We need to accommodate where people live and not have a restrictive policy of trying to shut down growth. Many would say what we ought to do is shut down the infrastructure to growing communities and growth will come into the core of the Twin Cities. Smart growth rejects that as a principle. We have public amenities we need to preserve and government has to have a role in that or they're not going to be there. Because it degrades the environment and ends up costing us a great deal of money, much more than if we grow in a smarter way.
Business gets the concept, too.
The Builders Association of the Twin Cities issued a report in 1996 arguing that our current growth pattern is too dispersed and scattered - that its nearly impossible to expand urban services efficiently here. Nationally, the Bank Of America and PriceWaterhouseCoopers both have reports arguing the cost of unmanaged growth has begun to take a huge toll. Look at the growth of downtown Minneapolis. In terms of housing and commercial developments, it has been phenomenal. More than 51 percent of all commercial Class A space in the metro area is in downtown Minneapolis, easily accessible by bus lines.