is important to look at new technologies as cities seek to improve their mass transit systems. Investment in public mass transit has shown to attract new users by making it easy to use and competitive with the automobile (Bolade, 1993). This is especially important in urbanizing, developing countries, where new transit users are likely to be former pedestrians or bicyclists.

Transit leads to urban density


Rodrigue et al 9 (Jean-Paul, Professor in the Department of Global Studies and Geography at Hofstra University, Claude Comtois, professor of Geography at the University of Montreal, Brian Slack, professor at Concordia University, “The Geography of Transport Systems,” Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, May 18, 2009, p. 223.) CO
Urbanization has been one of the dominant contemporary processes as a growing share of the global population lives in cities. Considering this trend, urban transportation issues are of foremost importance to support the passengers and freight mobility requirements of large urban agglomerations. Transportation in urban areas is highly complex because of the modes involved, the multitude of origins and destinations, and the amount and variety of traffic. Traditionally, the focus of urban transportation has been on passengers as cities were viewed as locations of utmost human interactions with intricate traffic patterns linked to commuting, commercial transactions and leisure/cultural activities. However, cities are also locations of production, consumption and distribution, activities linked to movements of freight. Conceptually, the urban transport system is intricately linked with urban form and spatial structure. Urban transit is an important dimension of mobility, notably in high density areas. To understand the complex relationships between transportation and land use and to help the urban planning process, several models have been developed.


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