I just ran across a post over at Get Inspired Charleston about Charleston’s Reality Check. Hosted by the Urban Land Institute, the December 3rd event brought together local elected officials, developers, and business owners to discuss the 265,000 new residents and 186,000 new jobs that will be added to the Charleston-area over the next 23 years - and how that growth will affect us all.

To facilitate the discussion, the group used LEGO® bricks to plot growth on a map of the tri-county area. Each LEGO brick represents housing or business growth, and ribbons are placed on the map to indicate new roads. In the end, the exercise will help the group support their mission…

to decide how we will accommodate this growth in ways that are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable, so that every new resident, new job and new household enhances the quality of life of every citizen in this region.

I am pleased to see the community thinking about the future, and I really hope their collaboration will yield real positive change. We all deal with the reactionary city planning that has already taken place, and it’s barely working. Our roads are more crowded than ever, facilities for pedestrians are hard to find, and green spaces and public transportation are just fringe subjects. Exposing local leaders to these issues will help us achieve a sustainable community.