More land has been developed in Southeastern Massachusetts over the past 40 years than in the first 340 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620. Land consumption here is 2.5 times faster than our population growth. In the past 30 years, this region has lost one third of its open space and agricultural land. Reality check statistics, indeed, but the big question remains - what do we do about it?

For nearly five years now, the Vision 2020 Task Force has diligently worked on a proposal to address growth concerns and have encouraged officials from the 51 cities and towns of Southeastern Massachusetts to sign the New Mayflower Compact - a consensus document designed to "guide the regional growth strategy." Moreover, a $50 million Planning Act entitled the Livable Communities Act was recently passed by the Senate as part of the Environmental Bond bill. The Act will make available limited funds for municipalities' sustainable planning projects, purchase of open space, development of affordable housing or administrative expenses involved in creating and implementing such plans.

A lot of work has been accomplished since the inception of the Task Force, but the dreaded "sprawl" remains. Defined generically as development that is automobile dependent, "sprawl" is the antithesis of "smart growth," a concept that encourages vital downtown districts, a clean environment and all those other aspects of lifestyle that have made this region so much in demand.
According to Dr. Joel Hirschorn of the National Governors' Association, smart growth "is one of the strongest social and political movements in the country, ever."

But in order for the concept to succeed beyond strictly conceptual stages, towns and cities must establish some consistency between planning and zoning and eliminate some aspects of land use regulation statutes. If not, we will continue on the same track of developing land at a rate that can not keep up with infrastructure needs - a track that further cements our lifestyles as fat and lazy.
"Sprawl kills," is how Dr. Hirschorn put it in a recent Vision 2020 update seminar held at Bridgewater State College. "It has created an automobile dependent culture and we know that the biggest indicator of poor health is lack of activity - that lack of activity is directly attributable to sprawl."

Perhaps we need to walk more often to the neighborhood store instead of running down the highway to the closest shopping center.

July 2002