Transit Miami

The Following piece was contributed by guest columnist Ryan, the Sprawl Hater, a regular reader and contrubutor to Transit Miami. As always if you would like to contibute an article, thoughts, or questions with our readers feel free to e-mail me (MoveMiami@gmail.com) or leave comments…Enjoy…

The other day I was at a friend’s apartment by 89th and Flagler, when he had a “got milk?” moment. So, instead of walking a distance equivalent to if not shorter than my block-and-a-half walk from home to the EZ Kwik Mart in the Grove, he chose to drive to a gas station at Fontainebleau and Flagler to get milk. Piqued by his rationale, I took it upon myself to consider his other option: walking. It turns out, despite the short distance; there was actually very little option at all. If he had chosen to walk, he first would have needed to traverse a small section of his labyrinth-like private community. A dead end would have forced him to take the long way, an equivalent of an extra block to reach the exit of his community. Upon reaching the exit, he would’ve been forced to cross Flagler at mid-block, a quasi-suicidal option indeed. If he made it alive, he’d have to then walk across the surface lot of the gas station to reach his destination. After all that, he’d have to do it again to get home. Walking would’ve been awkward, artificially lengthened, and flat dangerous. So, this begs the question; is this an isolated incident or is it symbolic of a more endemic problem that plagues metros like Miami-Dade?
Unfortunately, I’ll suppose the latter. A recent report by the Environmental Defense Fund has exposed what I believe to be the most serious and pressing issue behind the anti-sprawl campaign: global warming. There are many arguments against urban sprawl, but I think global warming is unequivocally the most significant. Yet, it seems most Americans are apathetic, unaware, or just indifferent to the effect sprawl has on worsening global warming. Sprawling, low-density development (incl. private communities, gated communities, subdivisions, cul-de-sac ‘hoods) are almost purely auto centric, meaning they create enormous and almost exclusive demand for automobiles for transportation. Moreover, the presence of distant schools, rigid land use separation, awkward street grids, and guaranteed parking make it near certainty that every trip taken will be via automobile.
The EDF report provides some startling conclusions: carbon dioxide emissions from American vehicles in 2004 totaled 314 million metric tons; an average household with two mid-sized vehicles emits more than 20,000 lbs. of CO2 a year (that is equal to 10 tons of pollution a year added to the greenhouse gases that trap heat and consequently raise global temperatures). Furthermore, while the U.S holds only about five percent of the world’s population, it is home to 30% of the world’s cars and accounts for 45% of global auto emissions. You see, minimizing auto dependence is not just an urban planning issue or lifestyle choice anymore – it’s a paradigm shift of global significance that must be embraced before we humans destroyour global environment. Hyperbole? I don’t think so.
If we doubled the fuel efficiency of every new vehicle tomorrow the results wouldn’t be seen for another 20 years. James Hansen, the head of NASA’s top institute studying climate and arguably the world’s leading researcher on global warming, has theorized that humans have only 10 years to reduce greenhouse gasses before global warming reaches a tipping point and becomes unstoppable.
Think about that the next time you’re forced to drive somewhere to get milk. Think about that when eight of 13 county commissioners voted to move the urban development boundary. Think about that the next time you consider moving.