| Abstract: |
The Southeast has a rich legacy of vibrant communities with a strong sense of identity and place. Historic cities such as Charleston, Savannah, and Alexandria are national treasures, and numerous distinctive smaller communities define the character of the region. The Southeast is also blessed with tremendous natural beauty and diversity. The forests blanketing the Southern Appalachian mountains, the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and coastal plains, wild and scenic rivers, and the rolling Piedmont all shape the region. And the Southeast boasts sweeping rural landscapes where human activities blend harmoniously with nature, featuring productive farmland and strong communities.
These resources contribute to the quality of life that has made the Southeast a desirable place to live and work, and has helped fuel rapid economic and population growth in the region. This dynamic growth has brought jobs, a higher standard of living, increased tax revenues, and other benefits.
Unfortunately, much of this growth has been poorly-planned, and has led to strip malls, parking lots, highways, and subdivisions that spread further and further out, consuming the countryside and draining investment from existing communities. The costs of this sprawling, haphazard development are escalating. From traffic congestion to tax hikes to serve new growth, from lost farmland to declining air and water quality, from longer commutes to the loss of treasured places, poorly-planned development poses a long-term threat to our economy, our communities, our health, and our environment.
The problems caused by current growth patterns are not limited to large urban areas and to small communities in the path ofjuggernauts such as Atlanta. Nearly every community in the region has experienced some of the harrn sprawling development brings, and people throughout the Southeast are increasingly concerned about the costs of this type of growth. |
