Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, December 23, 1994                   TAG: 9412230133
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-14   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN PURSUIT OF QUALITY OF LIFE

Obviously, different people prize different aspects of living. Quality-of-life ratings should be taken with a grain of salt, even when the Roanoke Valley and Southwest Virginia rank high on them, because they reflect the interests of the places raters as much as conditions in the places rated.

Reasonable consensus on what constitutes quality of life is not, however, impossible. If asked to list the region's important strengths, we suspect most Southwest Virginians would agree on, among other items, the (usually) temperate four-season climate, the mountain-valley scenery, the relatively low crime rates, access to health care, good schools, plenty of outdoor recreation, ease of getting around, an active arts and entertainment community, a major university in Blacksburg and a vital urban heart in downtown Roanoke.

The quality level in one or more of these may not be what it could or should be. But, in the eyes of most beholders, they do enhance life in these parts.

Some quality-of-life components are not easily quantified or measured, but significant nonetheless. We suspect most Southwest Virginians find value, for instance, in the balance hereabouts between neighborliness and elbow room, and in our still somewhat distinctive sense of place.

The trick in citing such characteristics is to celebrate them without drawing the conclusion, as misguided as it is complacent, that promoting quality of life means keeping with the status quo.

No region, this one included, can thrive in splendid isolation. And change - one way or another - is inevitable. Not only are most of the qualities of life that we enjoy here not guaranteed. They are at risk. And they are especially so if we fail to understand that to sustain and improve them requires creative energy, investment and action.

Such interventions depend, in turn, on a dynamic economy.

Too often, the latter is regarded as an enemy of quality of life. No question, poorly guided development can hurt; preventing unlimited sprawl is one reason suburbanites have a stake both in better land-use planning in their counties and healthier neighborhoods in the cities.

But the real incompatibility is between high quality-of-life standards and lack of growth. Economic growth can be guided into better conformity with a community's quality-of-life criteria. Without a thriving economy to sustain them, however, there's no money to pay for good schools, a vibrant arts scene, clean streets, park maintenance and all the rest.

Conversely, quality of life sometimes is seen simply as a way to boost growth. No question, a favorable quality of life can do so, especially when nuts-and-bolts factors - suitable site, access to utilities, closeness to markets, etc. - are even. The late Robert B. Claytor, first head of Norfolk Southern after the merger of the Norfolk & Western and Southern railroads, once said the new company would not have put its headquarters in Norfolk if that city had not had strong arts institutions.

In an age of telecommuting and the Knowledge Economy, quality of life is crucial for attracting the kinds of jobs that bring rising incomes.

The economic cart, though, should not be put before the quality-of-life horse. In the final analysis, economic growth is to be sought because it enhances the quality of our lives, not the other way around.