ABSTRACT
The politics of federal deficit reduction currently shape the discussion about what can be done for cities and their metropolitan areas. There is clearly a public interest in the survival of life as we know it on this planet. The argument is between people like Vice President Albert Gore, who contends that the survival of the earth is in the balance right now, and skeptics who say that the planet is a lot more resilient. The urban growth boundary is the essential first step both to conserve the environment and to turn development attention back toward areas that are already urbanized or partly urbanized. The adoption of state planning laws in all 50 states is a precondition for urban growth boundaries as a national planning policy. Restoring natural ecosystems in urbanized areas is both an environmental and a social policy. Environmental restoration is also important in suburban and rural areas, where there are toxic residues from mining and manufacturing operations.
