We hear and read a lot about the hidden costs of sprawl, for example that the average American now spends 443 hours behind the wheel every year, the equivalent of 55 nine-hour days. And we hear about new kinds of subdivisions and building projects such as “new urbanism” and “pedestrian pockets” that may help reduce both sprawl and unwanted driving. But we don’t hear much about what can we do to enhance the health of existing suburbs. The fact is, we’ve already sprawled. How can we fix existing suburbs like Madison and Rankin, two of the most sprawling counties in the country ?
