A Smart Growth Bibliography:

Impacts on Infrastructure and Public Service Costs

American Farmland Trust. Is Farmland Protection A Community Investment? - How to Do a Cost of Community Services Study, American Farmland Trust, Spring 1993.
Summary: Guidance for conducting a cost of community services study which uses existing town financial data to show the demand for services by different land uses. Provides a snapshot of current demand for services and not a prediction of future demand. Guidebook (24 pages).

Bookout, L.W. Value by Design - Landscape, Site Planning, and Amenities. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 1994.
Summary: The book uses 11 case studies - seven residential projects, two office ventures, one mixed-use development, and one shopping center - to evaluate the value that good design offers the developer, the owner, and the community. Each case study has a value analysis that includes development and construction costs and operating expenses. Book (154 pages).

Burchell, Robert W. et al. Development Impact Assessment Handbook, the Urban Land Institute, 1994. With Development Impact Assessment Model.
Summary: The electronic model uses a combination of user provided inputs, national multipliers, and model calculations to evaluate the impacts of a new development. Impacts considered include: market; social; environmental; economic; fiscal; traffic; and shared infrastructure. The Handbook explains development impact analyses in general, provides examples, and gives instructions on how to use the electronic model. Handbook (326 pages) and Model on 3.5" diskette (Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel versions).

Canter, Larry, et al. Impact of Growth: A Guide for Socio-Economic Impact Assessment and Planning, Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, MI, 1986.
Summary: Delineation of a systematic approach which can be used in addressing potential socio-economic impacts resulting from major development projects. A step-by-step guide including factors and examples with emphasis on the project level. Book - Impact Assessment Model (533 pages).

Chesapeake Bay Program. Cost of Providing Government Services to Alternative Residential Patterns, prepared for the Chesapeake Bay Program's Subcommittee on Population Growth and Development, produced under Contract No. 68-WO-0043 to the EPA, May 1993.
Summary: A literature review to determine how the capital cost of providing services and infrastructure varies according to the characteristics of residential development. Study and literature review (100 pages).

Criterion Inc. INDEX - INtegrated Design Efficiency eXamination. Geographic Accounting Software for Measuring Urban Livability, Criterion Inc., Portland, OR, December 1995.
Summary: A customizable GIS template designed to produce spatial accounting of integrated urban resource efficiencies. INDEX runs in ArcView 2. INDEX is based upon the PLACE3S methodology, with some improvements. Computer software.

Downing, Paul B., and Richard D. Gustely. The Public Service Costs of Alternative Development Patterns: A Review of the Evidence. In Local Service Pricing Policies and Their Effect on Urban Spatial Structure, edited by Paul B. Downing. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. 1977.
Summary: Examines the distance-related costs for police and fire services, sanitation, schools, water supply, storm drainage, and sanitary sewers using the detailed cost data from The Costs of Sprawl as well as their own material.

Duncan, James and Associates. The Search for Efficient Urban Growth Patterns: A Study of the Fiscal Impacts of Development in Florida, presented to the Governor's Task Force on Urban Growth Patterns and the Florida Department of Community Affairs, July 1989.
Summary: The study was conducted to identify the public service costs of land development patterns in Florida, as represented by eight case study areas, and the savings which could result from the adoption of policies, regulations and other public actions designed to reduce the amount of sprawling, inefficient development. Report (147 pages plus extensive technical appendices).

Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. San Jose 2020 General Plan Update, Fiscal Impact Analysis - Final Report, prepared for the City of San Jose, April 1993.
Summary: The study evaluates the fiscal implications of three alternative land use scenarios. The fiscal analysis estimates the annual service costs and corresponding revenues generated by future land uses under the different scenarios. The community facilities analysis compares infrastructure or capital facilities requirements under each alternative with potential funding sources. Report (77 pages plus appendices).

Frank, James E., The Costs of Alternative Development Patterns: A Review of the Literature, ULI - The Urban Land Institute, Washington, DC, 1989
Summary: Frank reviews nine studies that have attempted to estimate the costs of alternative development patterns. In addition, a single summary table is generated indicating the capital and operating costs associated with various residential densities, locations, and housing types. Literature review and analysis (46 pages).

Hanousek, Donna et al. Project Infrastructure Development Handbook, 1989.
Summary: Focuses on the physical infrastructure of new residential and commercial developments that the private developer has traditionally been responsible for providing. The handbook provides a description of the basic infrastructure systems, reviews the infrastructure planning process from the public and private perspective, and reviews infrastructure design considerations, infrastructure financing, and infrastructure construction and management. Handbook (152 pages).

Isard, Walter, and Robert E. Coughlin. Municipal Costs and Revenues Resulting from Growth. Wellesley, Mass.: Chandler-Davis. 1957.
Summary: Estimates the costs associated with roads, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, and schools for developments of one, four, and 16 dwelling units per acre.

Kain, John F. Urban Form and the Costs of Urban Services. Mimeographed. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. - Harvard Joint Center for Urban Studies. 1967.
Summary: Draft monograph (never formally published) that examines the interneighborhood, intraneighborhood, lot, and structure costs of residential developments. Kain analyzes determinants of development costs including density, lot size, and urban form.

Kasowski, Kevin. The Costs of Sprawl Revisited, Developments, September 1992.
Summary: Brief discussion piece. The article cites several articles that have estimated sprawl-related costs: The New Jersey economic impact analysis of the State Plan and James Frank's monograph The Costs of Alternative Development Patterns. Article (5 pages).

NAHB, National Association of Home Builders. Cost-Effective Site Planning. Washington, DC: NAHB. 1976 (updated 1982 and 1986).
Summary: Estimates on-site development costs for roads, sewers, water and drainage, clearing, grading, driveways, and street trees in an attempt to demonstrate, among other things, that cluster design of low-density residential sites can achieve a savings in lot development costs compared to conventional design.

Real Estate Research Corporation. The Costs of Sprawl, Detailed Cost Analysis, Washington, DC; U.S. GPO, 1974.
Summary: The study analyzes prototype development patterns in terms of economic, environmental, natural resource, and social costs. Three community types analyzed are: low density sprawl; combination mix; and high density planned. Study (three volumes).

Smythe, Robert B. and Charles D. Laidlaw. Density Related Public Costs, American Farmland Trust, Washington, DC, 1986.
Summary: Examines the net public costs of four hypothetical 1000-household residential developments, each of which varies according to density. Actual data were used whenever possible from the Loudoun County Virginia budget. A demographic profile was created for the four development scenarios based upon Loudoun County census data. Total population, age structure, and number of dwellings were held constant across all four scenarios. Study (44 pages)

Stone, P.A. The Structure, Size, and Costs of Urban Settlements. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. 1973.
Summary: Examines model neighborhoods of 10,000 persons arranged in centralized, partly centralized, and decentralized settlements. In addition, rectangular, star-shaped, and linear regional shapes are examined.

Washington State, Department of Community Development. Making Your Comprehensive Plan A Reality - "A Capital Facilities Plan Preparation Guide", Washington State Growth Management Program, Department of Community Development, Growth Management Division, June 1993.
Summary: This guidebook was prepared to assist communities in developing a Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) as required by Washington State's Growth Management Act of 1990. The guide outlines the steps of developing a CFP, and identifies the people or groups to involve as well as the general roles they can play. Methods for setting level of service standards and for forecasting needed capital facilities are presented. Guidebook (142 pages).

Washington State Growth Strategies Commission. Infrastructure Issue Paper - Draft, Department of Community Development, February 1990.
Summary: The Washington State Growth Strategies Commission was asked by the Governor to recommend ways to balance economic growth with the preservation of the environment and high quality of life. The Commission has prepared issue papers on the following topics: land use, infrastructure, affordable housing, economic diversification, and governance. This report identifies the issues relevant to infrastructure and makes preliminary recommendations. Draft report (27 pages)

Wheaton, William L., and Morton J. Schussheim. The Cost of Municipal Services in Residential Areas. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce. 1955.
Summary: Estimates the capital and operating costs for a 500-unit development in three Massachusetts communities at alternative locations and with varying degrees of spatial concentration.

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