Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development

The report argues that community growth often creates fiscal deficits and social problems, whereas 'sustainable development'—focused on efficiency and local resource optimization—can create prosperity without expanding a community's size.

• The report distinguishes between growth and development, defining growth as an increase in size and development as an increase in quality and diversity. While growth often requires increased public and private investments that may not increase value, development increases the value of existing investments and can create jobs without the associated problems of expansion.
• Many communities are trapped in a cycle of seeking growth to solve economic problems, but evidence suggests that growth often fails to fulfill its promise of increasing the tax base. Studies cited include a Vermont study showing towns with more taxable commercial and industrial property had higher taxes on average, and a Minnesota study finding that agricultural land generates twice as much local tax revenue as it demands in services compared to subdivided land.
• Local governments often unwittingly subsidize growth by spreading the costs of new infrastructure and services across all taxpayers rather than charging those who create the costs. This 'socialized growth' skews the real estate market and creates long-term deficits, as seen in Loudoun County, Virginia, where the cost of services per family ($5,800) far exceeded their tax payments ($1,280) once growth slowed.
• The report identifies four types of towns that seek growth: 'Hungry' towns (escaping stagnation), 'Rusty' towns (upgrading deteriorating infrastructure), 'Debtor' towns (struggling to keep up with infrastructure demands of new residents), and 'Booster' towns (acting as if expansion will continue forever).
• Economic development can be achieved without growth through 'import replacement'—producing goods and services locally that were previously purchased from outside. Examples include Osage, Iowa, which saved families nearly $1,000 per year by plugging energy leaks, and a program in Eugene, Oregon, that generated $2.5 million in local contracts by linking local buyers and suppliers.
• Sustainable community development is based on three pillars: renewability (using resources no faster than they can be replenished), equity (fairness among generations and different groups of people), and digestibility (a cyclical system that eliminates waste by reusing or recycling by-products).

APA

Kinsley, M. J., & Lovins, L. H. (n.d.). Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ER96-15_Paying4Growth.pdf

Chicago

Kinsley, Michael J., and L. Hunter Lovins. Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ER96-15_Paying4Growth.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kinsley |first1=Michael J. |last2=Lovins |first2=L. Hunter |title=Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ER96-15_Paying4Growth.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kinsleyndpaying, author = {Kinsley, Michael J. and Lovins, L. Hunter}, title = {{Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_ER96-15_Paying4Growth.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }