More than a few interesting responses to Dr. Guarino’s Greensboro City Council candidate questionnaire —- from both the candidates and the commenters.
In one thread a commenter noted with interest how “all the candidates indicate they’re for infill, high density development, but all the high density is going to the very sprawl they’re claiming to be against……Lip service goes to infill with very little really being done.”
I also noted that (most of) the candidates said they were for high-density infill development, but I had to wonder just where they think it will go, especially now that Greensboro has the protest petition. Easy, Keith — I’m not slamming the petition, but it is a fact that it will make infill development more difficult. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing —- neighborhoods have should have the right to effectively challenge high-density development if it would negatively impact them. That leaves precious little land where someone wouldn’t be adversely affected, which is why high-density development will continue to cause the urban sprawl it claims to eliminate.
But that’s where a potential rail line where high-density developments can spring up on the outskirts of town, but right next to a rail line. The N&R reported yesterday that the city’s proposed land development ordinance would encourage high-density development “along major roadways with access to public transportation.”
So this just isn’t some weird fantasy I’m conjuring up. It’s the city’s vision for the future, and evidently it’s on paper.
