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COMMON GROUND VOL. 11 NO . 4 MAY /JUKE 2000
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<br /> Rhode Island has developed more land adopted, 65 % of new homes would be built
<br /> Rhode
<br /> in the last 34 years than in its first 325 years . outside of urban areas . But current sprawl
<br /> Island If the state continues to sprawl, residents patterns will ensure that the entire state will
<br /> will pay an additional $ 1 . 5 billion in taxes lose all its rural areas by 2100 .
<br /> Grapples over 20 years, according to "The Costs of The state needs to find alternatives to
<br /> Suburban Sprawl and Urban Decay in Rhode funding education with local property
<br /> � � � h Island " (executive summary, 401 / 273 -5711 ) . taxes—a practice that hurts cities—and to ar-
<br /> Grow Smart Rhode Island, a nonprofit ticulate a state plan for major land uses and
<br /> Sprawl formed in 1998 to encourage better develop - conservation initiatives . Other recommenda-
<br /> ment and preserve more open space in the tions include providing incentives to reuse
<br /> state, commissioned the report to assess the buildings and brownfields, targeting money
<br /> costs of sprawl over the past 40 years, pro- to preserve farmland and open space, pro -
<br /> jecting its future costs and the potential sav- viding state funding for affordable housing
<br /> mgs if development patterns improved . and expanding mass transit .
<br /> Even if study recommendations were Other findings :
<br /> • Tax losses in cities account for 55 % of the • The same cities had 30 % of the state ' s
<br /> estimated , $ 1 . 5 billion in sprawl costs . The families but 61 % of those that fell below the
<br /> remainder comes from tax losses and capi- poverty line .
<br /> tal costs in suburban and rural areas that re • The state developed 65,000 acres of resi
<br /> place lower-cost farms, forests and open dential, commercial and industrial land
<br /> space with higher-cost residential areas . between 1636-1961 and another 96,000
<br /> Costs include building and maintaining Maw acres between 1961 and 1995 ,
<br /> frastructure to accommodate sprawl . • Developed land increased at nine times
<br /> • Between 1988-98 , total property values in population growth between 1961-95 ,
<br /> the state 's core cities—Central Falls, New- • The state "s farmland dropped nearly in
<br /> port, Pawtucket, Providence and half between 1964-97, to 55,256 acres from
<br /> Woonsocket-declined by 24%, or $3 . 3 bil- 103, 801 acres .
<br /> lion. Their effective tax rates climbed 44%, ® Between 1988-95 , Rhode Island lost
<br /> or three times that of rural communities . 11 ,500 acres of farm and forest land, an area
<br /> ® In 1995, the core cities had 11 , 000 vacant nearly equal the size of Providence, the
<br /> buildings and lots, representing a $ 1 . 3 bil- state capital .
<br /> lion loss in property value . • The state will consume another 3, 100
<br /> Between 198M997, the core cities lost acres of farmland and 24,000 acres of forest-
<br /> 5,000 private-sector jobs while the remain- . land in the next 20 years if current sprawl
<br /> der of the state gained 48,000 , patterns continue .
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