While “urban sprawl” and “smart growth” seem to be key phrases in the news these daysespecially among politicians and environmentalists, the truth is “smart growth” can only happen when there is a plan in place to grow. “Smart growth” is not a reaction to a housing boom. Neither is it a way to boost a city’s economy as it begins to slide into a slump. Truly smart growth is a new city’s plan to, over years, accommodate more people and businesses, without comprising its natural resources or the quality of life for those who are already there. Despite what many people are labeling as “smart growth” in an effort to pad their own bank accounts or please their more powerful constituents, smart growth can happen. And it has in the California city of Cerritos.
Cerritos is an unassuming city, less attention-hungry than its bigger brothers Los Angeles and Hollywood. Nestled just northeast of Long Beach and northwest of Anaheim, the city of Cerritos isn’t well known. Most Americans wouldn’t know that it’s home to Cerritos College (the third largest Hispanic-serving community colleges in...