5.3 Productive and Efficient Use of Land

The proximity of homes to jobs, shopping, recreation and good public transit, and a good walking environment are strongly associated with lower automobile use—as much as 20% to 30% per household—and a recent report by the Center for Transit Oriented Development found that households located near transit emit 43% less transportation-related Greenhouse Gas emissions and 78% less for households in central business districts.

Integrated planning encourages us to look at the impact of land use planning and transportation on human and environmental health, as well as on future economic growth.  Successful planning builds the advantages of concentrated labor, markets, services and infrastructure to help provide access to jobs and homes while preserving important environmental resources and amenities. Patterns of development in Metro Boston have changed dramatically over the past 50 years, transforming tightly knit towns and villages into an unbroken landscape of suburban sprawl.  As a part of its MetroFuture project, theMetropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) projects that by 2030 the region could lose 150,000 acres of unprotected open space, including 11,000 acres of agricultural land and 58,000 acres of priority habitat for rare and endangered wildlife, if development continues at the current rate.