A True Believer Discusses Urban Growth Boundaries

"I was once a true believer. I moved to Oregon two decades ago and was head of the Oregon Environmental Council. As my colleagues did, I assumed that urban growth had to be contained and that boundaries were the way to do it. ... Buildable land within the Portland boundary is going for upward of $300,000 an acre for residential property. That makes it all but impossible to build attractive housing at affordable prices. Under the leadership of our top planners, the true believers, we've created an artificial shortage of urban land and an artificial surplus of agricultural land. A vision of freedom If urban containment through growth boundaries doesn't work, what's the alternative? Freedom and opportunity."