BookPeople
CAMPO Needs to Inject Quantitative Measurements Into Planning
RECEIVED Tue., April 20, 2010
Dear Editor,
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is predicting, in their 2035 Plan, how we will travel and where we will live 25 years from now, but they are not taking into account the availability of basic commodities ["Point Austin," News, April 16]. Among critical lifestyle commodities are energy, water, and disposable income. If we projected the availability, per capita, of these three in the year 2035 and then compared them to today's actual consumption, we'd have a fairly clear notion of what the future will bring. Let's just say that today's annual family budget of $40,000 will be only $30,000 in the year 2035, and energy and water supplies would experience similar reductions. Would CAMPO still predict that 50% of our future population growth will be in sprawl suburbs – or would that growth be directed to more efficient urban living?
Quantitative measurements can inject a dose of reality into planning. CAMPO should try it.
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is predicting, in their 2035 Plan, how we will travel and where we will live 25 years from now, but they are not taking into account the availability of basic commodities ["Point Austin," News, April 16]. Among critical lifestyle commodities are energy, water, and disposable income. If we projected the availability, per capita, of these three in the year 2035 and then compared them to today's actual consumption, we'd have a fairly clear notion of what the future will bring. Let's just say that today's annual family budget of $40,000 will be only $30,000 in the year 2035, and energy and water supplies would experience similar reductions. Would CAMPO still predict that 50% of our future population growth will be in sprawl suburbs – or would that growth be directed to more efficient urban living?
Quantitative measurements can inject a dose of reality into planning. CAMPO should try it.
Dick Kallerman
