As an architect, I can attest to the vitality of the current building boom. Building permits for Spokane County are up 63.5 percent this year. According to Dave Crosby, president of the Spokane Association of Realtors, overall home sales are about $300 million ahead of last year.

With all this activity, it does not surprise me to hear homebuilders say that they are running out of developable land. This is after a decade (1990-2000) when Spokane had the second worst sprawl in the Pacific Northwest, according to Northwest Environment Watch. Now Spokane County estimates that the county population will increase over the next 20 years from 432,000 to 658,000. During the preceding decade, Spokane realized a 16 percent population growth but must now deal with a 52 percent growth over the next 20 years.

Along with the benefits of this growth come tremendous challenges. Sprawl consumes farmland, puts pressure on ecosystems, and requires costly expansions of our infrastructure. Increased commute times lead to greater fuel consumption, pollution, and compromised traffic safety. Nationally, the average commute trip is up 36 percent since 1980 to 11.6 miles. With developments booming in Liberty Lake, Rathdrum and Mead, and spreading southward into the Palouse, such a commute is pretty commonplace locally. We drive to work. We drive to the store. We drive to entertainment. And when we get home, we drive into our house. Driveways are now our front walks and the garage our front door.

As we become more dependent on our cars, our communities become more fractured. Greg Ramsey of Village Habitat Design in Atlanta, Ga., laments the impact suburban developments have on communities. There is a “loss of (personal) interaction through minimal pedestrian activity, the loss of exchange between local shops and services, and the deterioration of a full-life-cycle community of young and old.” As an alternative, communities need the proper scale and density to encourage more walking and interaction.

All too often, new developments seem to be rows of alternating houses and lawns. Communities need a focal point. Such places can be as small as a coffee shop, like the Rockwood Bakery or The Shop. Historic districts like Hillyard or the West Central Community preserve character. Manito Boulevard’s canopy of trees beckons residents to its shade. Softball games and potlucks frequent my own neighborhood park in the West Hills. These gathering places give neighborhoods an identity and people who live there a sense of belonging.

We need to consider the benefits of mixed use. Neighborhood schools, stores and businesses allow people to walk and slow down their hectic lives. The Garland Avenue and Perry Street business districts, for example, have reinvigorated those neighborhoods. By consolidating housing, the need for roads and utilities is reduced. Paving consumes 22 to 27 percent of the land in typical suburban developments. With sustainable developments, infrastructure costs can be reduced by as much as 50 percent. Higher density also opens up land that can offer wildlife habitat or community gardens.

Neighborhoods should be about people. We have a diverse society, so why should not our neighborhoods be diverse? A mix of age, ethnic, racial and socio-economic populations offer cultural opportunities. When people get to know each other, social stereotypes get broken down and are replaced with understanding and respect.

As we continue to grow, we will be challenged by change. It is not easy for neighbors to lose undeveloped areas that they have adopted as their communal backyard. As demands for services increase, commercial interests can overwhelm neighborhoods, unless they work together. One way or the other, we will see vigorous growth. The question is, will we take the opportunity now to decide what our community becomes?