Changing How We Grow

Over the next 30 years, the Genesee, Lapeer, and Shiawassee region will experience unprecedented growth and change in how our land is used. Even though our population levels have remained stable in recent years, many green spaces are being developed. The result is more fragmented habitats, reduced wildlife populations, and a decline of air quality and water resources. Greenways are disconnected. Green spaces are lost forever.

The social damage is real. As development increases, so does the cost of providing the public and private services needed to support the new development. Residents feel a sense of loss when a scenic view is destroyed, a grove of trees is bulldozed, a farm is developed, or a possible route for a trail is broken up. People lose their connection to the land. Our sense of place and who we are becomes unclear.
    
Only the citizens of this region can shift development patterns away from our green places.