Samuel Shore considers himself an environmental activist, but likes to take a realistic, big-picture view of development. Like it or not, the human population is growing and further human development is inevitable. Indeed, in his view the important question is not whether to develop, but how to develop in an environmentally sustainable fashion. In Sam's view it is wrong to think of this as a simple choice between expansion of Cleveland-Hopkins airport into a wetland and no expansion at all. The fact is that if the airport is not expanded here, an airport will be expanded someplace else within the region to accommodate the need. His fear is that if Hopkins is prevented from expanding, then expansion will occur in the more rural areas he has been working so hard to preserve. Expansion of these smaller regional airports only serves to increase the migration of people from city to country, and in Sam's view this has a detrimental impact on both urban and rural areas. The bottom line is that closing off development at Hopkins will inevitably increase the phenomenon of "suburban sprawl."
Sam contemplates the relevant facts of the situation as he sees them. First, between 1960 and 1990, the density of Cleveland's urbanized area decreased 14%, from 3,000 to 2,600 people per square mile. Second, between 1959 and 1992, Ohio lost over four million acres of farmland, an astonishing rate of 11,000 acres per month! The Cleveland metropolitan area lost 39% of its farmland during this time period. There are many regional airports that are within an hour's drive of Cleveland-Hopkins. Any one of these could step up to the plate to take additional passengers that exceed Hopkins' capacity. Indeed, the Lorain County airport is currently considering expansion. For the time being, advocates of expanding this regional airport say they only want to accommodate corporate aircraft, but once the runway is lengthened, they may change their minds. Expansion of regional airports means widening roads and other development pressures. The remaining family farms (and wetlands) surrounding the Lorain airport are certain to be affected if constraints at Hopkins encourage regional airport development.
As another local smart growth advocate stated, "We must do whatever it takes to keep the airport at Hopkins.... The important thing is not to have the airport move farther out. That's what Denver did, and it's been a disaster for sprawl containment and for Denver itself."[1]
[1] David Beach, quoted in "Land Use and Development Policy in Cuyahoga County," a publication of the Ohio League of Women Voters, 2000.
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