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Economic Development And Public Transit: Making The Most Of The Washington Growth Management Act, Robert H. Freilich, Elizabeth A. Garvin, S. Mark White

Seattle University Law Review

Rapid and unplanned urban growth in the urbanizing and rural fringe areas of the United States has led to numerous problems for state, local, and regional governments. In particular, six crises are readily identifiable, each of which threatens to undermine quality of life and local competitive economic advantage. These crises include the following: (1) deterioration of central cities, first-ring suburbs, and closer-in neighborhoods, resulting in depopulation and abandonment of housing and the employment base; (2) spiraling suburban sprawl, creating massive infrastructure as well as energy costs; (3) loss of prime agricultural lands; (4) environmental crises and threats to open space, …