Chattanooga, Tenn., cleaned up its once seriously polluted hometown river, the Tennessee, and created a riverfront park and a promenade that now attract both wildlife and people. This provision is part of the state's smart growth plan passed this year. In the last couple of years, voters in many states across the country have approved local and county efforts to raise revenues in order to protect open space and slow suburban sprawl. Voters in Austin, Texas, supported an increase in water rates to raise money to protect thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive land around the city. The many approaches now before policymaking bodies on the local, county or state levels are inspired by voter concern.
Grassroots efforts are also focused on gaining a greater voice in the decision-making process.
Residents in Spokane, Wash., have banded together to form Spokane Horizons project and are now working on a new comprehensive plan for the city for the 21st century - a plan that will address issues like parking, new roads and infrastructure capacity while calling for a healthy downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. The plan will be presented to the city council this winter. A coalition of neighborhood and environmental groups in Arizona's Pima County developed a desert protection plan to protect the county's endangered species and preserve open spaces. The Board of Supervisors voted in early May to support it. This vote signified the first time the board had adopted a citizens' plan in more than 20 years.