Environmentalists have long known that one of the causes of urban air pollution is the sprawl generated by shopping centers, entertainment areas, and airports that are inadequately served by mass transit. These centers encourage—indeed demand—numerous automobile trips. Therefore, environmentalists were pleased when the Environmental Protection Agency, in response to a suit by the Natural Resources Defense Council, promulgated regulations¹ that inject air quality control considerations into the heart of the planning process for such auto magnets. The possibility that land use decisions would take into account values beyond the profit motive alone seemed real. On October 30, 1973, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency proposed regulations that in many respects failed to carry out the hopes of environmentalists.

The proposed regulations for controlling air pollution generated by facilities that attract large numbers of cars are in the form of guidelines for states to follow in establishing their own standards. However, the federal guidelines apply until the states' plans are accepted. State and local agencies are required to assess the probable impact upon air quality of construction or modification of "complex sources" to determine whether their operation would impede the attainment or maintenance of national ambient air standards. The regulations complement an EPA directive, issued in June, which required states to designate potential air quality problem areas and to establish procedures for evaluating the air quality impact of proposed construction or modification of sources.