What was billed as a controversial appearance by urban growth consultant Wendell Cox delivered on its promise, at times becoming a verbal tirade between the audience and the presenter Wednesday night.
Cox, a senior fellow at the libertarian Heartland Institute, debunked what he called the myths of urban sprawl in a speech sponsored by Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow. Cox maintained that economic freedom should trump urban sprawl control.
\Sprawl is caused by affluence and population growth,"" Cox quoted. ""And which of these, exactly, do we propose to prohibit?""
In a two-hour Power Point presentation with charts and graphs on nearly every slide, though unsourced during the presentation, Cox said increased urban density causes congestion and longer commutes.
Cox's research made him vehemently oppose both inclusionary zoning and light rail, cornerstones of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's agenda.
""We talk about inclusionary zoning and low-income and minority housing, but how about a $40,000 impact fee for each apartment?"" asked Cox, referring to increases in regulated housing prices.
As for light rail, Cox said, ""It's stupid. That's all I need,"" arguing costs outweighed increases in transit use. Cox said cities should pay more attention to busing.
""I enjoyed reading on the bus and that's where I learned all this stuff,"" said Cox to a bevy of chuckles from the audience.
A question session boiled over when 1000 Friends of Wisconsin Planning Director Kevin Pomeroy advised audience members to look online for further information. Cox immediately cut Pomeroy off and bellowed ""Next question!"" repeatedly while numerous other audience members attempted to speak.
Pomeroy stormed out of the auditorium, but later told The Daily Cardinal he thought Cox was a fraud-a ""hired gun"" sent out by oil companies to cities considering light rail to ""stir up the pot.""
""To throw out that kind of stuff is just plain irresponsible. His statistics are clearly flawed. There are hundreds of reports on Cox's work,"" Pomeroy said, revealing a briefcase full of such documents. ""There's a whole industry on fact-checking Wendell Cox. ... The work is so discredited, I don't even know why he's talking.""
Other members of the audience were more receptive. Madison resident Royce Williams said he was impressed with Cox's analysis and his opinions on commuter rail.
""I want to commend [Cox],"" Williams said. ""[He's] doing a better job than the census bureau on the availability of information.\
