On the eve of the election, with scant mention of his position on issues such as transportation, smart growth, climate change, or even housing while on the campaign trail, Emily Badger tries to divine Mitt Romney's approach to urban issues.
Although as governor of Massachusetts, Romney was "an
active proponent of smart-growth policies" and actually established a precursor to the federal
Partnership for Sustainable Communities in the state's award winning Office of Commonwealth
Development, "Romney has left literally no trail – in opposition or support – on the individual federal programs, such as the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grants,
that have been designed over the last four years to help local
communities creatively tackle the intertwined challenges of housing,
transportation and the environment," writes Badger.
"For a man trying to win the
trust of conservatives suspicious of the caricature of urban policy in "Agenda 21" conspiracy theories,
it's no surprise that Romney has said little about smart growth,
complete streets, mass transit or density...And so, we're offering here our best guess for what might happen should
Romney win on Tuesday, based on his record in Massachusetts, his
statements since then, his running mate's history, and the temperature
within his own party."
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