American Dream

Peter Newman, the Australian smart-growth planner who practically invented the concept of "auto dependency," has been fired by the government of New South Wales, which had employed him as "Sustainability Commissioner." In that job he had managed to stop the construction of at least one major highway in Sydney and he was helping to develop a "metropolitan strategy" for the city.

But he had openly criticized his government employers for not doing more to discourage sprawl. The state's planning minister called him last week to let him know "his services were no longer required."

Newman's research on "auto dependency" compared auto driving in Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America. He claimed that it proved that higher density cities had less driving. In fact, he completely ignored his own data showing that auto driving was rising and densities declining in virtually every city in the world.

Americans should watch out: Newman plans to come to the United States in June "to speak to state governments about sustainability."