United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-04-30 monographic deposited born digital 85 p. GA 1.13:RCED-99-87 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87 P0b002ee180375ba2 f:rc99087 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87 RCED-99-87 Community development Urban development programs Federal aid programs Executive orders Environmental policies Housing programs Urban planning Road construction Land management FHwA Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the contribution of federal programs and policies to urban sprawl, focusing on: (1) the origins and implications of urban sprawl; (2) evidence that exists on the influence of federal programs and policies on urban sprawl; and (3) regulatory review and coordination mechanisms evaluating and mitigating the effects of federal actions on urban sprawl.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) suburban growth began in response to a number of social, economic, demographic, and technological factors, including the postwar population boom, the increased availability of suburban housing, and the greater use of passenger cars; (2) federal housing and highway programs contributed to suburban growth because the availability of housing loans facilitated suburban homeownership and federal highway spending financed the expansion of highways that gave consumers access to suburban locations; (3) despite many studies on the costs and implications of urban sprawl, so many factors contribute to it and the relationships among these factors are so complex that researchers have had great difficulty isolating the impact of individual factors; (4) as a result, researchers have generally been unable to assign a cost or level of influence to individual factors, including particular federal programs or policies; (5) some experts believe that the federal government influences urban sprawl through spending for specific programs, taxation, and regulation, but few studies document the extent of the federal influence; (6) according to some experts, the role of federal programs and policies occurs in combination with a number of factors, including market forces and local land-use decisions; (7) anecdotal evidence suggests that investment in water and sewer systems may lead to residential and commercial growth in outer areas because such investment facilitates development; (8) GAO found little quantitative research linking federal assistance for water and sewer systems with urban sprawl; (9) tax code provisions that subsidize homeowners through the mortgage interest and property tax deductions are believed by some researchers to provide an incentive for purchasing more expensive housing that is sometimes located outside urban areas; (10) the tax policy research GAO reviewed did not directly estimate the effects of existing tax policies on urban sprawl; (11) studies indicate that environmental regulations play a small role in decisions about the location of businesses; (12) executive orders governing the federal regulatory review process do not directly address urban sprawl, but coordination among federal agencies on growth-related issues is increasing; and (13) the executive orders establish basic principles for agencies to follow when reviewing and approving regulations, and specific laws offer federal agencies an opportunity to consider the potential influence of their actions on growth. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87.pdf GAO/RCED-99-87 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-87 Letter Report GAO/RCED-99-87; Community Development: Extent of Federal Influence on; Community development Urban development programs Federal aid programs Executive orders Environmental policies Housing programs Urban planning Road construction Land management FHwA Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program