Support Sustainable Development that Preserves and Promotes Opportunities for Economic Growth and Quality of Life

Background:

• Many state and local governments are implementing initiatives aimed at redeveloping urban communities to promote high-density population centers, “walkable” neighborhoods, mixed-use development, green buildings, and city landscapes that reduce urban stormwater runoff. As the cities address growth in their communities they must face many challenging issues. Some environmental activists are seeking a moratorium on growth by stopping highway projects, preventing the building of new housing developments, and implementing growth boundaries. Communities should look for quality growth that includes planning for new housing and redeveloping older areas to accommodate the population.

AGC Message:

• State and Local Governments Should Be the Arbiters of Growth Policy, Not the Federal Government. Americans are and should remain free to choose where they live and how they travel, and public policies related to future growth should not limit those choices. Local citizens should have the opportunity to participate in the decisions affecting future growth in their communities because state and local governments need to provide the infrastructure such as adequate safe roads, and drinking and waste water infrastructure that supports the population.
• Environmental Concerns Can Be Managed With Economic Development. Adequately planning for and managing growth will ensure protection of sensitive environmental areas and improvement of the built environment. As communities grow, environmental improvement and economic development should complement each other to produce healthy, vibrant communities.
• Meet the Nation’s Growing Infrastructure Needs. AGC supports reasonable and practical sustainable development initiatives that permit contractors to meet the nation’s growing infrastructure needs, foster economic growth in communities, and promote a greater quality of life.
• Promote Communication Between Parties Involved in the Development Process. AGC continues to liaison and work with groups focused on sustainable development issues in an effort to promote communication between all parties involved in the development process. Understanding that growth is inevitable, AGC supports sustainable development initiatives that preserve economic opportunities and support healthy and vibrant communities.