Stewardship is the collaborative practice of caring for the whole.  The CTHBA believes stewardship involves approaching growth with a full assumption of responsibility for our historic, natural, and economic resources. 

The recent passage of sales taxes in Dorchester and Charleston counties provide an ideal opportunity to exercise environmental and economic stewardship.  The hundreds of millions of dollars that will be raised can be used to redesign the public realm of areas such as Rivers Avenue, Savannah Highway, and Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, and thereby provide a means of revitalizing the surrounding area to create new places to live and work, which will enhance the tax base and reduce the pressure to expand infrastructure further out into the countryside.

Private and public stewards have a vested interest in working together to provide leadership in various aspects of a community: the preservation of the area’s historical significance; the protection & sustainability of its surrounding environment; and the enrichment of its culture.  One idea might involve the CTHBA partnering with local governments, land trusts and environmental organizations to identify natural areas worthy of purchasing for conservation. Through the incorporation of best practices and a long-term, holistic approach, stewards enhance the business of development in a manner that bestows a better quality of life for future generations.