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Growing Closer 1  <br />d ensity in the r egion Planning for density <br />should begin at the regional level with a fundamental question: <br />Where should growth go? Densities should vary across a town <br />as well as throughout a region. Determining which areas can <br />accommodate more intense development and which should be <br />protected is a good first step. Density is appropriate in built-up <br />areas where infrastructure and services are already in place to <br />serve a growing population. Underused urban sites with access <br />to public transportation and nearby jobs and commercial ser- <br />vices are also a good choice. Density neither belongs in remote <br />locations, where a substantial investment in new roads, sewer, <br />water, and electric lines is required, nor on natural resource <br />land or fragile soils. <br />Successful density requires a major shift in our thinking <br />about how we get around. Currently, we rely almost exclu- <br />sively on private automobiles. At very low densities this mode <br />of transportation works well. There are few people per mile of <br />roadway and plenty of space to store vehicles. Parking is plenti- <br />ful and highways are clear. At the other end of the transporta- <br />tion spectrum, urban densities support a mix of alternatives, <br />including walking, biking, buses, and trains, in a setting with <br />little room for private automobiles. <br />Numerically speaking, there is not a large gap between <br />these two ends of the spectrum. Rural densities are typically <br />less than 1 unit per acre; transit-friendly densities begin at <br />6 units per acre and extend into the hundreds. Given the <br />broad continuum of possible densities, this span of 1 to 6 <br />units per acre is small, but it represents a huge portion of <br />the housing stock and a very common density for new <br />construction. <br />050906-0058 <br />Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania