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When asked to provide a wrap-up on stage for the "Tucson Growth: Decision at the Crossroads" forum, I accepted with some apprehension.

I did not know the three guest speakers who would offer a national perspective, and I couldn't predict the contributions of the six people from our region on the panel. I knew that about 3,400 residents had responded to the Star's online opinion survey and many hoped to limit population growth in our region. I didn't want to referee a dogfight.

I accepted because I believe that open dialogue is essential to the building of communities. In May I chaired the Tucson Regional Town Hall, an exercise in community building, and I hoped the growth forum would be another step in that direction. We do need to learn to work together if we are to meet the challenges and realize the opportunities that lie ahead for our region.

As the program unfolded, I was impressed by the depth of experience assembled on that stage and by the harmony of the objectives of the participants. Everyone wanted to talk about how we should manage growth in our region, and no one seemed to believe that we could prevent growth.

I should have anticipated the harmony of objectives of the speakers. The people assembled on the stage dealt with facts. When people participate in a public opinion survey, they can express their feelings. Most of us rely primarily upon our feelings in our daily lives and it can be very uncomfortable to face facts.

The essence of the facts is that efforts to control population growth in American political jurisdictions have either failed to control growth or suffered from unintended consequences more serious than the initial problem.

In a free society, attempts to control growth rely upon some combination of government regulation and economic pressure.

For example, if by political actions a community denies new housing starts and any renovations that produce more apartments or condominiums, growth can be slowed. Unmet demand will increase the price of housing in the community with undesirable consequences. Families of limited means will share housing or move to the outskirts of the community, driving into the restricted area for work, increasing urban sprawl, traffic congestion and localized population density. The sons and daughters of original residents will be unable to afford to live in their own hometowns.

The speakers had different perspectives and the regional panelists were diverse in their backgrounds and political orientations, but all came to the same conclusion: Population growth cannot be effectively proscribed.

The challenge is to manage the growth to achieve the greatest economic prosperity and the highest quality of life.

The hard truth is this: We must find regionally acceptable ways to manage growth and not waste time and energy in divisive insistence that growth can be effectively halted.

Unless we put this false choice behind us and come together to plan for managed growth, we will be stuck in the present moment and unable to shape our future together wisely.

I believe that open dialogue will bring us together in Tucson as we deal with challenges relating to growth and other equally pressing issues. The "Tucson Growth: Decision at the Crossroads" forum took one more big step in the right direction.