Information Links

Featured Links

NEW - an information resource for citizens and government from the Orton Family Foundation - The Big Box Evaluator. This excellent tool will give you an idea of the average cost/savings for a Big Box in town. Unfortunately, the largest size that you can evaluate in the estimator is 200,000 sq.ft. - a far cry from the planned potential of the Route 262 development.

A new website for grassroots community groups in Connecticut, to better link our efforts & our knowledge...Connecticut Smart Growth

Al Norman of Sprawlbusters recently gave a presentation to SHARE of Simsbury, CT. You can view the video by clicking here.

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has shown a documentary filmed by Director Micha Peled called "Store Wars". It’s the story of the controversy in the town of Ashland, Virginia, after Wal-Mart announces that it wants to build a Supercenter on the edge of town. There are no listings this month planned for the documentary, but PBS has an excellent story about it, which is well worth reading.

The best part of the site pages are the lesson plans for teachers (click here). There are three lessons: the impact of Big Box retail on your town, the debate, and a cost-benefit analysis.

The Downside of Sprawl

http://www.newrules.org Information on building the community, preserving local businesses, and preventing the megastores from overwhelming local business. This link takes you to the Big Box Economic Studies page.

http://www.sprawl-busters.com Greenfield, MA and authour of "Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart" fights big box - and wins. Information on why big-box retail is bad for a community and a game plan to follow when A Home Depot or Wal-Mart come knocking on your town's door.

www.sprawlwatch.org Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse. Information and e-newsletter on sound land-use practices and up-to-date news on sprawl.

www.1000friends-ct.org The website of the new statewide advocacy group 1000 Friends of Connecticut, its mission to stop sprawl and develop our existing communities into livable, friendly places.

http://www.vtsprawl.org The Vermont Forum on Sprawl, working to preserve Vermont's unique working landscape and quality of life while encouraging economic vitality in community centers.

www.sierraclub.org/sprawl The Sierra Club believes that stopping suburban sprawl is imperative for the environment.

Information from other Towns in Connecticut

www.sharesimsbury.com Simsbury Homeowners Advocating Responsible Expansion, working for the best use of undeveloped light industrial land, and against a zone change that would permit a big box shopping project, on Route 10 at the Simsbury-Avon town line.

http://www.cantoncare.org Canton Advocates for Responsible Expansion, Inc. is a town-wide grass roots organization promoting intelligent economic development in Canton, and believes that large-scale developments, such as big-box stores, detract from the rural nature and small-town quality of life Canton residents cherish.

http://www.staffordfirst.org Stafford First is a website by and for Stafford citizens interested in promoting responsible development in the greater Stafford, CT area. They were instrumental in recently passing a size cap of 40,000 sq. feet in the town of Stafford in response to a proposed Big Box development by Konover.