With the world's population increasing by an estimated 1 million
additional people each week for the next 38 years, its
imperative that public leaders and planners provide spaces for
the growing population in the most socially and environmentally
sensitive ways possible. And, as Palmer notes, experts at the
conference agreed that the American model of urban sprawl must
be resisted. According to Karen Seto, a professor of urban
environment at Yale University. "The North American suburb has
gone global, and car-dependent urban developments are more and
more the norm. The way cities have grown since World War II is
neither socially [nor] environmentally sustainable." According
to Palmer, conference attendees agreed that efficiency and
density will be keys to solving the population growth crisis.
"That means more planning and investment in public
infrastructure, including mass transit, and land-use zoning and
building standards that encourage multiple uses of space.
Buildings and land are only part of the equatio