Americans are now as concerned about sprawl as they are about crime, according to a new national survey released this week by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism. Eighteen percent of respondents across the country, including 26 percent of those from urban and suburban areas, cited sprawl and traffic as the most serious community problem, over such concerns as crime, education, and the economy. In the San Francisco area, 47 percent of those polled named sprawl as the top problem, and in Denver 60 percent did. The Denver metro area, which is already sprawling, is expected to attract 1 million more people in the next 20 years, bringing its population to 3.2 million. According to a poll released last week by the University of Colorado’s Institute for Public Policy, two-thirds of Colorado residents want the government to spend more to preserve open space, even if it means paying higher taxes.
