San Francisco - California, the homeland of urban sprawl and the-hundred mile commute, is getting a makeover in the name of global warming. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill to crack down on car-centric new developments as part of a plan to reduce the state's carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2020, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday.
The centerpiece of the plan involves reducing urban sprawl by introducing new planning regulations that would shorten the distances drivers need to travel to get to work or other activities.
The measure was one of about 300 bills that Schwarzenegger raced to either sign or veto before a midnight deadline on Tuesday.
In a written statement, Schwarzenegger said the measure "takes California's fight against global warming to a whole new level and it creates a model that the rest of the country and world will use."
The measure is designed to push communities to pursue more infill projects and to build new communities that are transit-focused, discouraging car travel despite future population growth.
Transportation, including commute and errand traffic and trucks carrying goods, accounted for 38 per cent of California's greenhouse-gas emissions from 2002 to 2004, according to a report by the California Air Resources Board.
The measure also provides financial incentives for local government agencies that embrace smart growth and develop transportation plans that help take automobiles off roadways.
Environmental groups applauded the governor's action.
"This was the missing piece in California's plan to reduce global warming pollution," said Craig Noble, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defence Council.
