HUD deputy: 'Smart growth' a must to remain competitive

Published May 14, 2010 at 5:05 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The future of Rhode Island and the nation is planning and sustainable growth that protects the environment, respects culture and history, and makes life enjoyable, Ron Sims, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, told several hundred conferees Friday morning.

And that prediction, Sims said, flows from President Obama's commitment to the smart-growth movement, which is gaining currency around the nation.

"We are going to change the way our urban and rural areas are linked and function and grow," Sims said. "They will grow smart. President Obama has said it's going to be a smart America, it is going to be a smart-growth America, and that's going to be the politics of this administration. And what a wonderful job to be able to implement it."

Sims spoke in opening session of the day-long biennial Power of Place conference at the Rhode Island Convention Center, sponsored by GrowSmart RI, the statewide interest group.

"This is the most competitive century we have ever had," Sims said. "We've got to be smarter than ever. We cannot afford to waste our time, our money, and our talent. Smart growth is our future if we are to remain competitive."

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