The antidote to urban sprawl, says Greenbelt Alliance, is taller buildings and higher population densities within established urban core areas. {mp3remote}http://media.krcb.org/audio/nbr/11-4-08.mp3{/mp3remote}

Greenbelt Alliance's recently published Smart Infill: A practical guide to creating vibrant places throughout the Bay Area was written to inform decision makers about the benefits of these policies, and cite examples where they have been successfully employed. One of them, says Daisy Pistey-Lyhne, is the Town of Windsor.

{mp3remote}http://media.krcb.org/audio/nbr/windsor.mp3{/mp3remote}

Sonoma County has been a leader in adopting community separators or Urban Growth Boundaries for its cities. Those are a key first step in redirecting growth away from sprawl patterns back into urban infill.

{mp3remote}http://media.krcb.org/audio/nbr/improve.mp3{/mp3remote}

For more information about the Sonoma County branch of Greenbelt Alliance, click here .

Greenbelt Alliance also regularly hosts hikes throughout the BayArea. You'll find a list of upcoming events here.