The problem is local governments are awful at planning for growth, especially in nice areas (where people actually want to live) as they tend towards no change.

The problem is local governments are awful at planning for growth, especially in nice areas (where people actually want to live) as they tend towards no change. I think the best solution is still planning at a local level but there should be approppriate rules from a higher level to ensure it works - usually including a growth target which must be planned for and minimum densities (allowing for some exceptions) for different kidnds of locations (greenfield, around train stations, etc) On your other point - in my experience states tend towards the opposite - being developer lobby driven much more than nimby