Quote Originally Posted by Detroitnerd View Post
A lot of it boils down to transportation policy, and the other hows and whys of the way public money is spent. We spent a ton of public money on expanding the footprint of a flat population. Now the challenge is to spend public money more wisely to furnish a decent, smallish city with what residents need.

I'll say it again: Transportation policy IS development policy. It's the only way to lead developers by the nose and make them do what they should do.
I don't know of many developments, in this day and age, that are predicated on the construction of new roads BEFORE they are developed. I think the normal pattern is development, accumulation of residents, and then residents clamoring for new or wider roads.

Put a different way, if any particular city said "no newly paved or widened roads, but build what you want," I don't think that would slow down developers one bit.

I don't necessarily believe that this the best long-term urban planning policy, but I don't think that roads or lack thereof drive development. I am open to evidence that I am wrong, though.