FAILURE IS THE OBJECTIVE. So much for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Caroline Flint, the housing minister, will unveil the measure when she publishes planning guidelines later this week for up to 15 "eco-towns" across the UK, which will house 100,000 people.The Government wants the towns designed and built to encourage people to stay out of their cars.

It will introduce the low speed limit as a means of getting people to use public transport, walk more or use bicycles, with the aim of cutting pollution and increasing the quality of life for local residents.

Via The Transportationist, who links the article without comment.

I will show no such restraint. Where to begin?

Under the plans, the central areas of the new towns would be pedestrianised, with the 15mph limit introduced on "key roads" into the centre. All homes would be built within 400 yards of public transport stop and 800 yards from shops.

It's easy enough to limit vehicle speeds WITHOUT drawing up any expensive plans. All one need do is underestimate the growth potential of a city or town and then not build any new roads. Chicago's suburbs have been managing that for years. For that matter, there are townhouse and apartment clusters within half a mile (that's 880 yards) of many of DeKalb and Sycamore's new strip shopping developments. (My house also qualifies.) Do the planners really expect people to take half-mile bus trips to do the marketing? Or to do their marketing by frequent trips and small purchases that can be schlepped by foot or in a backpack on a bicycle? Perhaps there will be no parking spaces near the shops in order to further encourage such behavior. That is, if the communities don't become self-selected smuggeries with stagnant property values, as people exercise their option to live elsewhere.