Hog Disguised with Lipstick, named Tom Gray
(c) Copyright 2000-2012 David Dilworth
“Smart Growth” is Doublespeak and an Oxymoron.
Along with “Postal Service“, “Jumbo Shrimp” and “Congressional Ethics” – “Sustainable Development” is a self canceling or contradictory phrase along with its new disguise called “Smart Growth.”
“Sustainable Development” was a tricky term developers used to disguise growth. Its goal was purely propaganda – to make you think that slowing growth down stops the harm. Its secret intent was to avoid looking at growth’s long term harm – even harm from very, very slow growth.
So, when “Sustainable Development” got shot down, developers had to come up with something new. Not anything real mind you – just a new, and improved name. That new name is “Smart Growth.”
At about the same time a few (very few) people just plain worn out from losing environmental battles inadvertently came to their aid and adopted the term too.
Well, as former Texas Governor Ann Richards amusingly noted
“You can dress up a Hog, put lipstick on it and call it Noreen – but its still a Pig.”
Same here – It doesn’t matter whether its called Smart Growth, Genius-Growth or Stupid-Growth – its still Growth, and it still causes harm.
Growth proposals might “only” destroy one percent of our land and water source a year. Doesn’t sound like much?
Well how long before all the land and water is gone at one percent a year? How long before that would you object to excessively loss of open lands?
No one wants our Peninsula to look like San Jose or Tokyo. But we can’t avoid SanJoseification – if we don’t stop growing at some point. If we don’t stop, no matter how slow (or “smart”) you grow, someday our whole Peninsula will be paved over just like San Jose.
La Jolla – Aerial View
Remember San Jose used to be covered with trees – like our Peninsula is – so far . . .
So Smart Growth means NEVER STOPPING GROWTH – literally continuing to grow forever. But we can’t grow forever because at some point we use up 100% of, or run out of, land and water. Long before then, life (like traffic and water rationing) becomes unpleasant, then unbearable and finally — toxic.
What do you think ?
Great article on growth. Have you published it in the Herald or Weekly?
Bill Weigle, Seaside
Thank you for your appreciation Bill. Feel free to send the link to your friends. (http://daviddilworth.com/pol/why-is-smart-growth-destructive/)
The Herald did publish a shorter version of this article on March 26, 2000
However, since around 2004 the Herald’s Royal Calkins has blacklisted publishing any letters or commentaries from me. I only found out about it in 2009 “Part I: Was the Herald’s Letter-Editor Royal Calkins Caught Censoring & BlackListing, then Lying to Cover it up?”