It is crazy and that's why we're going to fight this thing with all of our resources. At a conference for budding small business people in Washington, D.C., Alfred and other speakers detail the nuts and bolts of how to get a business started. That includes taking advantage of SBA loans. To Alfred, small businesses are beautiful, whether they're in the heart of the city or in a strip mall at the edge of town. Development should not be perceived as bad growth.
Growth is good, if it's proper and if it's manageable.
But to others, small businesses are a problem if they're located in sprawl. Some environmentalists say sprawl leads to reduced open space, increased traffic and auto pollution, and development that impacts water, air quality, and ecosystems. So the suit asks that SBA focus its loans in urban areas and away from undeveloped land. Among other things, NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of their actions, and then consider less environmentally harmful options. The law has mostly been used for large public works projects like highways and dams.