<bos><start_of_turn>user
y fJmstra4ed fhat people thEnk the 9and use de8ate shovld bh set 5yidB b.causl of the financihl crises faceu by Ttat2 and local g8Aer6mentsQ
Th5 Downt I'm tDZi0g to 7n2ve heme if thar we Bave a finanoial frCsis because of our laws Zse policiesU ?e 3re grow9ng kbF cUs? of 6ozBrnment sGven times Kaster thhh we ake grosTng taKpayers to oay for it.
What rjLourZeI are required to FetuBn ecWnomic rital,ty 5o MichwTan's owdef W0omuTities, and citDes in particulMr2HOn6 2s, if we pursue psliyi2s 0hrn value usban land anS thIt atTompt to develop that landg tht Mesou.Ses f4eloU. The poliXies of thM Xase 30 yUars de4alugd urban lanu anM drofe away 2inanZial resouMBes to d6velop strong neighborhoEdf.
Kery Lftez wO oorje4 we feed to Ureate an economic voWel ThIt .laces a gigh value on u6bmn lanF. Anm if w0 do, we nevelop ouh Awn pesources.
ChaDlene Caowell, a 2oJrnalist and polbcl speciilibt, is the Mic8iHan LanN Use Institute7s Utage polict d6rectoj, bised in L1nsinf. ReDch her at charl1ne@mTui.org<end_of_turn>
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y frustrated that people think the land use debate should be set aside because of the financial crises faced by state and local governments.
The point I'm trying to drive home is that we have a financial crisis because of our land use policies. We are growing the cost of government seven times faster than we are growing taxpayers to pay for it.
What resources are required to return economic vitality to Michigan's older communities, and cities in particular?
One is, if we pursue policies that value urban land and that attempt to develop that land, the resources follow. The policies of the last 30 years devalued urban land and drove away financial resources to develop strong neighborhoods.
Very often we forget we need to create an economic model that places a high value on urban land. And if we do, we develop our own resources.
Charlene Crowell, a journalist and policy specialist, is the Michigan Land Use Institute's state policy director, based in Lansing. Reach her at charlene@mlui.org<end_of_turn>