George W. Bush

While Gore has developed a wide-ranging "livability" proposal, Bush has proposed a more targeted plan to address issues of urban growth. His plan focuses on cleaning up abandoned and underutilized industrial and commercial property, known as brownfields, as well as increasing flexibility in state and local conservation efforts.

Under his brownfield plan, Bush would:

• Add flexibility to Environmental Protection Agency standards for brownfield cleanups, allowing the intended use of a site to be factored into the level of cleanup efforts required;
• Develop technologies and methods to clean brownfields;
• Grant protection to brownfield developers, working under state redevelopment plans and following the new U.S. clean-up standards, from future federal legal action;
• Restructure the Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund by "block granting" the money to the states;
• Extend permanently a brownfield cleanup tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of 2000; and
• Mandate federal facilities to comply with all environmental protection laws.

Bush would also add more state and local flexibility to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and federal funds provided to the states from the federal gasoline tax.

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Al Gore

In a speech to The American Institute of Architects in early 1999, Gore outlined his support for "smart growth" initiatives.

"It is an initiative that will help us build more livable communities in which to raise our families -- places where young and old can walk, bike and play together; places where we not only protect historic old neighborhoods, but where farms, green spaces and forests can add life and beauty to the newest of suburbs; places where we can work competitively and still spend less time in traffic and more time -- that most precious of commodities for the families we really are -- with our children, our spouses, our friends," Gore said.

He has proposed using $1 billion in federal funds to promote "smart growth" policies and spending $2 billion over 10 years to create new parklands and open spaces with half going to fund tax cuts to landowners who conserve property and half going to cities and states to create local parks.

In addition, Gore's plan includes:

• Investing in mass transit and light rail, and helping communities develop alternatives to overcrowded highways;
• Providing new planning and mapping tools to help neighboring communities grow cooperatively;
• Encouraging school districts to bring schools back to the center of communities by involving the whole community in location planning and design; and
• Attracting private investment to distressed and inner-city communities, through programs such as the Empowerment Zone initiative.

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