The Growth Management Act seeks to channel development to urban areas and reduce sprawl.
Most development is to be confined within an urban growth boundary.
To accomplish this, the Act increased the powers and obligations of urban counties to regulate land use. Vision 2020, the collection of strategies adopted by the Puget Sound Regional Council to manage growth, seeks to concentrate employment in a limited number of compact well-defined communities, framed and separated by open spaces. The Countywide Planning Policies adopted by King County under the Growth Management Act reflect this vision. If housing is to be affordable, there must be an adequate supply of housing available near to the places where work is concentrated. The annual King County Benchmark Report tracks the balance of jobs to housing for the county as a whole.