Unless the urban center increases the housing supply to accommodate workforce growth, the consequence will be a growing lack of housing affordable to middle-income workers, more arduous commutes, and a stifling of economic vitality. In the state s fastest growing region, however, job growth has far outpaced housing supply, aggravating the problem growth management attempted to relieve. The State Growth Management Act, enacted in 1990, increased the powers of urban counties to regulate land use and requires the counties to use these powers. The Act requires urban counties and their cities to adopt comprehensive plans to manage growth. These plans should channel development to urban areas and reduce sprawl.
Most development is to be confined within an urban growth boundary.
Vision 2020 is the regional growth strategy for the central Puget Sound region adopted by the Puget Sound Regional Council under the Growth Management Act. Development is to be concentrated in urban growth areas. The urban areas in turn should be made up of compact communities, with jobs and housing concentrated in centers. As a result, it should be easier for people to walk, bike, and use transit. The centers will be framed by open space.