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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Civic Awareness


The American Smart Dream: How 21st Century Planning Redefines Property, Liberty, and Land Use
Smart Growth is not just a planning strategy — it is the proffered American expression of a global vision. As we have been discussing, the vision is rooted in the United Nations' framework for Sustainable Development

Mary Baker
Oct 218 min read


From Vision to Dollars: The Political and Financial Engine Driving Smart Growth
Smart Growth is not just a planning strategy — it is the proffered American expression of a global vision. As we have been discussing, the vision is rooted in the United Nations' framework for Sustainable Development

Mary Baker
Sep 149 min read


The Rise of Smart Growth: What It Is and Where It Came From
What is Smart Growth?
Smart Growth is a 21st-century urban and regional planning framework that claims to balance environmental sustainability, economic opportunity, and social equity. Rooted in the United Nations’ Agenda 21 and its successor initiatives—including Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—Smart Growth operates from the premise that modern civilization faces dire global threats: climate change, social inequality, resource depletion, and urban s

Mary Baker
Aug 177 min read


Is “Sustainable Development” Changing Our Town, Shaping Our Region?
PRESCOTT – Across America—and right here in Yavapai County—communities are being asked to adopt planning strategies called
Sustainable Development or Vision Zero. They’re often presented as common-sense solutions for housing, traffic, and the environment.
Prescott’s 2025 General Plan Update and Yavapai County’s Vision 2030 planning framework are filled with carefully chosen buzzwords and policy goals rooted in an ideology that contradict American values.

Mary Baker
Jul 244 min read
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