Carol Whiteside focuses on how the population boom will affect California's cities. She also looks at how the cities will prepare for such growth, with local resources that are already stretched. Another large focus is on preserving the natural resources and farmland as we expand rapidly. Today's increasing population is created from Migration, Immigration, and more births than deaths. The Author states that "the only thing more difficult than managing growth is not having any growth to manage.

When the Population grows,it bring opportunities for people as well as for governments. New tax revenue is generated by growth and development. This Provides money to purchase necessary services such as: recreational facilities, transportation, public health, and safety. Most people can notice that the larger cities can afford many more amenities, such as libraries, museums, zoo's, public parks and nice transit, that will

Meeting the needs of an increasing population will be one of the greatest challenges facing California cities in the next few decades. It also will be one of their greatest opportunities. Now is the time for cities to think strategically about growth, to find ways to improve growth patterns and to build vibrant, livable communities.

After all, the ultimate power rests with the voters. They have shown themselves perfectly capable of exercising their power when politicians miss the message.

The California Futures Network (CFN), directed by Steve Sanders, is a coalition of dozens of groups and individuals from business, labor and community-based organizations in every region of the state. CFN was organized to promote state policy that fosters sustainable land use and development to accommodate California's inevitable growth. The organization has identified the following five areas in which state action is necessary.

The state has shifted most of the property tax away from local government, leaving sales tax as the most important local source of new revenue. Competition for retailers, sometimes at the expense of housing development and industry, encourages sprawl and decreases incentives for balance in community development. The state should reduce local government's reliance on the sales tax and provide incentives for infill and good land use.

Ongoing support is needed for the state's agricultural land stewardship program, local land trusts and other programs that protect farmland open space and natural resources. The state should ensure that new development doesn't jeopardize water supplies needed for agriculture, existing urban areas and the environment.

The San Diego Dialogue was founded as a community-based public policy center with a goal "to develop a common civic knowledge that enables effective decision-making and builds consensus around a shared vision for the future." The dialogue is composed of an invited membership of 100 regional leaders in industry, government, the media, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations. The hope is that a civic conversation will lead to a consensus in order to establish a regional coalition devoted to sustainable urbanization of San Diego and the San Diego-Tijuana binational metropolis. According to the San Diego Dialogue, "If these disparate groups can be joined and their interests aligned around a practical set of policy alternatives, then a smart growth coalition may hold real promise for ensuring a sustainable future for San Diego and the region."

Because conflicts over land use typically occur at the local level, new developments are often the product of separate and often uncoordinated local decisions by more than one jurisdiction, a smaller number of regional and state legislative measures, and very few federal

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Approximate Word count = 1885
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)