Smart Growth vs. Dumb Growth
Smart growth involves balancing ecology, land and community. Conserving productive agricultural land, scenic countrysides and natural resources is a basic consideration in planning the future of cities and regions. Concentrating development in locations with efficient infrastructure while reducing vehicle trips, resource use and municipal costs is the focus.
Sustainability for me started in college in the Utah mountains and green city of Madison, Wisconsin. Since then my projects have included solid waste management, conservation design, in-fill sites, Brownfields, greenbelts, transit planning, main street preservation and vertical/horizontal mixed-use development.
- Move beyond “greenwash” marketing.
- Reduce, reuse and recycle… and not just at home.
- Green buildings, when done right, make sense.
- Mix it up and dense it up in appropriate locations.
- Conservation and economic development can peacefully coexist.
- Embrace practical change that can be sustained for generations.
