Communities around the region are responding to their residents' desire for more choices. They're offering alternatives to current development practices by building attractive, compact neighborhoods. They're solidifying their sense of community by creating town centers. They're building developments that include a complementary mix of various housing styles and designs, convenient retail and small-scale office space. And they're looking at transit options for commuters.
Smart growth means a more economically competitive region.
Regions around the world face global competition - for jobs, workers and economic growth. The Atlanta metro area offers a hard lesson about competitiveness. That area's inefficient use of land and public infrastructure caused so much traffic congestion and air quality problems that Hewlett-Packard pulled the plug on a major business expansion there. The Twin Cities metro area has a competitive edge, and smart growth can help our region keep it.