Un article consacré à la première loi américaine (Senate Bill 375, septembre 2008, Californie) à inclure des politiques d'utilisation des sols destinées à infléchir les tendances d'étalement urbain et de transport automobile.
Points clés [en anglais] :
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CALIFORNIA AT THE FOREFRONT OF AMERICAN CLIMATE POLICIES
In 2006, California took the lead in the USA by passing the first global warming legislation, aiming at decreasing its GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Two years later, in September 2008, the California state legislature passed the nation’s first state law (Senate Bill 375) to include land use policies directed at curbing urban sprawl and reducing automobile travel. The legislature recognized that cleaner fuels and more fuel-efficient vehicles would not be sufficient to achieve the state’s goal of reducing GHG emissions.
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ACHIEVING MORE EFFICIENT LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION
The SB 375 law requires that regions develop "Sustainable Communities Strategies" (SCS) to achieve more efficient land use and transportation by aligning some planning processes that had traditionally been disconnected. Rather than imposing a state-controlled planning system, SB 375 establishes a regional coordinating process for transportation investment and land use plans. SB 375 adopts a comprehensive "stick and carrot" approach with obligation such as the strengthened social housing obligations for cities and counties or the obligation to integrate a "smart growth" component in Regional Transportation Plan, but also with environmental review or transportation funding incentives.
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A FIRST STEP TOWARDS A SIGNIFICANT ALTERATION OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT?
To what extent can the Californian law SB 375 integrate transport and land use planning and reduce transportation GHG emissions? The administrative relief is weak and does not bring a significant incentive. There is no additional fund for transit or planning and the lack of coordination with other policies remains a key issue. Finally, there are no Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) procedures to ensure the effectiveness of the process. The enforcement of SB 375 rely on direct citizen action—the so-called "citizen enforcement". However, SB 375 is clearly a relevant first step and a significant alteration of urban development trajectory. As it created a consensus on the necessity to implement "smart growth" approach, SB 375 set the basis for an informed discussion among stakeholders and brought the long-term issue into the Californian mitigation strategy.
