1000 Friends of New Mexico is a non-profit membership group that advocates "Smart Growth" for New Mexico. "Smart growth" is growth that is good for communities. Examples of this include growth that protects New Mexico`s culture and traditions; growth that utilizes our limited resources wisely; growth that strengthens our economy; growth that revitalizes existing neighborhoods; growth that improves a city`s infrastructure, including schools, roads, and transportation; and growth that improves the quality of life for all New Mexicans.



Sprawl is development on the fringes or outskirts of a city. We are concerned about sprawl that detracts from a community`s health and vitality, rather than improving it overall. This type of development is undesirable because it happens where nothing currently exists, making it expensive for a city to add in the roads, schools, water lines, sewers, fire protection, police protection, and the rest of the infrastructure needed to support a new community. Instead of financing sprawl, a city`s tax base could be used to revitalize existing neighborhoods by improving schools, creating vibrant communities, expanding transit systems, and improving the quality of life for a community`s residents. When a city spends its money on sprawl, existing neighborhoods suffer. In addition, the residents of the new sprawl development find that their quality of life has not improved: they are spending more time in their cars commuting to work, traffic and road rage have increased, and air pollution has increased - all as a result of unplanned growth on the fringes of a city.



Our main goal is to work with legislators and other organizations to change New Mexico`s state planning laws so growth is carefully and wisely planned. Too often a community can spend a lot of time and energy creating an effective growth plan, then not follow it. Legislation that requires a community to use the plan it creates will go a long way in preventing uncontrolled and unplanned growth. Other goals include conserving our natural resources, especially water; and protecting the culture and traditions of our unique state, while working to improve the economy and create vibrant communities. These are lofty but achievable goals, which we believe are crucial to the future of New Mexico.