Private benefits and public costs: Policies to address suburban sprawl

The uneven development and disparities that exist in most metropolitan regi ons are the consequence of a combination of private decisions and public po licies. Public policy can. also redress some of these inequities and redire ct the pattern of growth. The article discusses individual policies-ranging from congestion pricing to regional governance-in detail. Each policy is a ssessed in terms of its contribution to slowing metropolitan deconcentratio n, its feasibility of implementation, and its paver to redress inequities. pour policies appear most promising: the utilization of impact fees, especi ally on a supra-local level; reverse commuting programs; special taxing dis tricts for regionwide amenities; and continued revitalization efforts in th e central city.