Moving Cooler

Growing Cooler, a book-length report in 2007, made the case that America cannot achieve it’s greenhouse gas reduction goals without strongly encouraging higher-density, mixed-use forms of development. A follow-up research report called Moving Cooler, published by the Urban Land Institute in July, concludes that the most effective strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation would be economy-wide pricing measures like gasoline taxes, carbon taxes, and pay-as-you-drive insurance. An very aggressive deployment of these taxes, ramping up to the equivalent of $5/gallon in 2050, would result in a 28 percent reduction in greenhouse gases.

Beyond economy-wide pricing measures, land use strategies are the most effective long-term way to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to the report’s authors, Cambridge Systematics. Shifting more growth to development patterns of greater than 5 units per acre would result in reduced carbon emissions of between 6-9 percent by 2050 (in addition to any reductions from pricing measures). The land use changes would support expansion of transit service that would further reduce emissions.

Most of these measures would save more money than they would cost due to reduced fuel and vehicle costs. A combination of measures to reduce transportation-related carbon emissions could result in up to $112 billion in savings annually to the economy. To purchase the report or read the summary, follow this link.