Does Sprawl Cost Us All?:Isolating the Effects of Housing Patterns on Public Water and Sewer Costs

Authors:
  • CSCameron Speir
    Cameron Speir
  • KSKurt Stephenson
    Kurt Stephenson
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Abstract
This article assesses the public water and sewer costs associated with alternative housing patterns. These patterns are defined in terms of lot size, tract dispersion, and distance from existing water and sewer service centers. The engineering cost model presented here gives empirical evidence of how sensitive local government service costs are to the spatial pattern of single-family residential development. The results show that more spread out housing patterns are more costly to supply with public water and sewer services, but that shifting a majority of these costs to the private sector may be a relatively simple matter.

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