Politicizing the Environmental Debate, 2000–2017 249
that basic toxicity information was available
for only 7 percent of these, while none was avail-
able for 43 percent. For chemicals produced at
lower volumes, the agency had even less infor-
mation.Source: John Wargo, Green Intelligence: Creating
Environments that Protect Human Health New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press, 2009), pp. xi –xv.but immediately exempted or grandfathered
from any data submission requirements. Since
that time, 45,000 additional chemicals have
been introduced to commerce, yet nearly half
of these were reported to the EPA after compa-
nies began to sell them. The effect is that among
U.S. chemicals produced in highest volumes,
90 percent are exempted from federal review
under TSCA. Moreover, in 1980 the EPA found
Document 171: Christopher B. Leinberger on Walkable
Neighborhoods with Public Transportation (2010)After more than 60 years, the trend of people moving from U.S. cities to the suburbs has begun to reverse, and
all 30 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas have started to rebuild. Walkable urban places (walkups) are
where the wealthiest and most educated people are now choosing to live and where hundreds of companies are
moving and investing.
Walkable, compact neighborhoods with easy access to public transportation are not only environmentally
more efficient than car-oriented communities, they also have special appeal for the growing number of very
elderly people who cannot or should not drive as well as for young adults who like the sociability of cities and
choose not to own cars. New technology that enables on-demand car-sharing and ride access is part of the
innovation that is helping to spark urban rejuvenation. But walkup areas around the nation require an infusion
of both public and private funding to improve transportation infrastructure in order to continue to thrive.
Christopher Leinberger, a real estate developer and professor at the George Washington School of Business,
has studied and written about walkups in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, and Toronto.Urban-style housing in walkable neighbor-
hoods—including those in the inner suburbs–is
what’s in demand today. And for a variety of rea-
sons, that demand will intensify in the coming
years. Only by serving it can the country kick-
start growth in an enormous and essential part
of the economy.
Yet the creation of new, attractive urban
spaces is slow and difficult, and becomes all
but impossible without substantial new infra-
structure. Most of all, it relies on good transit
options—especially rail links—around which
walkable neighborhoods can develop. Rail, bik-
ing, and walking infrastructure is the backbone
of urban development, and as a country we’ve
for the most part neglected to build it in recent
decades, in favor of new roads for new suburbs
farther and farther away from metropolitan
hubs. To support growth in the next decade,
we need to change that dynamic—and nourish
our walkable urban spaces and neighborhoods.
Complicating matters, in these cash-strapped
times we need to find a way to do so on the cheap.
Housing comes in two basic types. The first
is the now-classic Ozzie and Harriet-style single-
family house on its own large lot, from which
nearly every trip is taken by car. The second is
similar to what we predominantly built before
the Great Depression: small-lot single-family
houses, town-houses, and apartments that are
within walking distance of most everyday needs
and are typically connected by public transit to
work, shopping, and entertainment—housing
that is built at least five times more densely than
that in conventional suburbs.
Ten years ago, conventional large-lot housing
in wealthy suburbs was the highest-priced hous-
ing per square foot, in nearly all metropolitan