By now, many of you have heard the predictions about growth in the Upstate. Experts expect 234,000 new residents, 203,000 new jobs and 118,000 new households will be added to the 10-county region by 2030.

It raises all kinds of questions for residents of Pickens County and around the Upstate. What do we want the growth patterns to be? Do we want denser communities? Where are the bottlenecks?

Where are the green spaces we want to protect?

Upstate Reality Check offers us a chance to get a handle on those questions. On April 8, hundreds of

Upstate residents have an opportunity to help shape growth patterns for years to come. This is the first time such a visioning exercise has been undertaken for the 10-county region.

We will gather around maps of the Upstate and use Lego building blocks to “place” those additional people, homes and jobs in what people believe would be the most logical locations.

There will be a diverse group seated at each map and we expect lively discussion as we distribute our Legos around the region.

From that discussion, we hope to develop a set of principles that can guide our growth strategies in the future. Whatever those guiding principles are, we believe we will come out of it with a better understanding of the commonalities we share with our neighbors around the Upstate.

There are challenges in the Upstate – transportation, air, water, workforce development – that know no political or geographic boundaries. But there is a critical mass in this region that gives us the ability to compete with anyone in the world.

The Reality Check exercise was developed by the Urban Land Institute, a non-partisan organization that helps facilitate discussions on growth and development. It is important that there be some level of accountability for following the guiding principles arrived at during the exercise. For Upstate Reality Check, ULI is partnering with Upstate Together.

Upstate Together is a diverse group of local leaders and citizens committed to developing an action plan that will protect and enhance our region's livability. It will be responsible for informing local residents about the guiding principles developed at Upstate Reality Check. It will also be responsible for determining what next steps need to be taken to move this process forward.

Pickens County is growing. The challenge is balancing growth with the desire to maintain our region's unique lifestyle – which is what lures people here in the first place.

There is a sensitivity to protecting the Highway 11 corridor. This is an opportune time for Pickens County to look at this.

There are two ways to deal with our region's inevitable growth – by choice or by chance. Leaving things to chance may leave us with unintended consequences that erode our quality of life. Growing by choice, however, allows us to prosper as a community while maintaining the things we all love about living in the Upstate.

Upstate Reality Check is an open process. It is a way to have a say in how Pickens or Oconee or Anderson County is going to be for the next 20 years. The more people that have input in the process, the more closely we can have plans that reflect what we want our community to look like.

We hope you'll consider joining us April 8 at the Carolina First Center. For details on how to nominate yourself or others to participate, visit www.UpstateRealityCheck.com.