Benefits of Compact, Mixed Use Development

This report from the National Resources Defense Council, Smart Growth America, and American Rivers looks at groundwater loss and the degree to which sprawling development, such as single family homes with lawns, impacts metropolitan area water usage. It also considers how the increase in vehicle miles travelled that accompanies sprawl results in more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons entering watersheds. It uses NOAA data to estimate ratio of impervious surface for new development to calculate how much groundwater infiltration has been lost, and uses Robert Burchell’s smart growth scenarios from The Costs of Sprawl – 2000 to estimate how much smart growth would benefit groundwater recharge and water pollution.