Population growth and our communities. Part 1
In America people often point to the fact that we are relatively sparsely populated in terms of density. This is true, but it is also true that no other nation on the planet consumes as many resources as we do. In fact there are people working on a regular basis to determine if there are enough resources left for the future generations. This holistic view of the planet as a place of limits, that can actually be depleted of the resources necessary to support biological organisms such as ourselves is a good place to start, and one would expect that given such a scenario shortages would begin to appear all over the Earth. Even in America.
Asheville, NC is currently experiencing a development boom. A number of people from the area are allying themselves with environmental groups in order to try to stop rapid development. People are building residences on the sides of steep mountain slopes, on ridge tops, and are packing in houses in the preexisting cities and towns. The people who have lived in the area their entire lives, as did their parents, grandparents are being taxed off of their land. This displacement of original inhabitants is coupled with the terrible fact that life here is nothing like it once was. There are buildings and houses being built in locations that make even visitors to the area cringe.
Housing in Asheville is rapidly becoming unaffordable for the very people who are needed to maintain the community: policemen, firemen, teachers, and a host of employees of the tourist industry businesses around town. There are hundreds of people who are essentially forced to sell their homes because they can’t afford the increase in taxes on a fixed income. People who came to the area just a few years ago in order to retire are being forced to sell as well. Rents are increasing and renters are being evicted so that property owners can sell their houses. The community is literally being devastated by the increase in the population.
This scenario has played out in other parts of the world, and few places have had the foresight or resources to properly resist such a drastic change to the way of life of those who live in their community. Lives are ruined by this rapid population growth, congestion increases, and life becomes not only uncomfortable but also a mere shadow of what it once was for people. Solid local policies that can manage and control growth are a good solution to this dilemma, but the rapidity of the development leaves people without the proper leadership or staff in place to respond. Our efforts to confront this population growth requires a great deal of diplomacy and also a public willing to respond properly to this crisis. We have to change the way we think about growth on our relatively small planet.
