A graphic preview of possible future landscapes can help Wisconsin residents decide how they want their counties to grow, and it might even change some minds. Click here to see how new technology is helping Verona, Wis. do a better job of planning. When a petitioner comes to the town with a development proposal, we can put the information into the computer and look at the development's effects on traffic, groundwater and surface water, and its impact on wildlife, for example. Verona is one of six demonstration sites chosen by Vice President Al Gore for the Sustainable Community Initiatives project, which will showcase how information technologies can involve citizens in land use issues and decisions.
Some people think urban sprawl is the price of progress.
Some don't think about it at all. But many wince at the sprawl creeping into once-rural areas and worry that their community is next. Sprawl worries are justified. USDA data show that nationally, development gobbled up more than 3 million acres per year between 1992 and 1997, compared with 1.4 million acres per year from 1982 to 1992. Wisconsin lost about 283,000 acres of forest, cropland and other open space between 1992 and 1997.