Controlling Growth in Our Communities		"Growth actually means less. Less natural beauty, fewer songbirds, fewer trees, less wildlife habitat, less money in our pockets (because of higher taxes), and less peace of mind."
Creating worthy places for our great, great grandchildren A Portal for Activists in North America Who Want to Limit Overdevelopment and Growth

THE BASIC FACTS

1. Gross quantitative growth is never sustainable
   • Gross quantitative growth is measured by objective indicies
     (e.g., number of residents, number of housing units, etc.)
   • Gross quantitative growth correlates with indicators of gross economic growth
     (e.g., GDP, GNP)
   • Gross quantitative growth almost always results in higher costs than benefits
   • Two causes for gross quantitative growth:
     1. Little or no control of land use (overdevelopment)
     2. Ever increasing population

2. A community can progress qualitatively without growing quantitatively (see "Quality Progress" insert)

3. Increasing people's quality-of-life without gross quantitative growth is necessary for a sustainable, healthy and progressive community (see box re. Qualitative Progress)
   • Qualitative progress correlates with per-capita economic well-being
     Growth

     In this website, the terms "growth" and "quantitative growth" both refer to gross quantitative growth.
   • Qualitative progress is independent of gross economic growth
4. To control quantitative growth, citizens must both:
   • [supply of developed land]
     • Done primarily at the local level (city & county)
     • By minimizing the consumption (i.e., development) of land, we also discourage population growth
       • Otherwise, "If we build it, they will come"
   • [demand for developed land]
     • Done primarily at the national level
    

Growth is NOT inevitable