How and what Asian cities build, however, is beginning to make a difference in the region's landscape and quality of life. The offices and condominiums are located in high-rise towers, enabling the developer to set aside large amounts of land for parks and open space. With everything they need around them, residents and workers don't have to leave their community and struggle through Manila's traffic jams. To build on that land requires approval from the local, county, and provincial governments, as well as the State Council somewhat like getting Congressional approval for a new subdivision in the United States. Development on protected farmland, without gaining all the requisite approvals, is now a capital offense.
Developers face the death penalty for spreading sprawl.
Perhaps, the Smart Growth movement reflects a fundamental transformation in thought and behavior, similar to the environmental movement of a generation ago. Once derided as a bunch of tree-hugger extremists, the environmental movement is now as entrenched in the U.S. consciousness as motherhood and apple pie. Anti-sprawl forces are steadily gaining powerful converts in the United States. Even some leading U. S. real estate developers are now jumping on the anti-sprawl bandwagon. Earlier this year, John Williams, a successful suburban Atlanta developer and Chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, announced that he will only build Smart Growth projects from now on.