(no subject)

 As an environmentalist, I sometimes struggle with the idea of building density. For example, a developer in Ann Arbor has proposed some very tall apt structure (can't remember how many stories, but 20-40). Now, clearly density built within cities is a good thing--  there are already services and utilities and businesses & sidewalks etc to support it.  The other current popular alternative is to sprawl out into the countryside, and to pave over fields, meadows, and forests in a string of small, 1-10 acre lots that fragment the natural habitats and fertile farmlands.  In Michigan, though, the zoning of any city is not tied to the zoning of any surrounding countryside, so it's not a zero-sum game. We may build lofty buildings in the city, and *not* save the land and open space of the townships (not through zoning, anyway, unless things change).  This is the real issue, not building height.