The Norman Conquest

I'm founder of Sprawl-Busters.

We help community groups fight off big-box sprawl -- strategize their battles, understand key objectives, and develop a game plan.

Getting people to stop shopping at these giant stores and invest their money in local businesses.

We would end the practice of building shopping plazas consisting of 20 or more acres of concrete and asphalt.

I hear from about three new communities a day. I help them strategize and keep my website updated with the latest developments on the sprawl front.

I fell into this by accident 12 years ago when Wal-Mart came knocking on the back door of my town. When we beat Wal-Mart at the ballot box, my phone began ringing off the hook. What was supposed to be a 13-week campaign has lasted 12 years.

Over 1,000.

Local officials and developers.

Local citizens' groups have been like angels in the midst of battle.

Born in Washington, D.C. I now live in Massachusetts.

The fact that Wal-Mart now has 358 dead stores on the market -- a total of 28 million square feet of dead space.

Being locked in a Wal-Mart store.

Using a coal stove to heat my kitchen in the New England winter.

Zoning codes and comprehensive land-use plans.

Chinese food, but not made in China.

Every place is someone's home and should be treated as someone's -- or something's -- favorite place.

I don't think we are doing anything very well, and we have to behave as if we are running out of time to get it right.

We should work on improving our regional land-use planning and development and reinventing our zoning codes. We need to form new county-based alliances of public and private groups to take back our communities from greedy developers and Wall Street investors and keep out wasteful sprawl. We need better state laws to protect us as well.

Place a cap on the size of buildings.

I liked Bob Dylan when I was 18, and my favorite song was his "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll."

I only watch news on TV. My favorite movie will be the forthcoming Robert Greenwald movie Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.

Every victory over Wal-Mart makes me very happy. But a good organizer is often happy, never satisfied.

Friends don't let friends shop at Wal-Mart. I would encourage everyone to think of their shopping dollars as an investment. We need to begin to wean ourselves from Wal-Mart and invest our money locally, where it works better for the economy. The battle against big-box sprawl will be won or lost in the aisles. If you find yourself in their aisles, we are losing the battle.