Metromode interviews CWA’s Dick Carlisle about sprawl

Developers continue to build new subdivisions in the far reaches of metro Detroit, but changing tastes and demographic demand are pulling people, especially the young and old, back into close-in, urban centers said CWA President Dick Carlisle in this Metromode article.While studies have ranked Detroit the 12th most sprawling metro area in the country, and one of the fastest sprawling, Dick said baby boomers who want smaller homes in a walkable community will join with millennials, 16-35, who don’t want to drive and prefer smaller, lower-cost housing, to drive demand in urban places."The biggest city in the state still hasn't yet fully responded to the trend for more walkable urban placemaking," Dick said. "The pressure is now on, and the timing couldn't be better." He said a comprehensive transit system is essential to the trend."At some point in time we have to begin to understand that there's going to be a whole generation of people that either don't want to or will not be able to own a car," he said. "Frankly, that's going to cross generations."