Affordable Housing and Smart Growth at Odds?

One of the larger issues facing our area today is the influx of people. Buena Vista is on the map, and people want what we have. Fresh air, clean water, beautiful scenery, outdoor lifestyle, friendly community, no traffic…the list goes on. The state demographer warned of the incoming tide of people from all over the place, especially those that are retiring, selling their home in suburbia and wanting to “escape” to the mountains to enjoy their retirement.

This begs the question of where will they all go? Diversity is key to a thriving community, yet the tide of newcomers will drive up prices as the patches of ground (not to mention water) become more scarce. Does this mean that families living on lower incomes are necessarily forced to move elsewhere? We need to think seriously of our future and how we are planning to take on this wave of people. With little or no thought, development can creep up on us and transform our town into perhaps something that we don’t want.

A post by Perspicasitas explores this issue further. She writes:

“I believe that through intentional, thoughtful design, there can be some good examples of how affordable housing and smart growth practices overlap.”

“Ultimately though, I don’t think it is just a matter of manipulating the built environment, but more significantly it is a matter of changing some of the ways we do things as a society.”

Take a look at her post and ask yourself, is there a way for smart growth and affordable housing to integrate? What other perspectives can we as a town consider as we proceed?