As Phoenix emerges from an economic recession, efforts to restrict urban sprawl and encourage higher density development could lower water and energy use while benefiting lizards in undisturbed habitats.
That makes sense in many cases — the city should encourage higher density in appropriate areas.
The state is aggressively promoting transit villages, using the designation to encourage high-density development.
To meet demand, we should encourage high-density development, but homeowners fought to restrict housing supply when house prices were increasing.
In support of the bid, the city created the Special Hudson Yards District, stretching from Thirtieth to Forty-first Streets, to encourage high-density development, with the compensation of new public space and a likely extension of the 7 train.
The city's responsibility under the law is to identify sites for the housing and encourage higher-density development through zoning and building regulations.
Some changes have served traditional zoning goals — encouraging higher density on commercial thoroughfares (particularly near transit hubs) while lowering density in residential neighborhoods.
Clearly, if the countryside were not to be covered with concrete, they would have to be accommodated in the cities.Property companies responded enthusiastically, helped by changes in the planning rules that encouraged high-density urban development.
Attempts to encourage higher housing densities have been widely resisted.
However, this support should be more horizontal in nature, rather than further encouraging the ongoing high density of production chains.
The Chartered Institute of Housing warned: "The need to deliver discounts for purchasers may encourage developments which are high density and/or low spec, and which may not remain attractive places to live in the long term.
