Crozet, Virginia

Place and identity. Every time I return to Virginia, I'm reminded of who I am. I'm grateful to the landscape – the mountains, streams and open spaces that have continually given me the peace of mind to think and be still. I'm enriched by a sense of community from family, history and familiarity that exists no where else.

During this last trip home, I recognized the importance of place and place-making more then ever before. The longing to feel connected in today's increasingly isolating human environment is visceral. I too, want to be part of and participate in community. Crozet, Virginia is an inspiration.

A documentary project proposal I have in the works, called A Race to Smart Growth, will share the efforts and aspirations of the Community of Crozet to ensure its own survival. In the face of extreme growth, Crozet is vigilant in its pursuit of a new approach to and vision for community development.

Growth and patterns of development have the ability to promote community, respect place and identity or destroy it. We've all seen the destruction of place with big-box commercialization strips and sprawling subdivisions and now it's time to understand and support an alternative. Crozet, Virginia can be that case study – illuminating a dedicated community political process that insists on fundamental changes to existing sprawl policies and seeks the revitalization of healthy, sustainable, connected communities where we all want to live, work, play and protect our natural heritage.