Well-defined growth boundaries prevent suburban sprawl, protecting working rural landscapes. When transportation corridors between settled patches cross wildlife corridors, appropriate mitigation measures are taken. In this story, wild evolutionary processes are nourished by setting aside core and buffer areas and connecting them together through wildlife corridors. Most people continue to live in cities and towns which grow increasingly convivial and walkable as blighted areas are reclaimed. Old suburbs are gradually woven into a genuine town fabric while new suburbs cannot be created because of the growth boundaries.
Rural areas retain their character with a gradual shift towards sustainable practices.
In this new story, every erg of energy and gram of matter is stretched farther, providing increasingly durable goods and services which meet more fundamental needs. Toxicity is simply designed out of the system, while waste is turned into a valuable resource. Utilities and urban infrastructure systems are designed and regulated to thrive on a decreased throughput of energy, water, and materials. Buildings conserve resources and are recycled at the end of their life. In the story communities are now embracing, organizations profit by decreasing resource use and restoring the landscape.