Cascadia Scorecard News
April 2005

With gas prices reaching new heights fuel efficiency is back in vogue. Not only are gas-sipping hybrids flying off the new car lots as fast as they can be built, but for the first time in decades, legislators (at least at the state level) are discussing fuel conservation without fearing for their political lives.

The Northwest is close to joining seven northeastern states that have already adopted California's clean-car standards, which give a huge boost to vehicle fuel economy. Washington passed the legislation this week and Oregon is on the verge of joining the clean-car bandwagon.

But creating a fuel-efficient vehicle fleet is only half the job. The other half (perhaps less-heralded, but certainly just as important over the long haul) is to create the kind of compact, well-designed neighborhoods in which people don't have to drive as much. Good community design can save just as much fuel as a well-designed car engine.

And this isn't just a theory; it's borne out by the numbers. Based on data from 2001 through 2003, residents of New York State use the least gasoline, person for person, of any US state: about 0.8 gallons per person per day, roughly a third less than the national average. That should come as little surprise, since New York City, which makes up a sizable chunk of the state's population, is dense enough to allow many of its residents to get by perfectly well without cars, except for the occasional taxicab.

Other states with relatively low per capita consumption included Hawaii, with high-priced gas and surprisingly dense Honolulu; Rhode Island, dominated by urban Providence; and Illinois, which has a significant share of residents in urban Chicago and its dense inner suburbs.

Over time, controlling low-density sprawl has paid dividends in fuel efficiency. Take, for example Nevada. That's right, Nevada. Since 1976-1978 (the peak period for gas consumption in both the state and the nation overall), per capita consumption in the Silver State fell by nearly a third. Other states with significant declines in gasoline consumption include New Mexico (-22%), Oregon (-21%), and Idaho (-19%). Gas consumption in Washington fell by 12 percent over the same period.

These western states (and Nevada in particular) are rapidly urbanizing, and city folks tend to use a little less gas than their rural counterparts. And while it's hard to think of Las Vegas as a smart-growth mecca, the desert surrounding the city has been even more effective at discouraging low-density sprawl than Oregon's much-heralded urban growth boundaries.

The lesson here is clear: if we want to use less gas, we need to pay close attention to how our cities grow. And places that have done a good job of reining in low-density sprawl have positioned themselves well for a world of rising gas prices.

More information:
Sightline's sprawl indicator
Sightline's energy indicator
Sprawl and transportation solutions