Texas is big 171 million acres. From 1998 to 1999, the state's population increased by 332,000 people. The amount of land developed annually to accommodate that growth was about three-quarters of an acre per person. Virginia, which grew by 84,000 people during the same period, lost 1.12 acres of rural land for each of the people it gained. Risse says a wisely planned urban community can comfortably handle 10 people per acre.
Suburban communities can provide people more space than that and still preserve fields and forests.
At the pace development is moving, Virginia is losing 0.34 percent of its total land area every year. That is slow enough that some people hardly notice, but it is fast enough to make a difference. First, Virginians must implore their local governments to protect farms, forests, wetlands and historic sites while still enabling growth to occur. A balance can be achieved, but that is not happening in many places. Also, the state government needs to quit ignoring the issue of growth and start providing leadership and laws that ensure a wiser use of land.