Suburbs Enter the Presidential Race (Letter to the Editor)

To the Editor:

Re “Two Parties Seek to Exploit a Relentless Boom in the Suburbs” (news article, May 4): Vice President Al Gore and others should be wary of advocating a big-government-knows-best scheme on the issue of “suburban sprawl.”

Mr. Gore’s “livability” proposals may offend “soccer moms” and other suburban voters by limiting housing and transportation choices. These plans may also backfire when voters realize that anti-sprawl programs drive up suburban housing prices, effectively barring movement from the inner-city to the suburbs.

Moreover, a recent poll by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Polling Company shows that 67 percent of American voters feel that land use should be dealt with at the state or local level; only 8 percent believe that the Federal Government should address these concerns.