On Tuesday livability.com released its annual “100 Best Places to Live” and declared Madison the number one best place to live. But the city is changing and growing, and will need to do so in smart, sustainable ways to retain this status.
2020 Census data shows that the Madison Metro Area was the fastest growing in the state with a 12.4% increase in population. Increasing population density can exacerbate problems in growing cities: Poor air and water quality, insufficient water availability, waste-disposal problems, and high energy consumption, among them.
James LaGro is a professor of urban and regional planning at the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW Madison and is an expert on urban planning and design, land use policy, and sustainably built environments. He joins Friday Buzz host, Jonathan Zarov, to discuss urbanization in Madison and sustainable development options and policies.
(Images courtesy of mostofa meraji on Pixabay and James LaGro Jr.)