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New Report Shows Economic and Environmental Benefits of Reduced
Sprawl. 

California High-Speed Rail Authority
NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 23, 2010

Contact: Lindsay VanLaningham, (916) 324-9670

CA Households Could Save $6,400 per Year from Better Community
Planning
New Report Shows Economic and Environmental Benefits of Reduced
Sprawl

Sacramento, CA — A new analysis released today finds that
building more healthy communities — with access to transportation
options, and closer to jobs, shopping, schools and parks — could
save money, cut pollution, and reduce our dependence on oil.

“California is leading the nation in tackling smart and
comprehensive land‐use planning that will help us lay a
foundation for economic growth, improve our quality of life and
meet our environmental and health goals," said Governor
Schwarzenegger. “This analysis shows we are moving in the right
direction in working to design communities that allow
Californians to save money by spending less time in their cars
and more time with their families. By working together at all
levels of government, we can help create a brighter, more
sustainable future for generations of Californians to enjoy.”

“Vision California: Charting Our Future” was conducted by
Calthorpe Associates, one of the nation’s leading planning and
design firms. It assesses the economic, energy, health and land
impacts of different options for accommodating a population
expected to reach 60 million by 2050. The report analyzes the
financial and environmental benefits of state, regional and local
land use and transportation policies. The analysis finds
Californians facing an enormous price tag in a “Business as
Usual” future. People spend more time in their cars, traveling
nearly 183 billion more miles and using over 6.5 billion more
gallons of gasoline each year than they would in a “Growing
Smart” future that brings housing, jobs, and everyday needs
closer together. Compared to the Business as Usual future, the
Growing Smart future reduces annual household costs for gas, auto
maintenance and household utility bills by 45% in 2050.

The findings show how changes in land use and infrastructure
decisions can have huge benefits for Californians, the state’s
economy, and the environment. Highlights of the report include:

•Households save $6,400 annually on auto and utility costs
because more Californians are driving less and living in homes
that use less water and energy.
•Californians reduce the number of miles they drive by 3.7
trillion miles by 2050, the equivalent of taking ALL cars off the
roads for 12 years.
•California saves 140 billion gallons of gasoline to 2050 by
reducing miles traveled by passenger cars ‐ the equivalent
of two years of U.S. oil imports.
•Cities and counties save $4.3 billion annually on
infrastructure costs by building more compact neighborhoods.
•California saves enough water by 2050 to fill the Hetch Hetchy
Reservoir in Yosemite National Park more than 50 times, by
building more compact communities and homes that require less
water.
•California saves enough energy by 2050 to power EVERY home in
the state for 8 years.

“Right now, we are working with cities, counties, and regions to
help create communities where people can have a high quality of
life with transportation and housing choices that allow them to
access the resources and amenities that California has to offer
such as jobs, schools, healthy food and open space,” said Cynthia
Bryant, Chair of the Strategic Growth Council. “The Vision
California analysis allows us to consider the economic,
environmental and health benefits of our land use and
transportation decisions in a coordinated fashion so we can build
quality communities for all Californians.”

“Decisions made now will haunt us for years to come if we stick
to the status quo. This analysis drives home the enormous costs
at stake for Californians,” said Darrell Steinberg, President Pro
tempore of the California State Senate and author of SB 375,
California’s historic smart growth law. “We can either grow smart
at less cost while enjoying healthier, cleaner more livable
communities, or, we can continue business as usual and watch our
economy and our environment erode.”

Under SB 375, each of California’s regional agencies must meet
benchmarks for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles
through land use and transportation development. The state is
expected to release draft regional emissions targets by the
summer, with a final vote in September. The bill was signed into
law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2008 and supported by a
coalition of unlikely supporters that included builders,
developers, environmentalists, health advocates and government
leaders.

"This is a great tool that will enable local governments and key
regions in the state in their overall land‐use planning.
High speed rail has the potential to provide significant economic
stimulus in many communities across California, and with a
cohesive statewide high‐speed rail system with
complementary local planning, this collaboration can hugely
benefit the future of our state." said Curt Pringle, Chairman of
the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

“Charting our Future” is the first report from Vision
California, an unprecedented effort funded by the California
High‐Speed Rail Authority, in partnership with the
California Strategic Growth Council, to analyze the economic and
environmental impacts of land use and transportation decisions on
California’s future. The report uses Rapid Fire, a new
state-of-the-art analysis tool that tests the effects of land use
and policy decisions across a wide variety of metrics. The report
compares a “Business as Usual” scenario, which assumes a
continuation of dispersed, auto‐oriented development
patterns, with a “Growing Smart” scenario, which assumes a more
balanced housing mix and greater transportation options. Vision
California’s next steps include the development of detailed
state‐wide physical land use and transportation scenarios
utilizing new mapping and analysis tools that will serve to
inform policy decisions at the state, regional, and local
levels.

For a copy of the report, go to www.visioncalifornia.org.

####

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is the state entity
responsible for planning, constructing and operating an
800-mile-long high-speed train system serving California's major
metropolitan areas. The Authority has a nine-member policy board
and a core staff.

The Strategic Growth Council is a cabinet level, statutorily
mandated, committee that is tasked with coordinating the
activities of state agencies to improve air and water quality,
protect natural resource and agriculture lands, increase the
availability of affordable housing, improve infrastructure
systems, promote public health, assist state and local entities
in the planning of sustainable communities and meeting AB 32
goals. The Council is composed of agency secretaries from
Business Transportation and Housing, California Health and Human
Services, California Environmental Protection Agency, and the
California Natural Resources Agency; the director of the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research; and public member
Robert Fisher who was appointed by the Governor.