Green Party Platform:
Urban Land Use
Undeveloped lands, wilderness and agricultural lands are necessary for the ecological sustainability of the Earth and must be preserved. Thus, growth must be planned to minimize impact on these precious resources.
Because the Earth is a closed system, it cannot tolerate unrestrained growth without serious environmental consequences. Yet growth and development are often seen as desirable in themselves. But the consequence of this over-development is environmental destruction as areas exceed their natural carrying capacities.
The Green Party supports preservation of agricultural and wilderness lands:
- Implement the ideas and principles of the ECO CITIES movement.
- Encourage high density communities as one way to prevent urban sprawl into agricultural and wilderness areas.
- Priced increases in the population density with appropriate infrastructure developments to facilitate public transit travel, shopping, recycling and other functions as much as possible.
- Plan these high density communities so that they are compatible with desirable social goals. Retain open spaces, parklands and greenbelts as components of all development plans to maintain a high quality of life.
- Locate schools and places of employment within easy walking or bicycling distances from residences, or along mass transit lines.
- Use water treatment and closed-loop sewage treatment systems wherever possible.
- Change tax and planning laws to foster urban development that uses solar and other alternative energy sources.
- Stabilize the size of the American population and limit consumption levels.