Column: Don't forget the environmental aspects of increased density


Suzannah Evans Comfort
The Herald Times

This guest column was written by Suzannah Evans Comfort, a member of the Bloomington Environmental Commission. The views offered are the author’s and do not represent the city of Bloomington.

The last time Bloomington considered “plexes,” or allowing duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes by-right in historically single-family neighborhoods, the community conversation focused on the potential impact on property values and the character of some of our older neighborhoods. As the city prepares to revisit this conversation in 2021, the conversation should expand to include the longer-term environmental impacts of a denser Bloomington — which have the potential to be significant.

Bloomington is fortunate to have a relatively healthy city core that should survive the pandemic to become a vibrant gathering place once again. City planners nationwide strive for this kind of community because it has well-documented economic and social benefits. What most people don’t consider, however, is that a dense city core also has environmental benefits. This may not seem intuitive — how can small lots and multistory buildings that crowd out green space result in positive environmental effects? Certainly, urban development brings its own set of environmental impacts as we must consider air and water quality, among other concerns.

So the environmental benefits of a dense city don’t seem obvious to the naked eye. However, when we consider the bigger picture, it becomes more clear.

A dense city shortens car commutes and is a more walkable and bikeable city, getting Bloomington closer to the goal of reducing vehicle miles traveled by 8% with a related decline in emissions, as stated in the climate plan currently under review by the city. A dense city is a more efficient city for homes and commercial buildings in terms of both construction materials and daily energy use. A dense city protects our beautiful rural areas from suburban sprawl, resulting in less habitat destruction and a more wildlife-friendly region. Finally, a dense city provides a greater variety of economic and housing opportunities, making walkable neighborhoods more accessible to people from diverse socioeconomic circumstances, an underlying concern in the fight for environmental justice.

All of these impacts have been documented in 30 years of research on the sustainability of compact city planning. This isn’t to say that the plex proposal is appropriate for every neighborhood, or that positive benefits are 100% guaranteed. And we can’t forget the importance of developing national policies to shift manufacturing and transportation away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable processes.

Because urban planning takes place on a scale of decades, and increased density must come with attention to improved public transit, economic growth and localized environmental impact, supporting a proposal like the plexes is a bit of a leap of faith. However, we hope that this time around, the community will think beyond the short term and consider the Bloomington that will exist for our kids and grandkids — one that lives up to our community’s reputation for strong environmental values.