THIS USA-ORIENTED publication provides a broad range of practical information and ideas for individuals and groups who want to be effective participants in the urban growth debate. It provides insights, ideas, information, tools and techniques to make the transition away from growth-oriented and growth-addicted communities and towards stability. This book has grown out of the author's own interest in his community and the research he conducted in the search for answers to his questions.

Growth issues and solutions are illustrated with case studies from around North America. The first chapter, entitled The Endangered Landscape, explores the ideas and understandings of "growth” issues, whilst Chapter 2 describes how to get the growth machine away from local government and how to enact the kinds of reforms that keep it out, requiring truly representative local government and active public participation in local land use issues. Chapter 3 seeks to dismantle the myths surrounding growth in the urban context and argues for "slowing down” growth. Chapter 4, The Truth about Jobs, Housing and Growth, identifies jobs and housing issues as two of the biggest growth myths, and addresses these issues in more detail. Discovering the Real Cost of Growth in Your Community illustrates how urban growth involves real net costs to the community, and shows how these costs can be quantified. Chapter 6 describes how growth is being encouraged and suggests growth–neutral policies to remove growth subsidies and incentives. An extensive collection of proven growth controls and case studies are described. The publication ends with a chapter focusing on the idea of "sustainable community” and "sustainable economy”, and gives a 12–step action guide towards these ends.

The orientation of this book pre-supposes a situation where growth is a choice, a function of local politics and priorities and a matter of weighing up different versions of prosperity. It would be less useful in parts of the world where population growth is a response to larger pressures and where economic growth is the route to attaining stability rather than undermining it. Even in such cases, however, the emphasis on a conscious assessment of goals and strengths, a realistic appreciation of the long-term consequences of policy decisions, and a focus on quality of life cannot help but be healthy. Useful references and resources are provided in the appendices.