Have you ever sat in traffic on I-84, or I-91, or I-95 in Stamford and wondered what Connecticut's landscape will look like in 50 years?

The prospect may sound grim, but it doesn't have to be. We the people of Connecticut can enact policies that will preserve the beautiful state we inherited and make it prosper. To that end, a new statewide organization has been formed in the past year. It is called 1000 Friends of Connecticut. Its mission is to stop sprawl and develop our existing communities into livable and friendly places.

In addition, it will provide an umbrella for the myriad local and regional land-use, environmental, preservation and pro-transit groups that have been organized across the state. The emergence of these groups amounts to a new politics in our state. 1000 Friends of Connecticut will try to focus, coordinate and encourage this energy.

The 1000 Friends movement originated in Oregon in 1975. At the time Oregon was faced with population growth that was threatening its open space. In response to the threat of overdevelopment and sprawl, 1000 Friends of Oregon was created. Its founder was the governor of Oregon, Tom McCall. Its mission was and is to "protect Oregon's quality of life through the conservation of farmland and forest lands, protection of natural and historic resources and promotion of more compact and livable cities."

The result has been the enactment of strong, statewide, enforceable laws which direct development and permanently conserve open space. For nearly thirty years, the organization has monitored and evaluated Oregon's preservation and conservation programs, as well as the state's effort to supply "the full spectrum of needed housing types."

Though there have been constant challenges, the measures sponsored by 1000 Friends exist in Oregon to this day.

Nothing succeeds like success, and after watching Oregon's efforts, groups in other states decided to employ statewide or regional techniques to improve the quality and coordination of land-use planning. Land-use planning includes housing development, the development of transportation corridors, and open space protection.

Today 1000 Friends and similar organizations exist in states throughout the country, and now Connecticut will have one, too. The time is right. Here in the Nutmeg State, two major land-use studies have recently been published. One study was based on economic development and transportation. The other analyzed the abandonment of our cities and the rapid growth of the outer suburbs and rural areas.

The first study, sponsored by The Connecticut Institute for the 21st Century, was originally done in 1999 but was updated in May 2003. It is entitled Connecticut Strategic Economic Framework. The study outlines the importance of transportation and economic corridors in creating a competitive edge for Connecticut in the new global economy.

The second study was done in March 2003 and was sponsored by the Center Edge Coalition. It is entitled Connecticut Metropatterns. Its thesis is that the way we look at our cities, suburbs and towns is incorrect. All of them are hurting, and very few affluent suburbs are making it on their own. The cost of abandoning our cities is high not only in human toll but also in monetary cost, as we continually build new infrastructure for these expanding outer suburbs.

In addition to these reports, the legislature has created the Transportation Strategy Board in response to calls for ameliorating traffic on I-95 in Fairfield County and elsewhere.

Apart from the studies and the legislative initiative, there are a multitude of grass-roots organizations advocating land conservation, mass transit, farmland preservation, multi-use trails and historic preservation. Some of these groups act locally; some, such as The Nature Conservancy and The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, have statewide organizations.

It is within this context that 1000 Friends of Connecticut is being born. As part of its formation, the nascent Connecticut group has looked to two of the 1000 Friends organizations for guidance, 1000 Friends of Minnesota and Grow Smart Rhode Island.

Founded in 1993, the 1000 Friends of Minnesota created and helped pass the first statewide land-use planning framework in the Upper Midwest. This legislation has encouraged dozens of cities, townships and counties across the state to vigorously plan for what they want their communities and countryside to look like. 1000 Friends continues to educate residents about land-use issues, using such tools as videos and essay contests, and to work with towns facing increased development.

Grow Smart Rhode Island was begun in 1997 and embraces a similar mission: revitalize city, town and village centers, preserve cultural and natural resources, expand economic opportunity for all Rhode Islanders.

The Rhode Island group works with transportation planning, urban growth (or the lack thereof) issues, brownfields and environmental issues related to the preservation of Narragansett Bay. Recently, it issued a report entitled: "The Costs of Suburban Sprawl and Urban Decay in Rhode Island."

Grow Smart Rhode Island has worked with municipal planners, community leaders and others in the issues of the costs of sprawl. It has also sponsored how-to workshops for municipal officials and planning boards on affordable housing and related matters.

As the Rhode Island and Minnesota groups demonstrate, the overall mission is to organize land use. That will be the same mission in Connecticut. The strategies used in those two states to achieve the mission are education and advocacy, which will be the strategy here as well. For example, land-use patterns could be developed on a statewide basis and not in the disjointed town-by-town process as is currently the case. There is a need for policies that will reinforce built communities and promote development where development already exists, thereby preserving our open space and farmlands.

How to do all this? One way would be to advocate that regional planning agencies, which exist by statute, should be able enforce regional land-use plans. Another way is to put teeth (read enforcement) in the State Plan of Conservation and Development. Many are not even aware that the state issues such a document every five years, There are no enforcement provisions, nor does the state even have to abide by the plan.

1000 Friends includes people from across the state. Ultimately its membership will range from land conservationists to developers. With such diversity, 100 percent agreement will be difficult, but there will be agreement on many of the issues.

The challenge for 1000 Friends will be to develop its message in a way that makes its ideas relate to individuals. That means breaking down abstract concepts like the effect of transportation patterns on land use into questions that affect people's lives, such as: Can your child walk safely to school? How far do you drive to work and how long does it take?

In addition to educating people and raising the importance of these issues, the 1000 Friends will be a strong advocate for zoning law changes (and their enforcement) and transportation changes in the halls of the state Capitol. Can these changes be effected?

The story of the 1000 Friends nationally has been pretty successful. That is the good news. The bad news is that Connecticut is running out of land, and we do not like to change. The pressure to develop is enormous. The crux is whether we can direct that development to reinforce our towns and at the same time make sure that in 50 years, there is open space and farmland in Connecticut. It's a tall order.

If we do nothing, the landscape will change forever. Then, in 50 years, there will be no chance to ameliorate the traffic; that is, if there is any. For further information and to make contributions, write to 1000 Friends of Connecticut c/o Regional Growth Partnership, 900 Chapel St., New Haven, CT 06510.

Eunice S. Groark is a former Connecticut lieutenant governor. She is an incorporator of 1000 Friends of Connecticut and is a director of ALL ABOARD Inc., The Rideshare Corporation and the Connecticut Chapter of the Nature Conservancy.