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Smart Growth Issue Summary Smart growth is development that serves the economy, community and the environment. Over the last forty years a shift has taken place in the patterns of development. Traditional development fostered a sense of community while more recent development trends have led to sprawl and isolated pockets of growth. Sprawl can bring about increased traffic congestion as people are forced to rely upon automobiles for transportation. Sprawl also leads to loss of open spaces. Recently, the debate about development has been changed by the emergence of a new perspective: smart growth. Smart growth tries to combat sprawl by recognizing the connections between development and the quality of life. Smart growth is development that is environmentally, fiscally, and economically sound. The following material includes information on recent news and events concerning smart growth, as well as full-text publications and links to other Web sites. These resources are assembled to assist local governments in learning more about smart growth and what it means to communities. Resources Smart Growth. EPA helps communities grow in ways that expand economic opportunity, protect public health and the environment, and create and enhance the places that people love. Through research, tools, partnerships, case studies, grants, and technical assistance, EPA is helping America's communities turn their visions of the future into reality. EPA Smart Growth Grants and Other Funding The EPA smart growth program sometimes offers grants to support activities that improve the quality of development and protect human health and the environment. When these grants are offered, they will always be announced on this Web page and on www.grants.gov Making Smart Growth
Happen About Smart Growth Topics
Education/Outreach
Examples of Smart Growth Communities and Projects
Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development. This project of the United States Department of Energy offers a Web site providing information about sustained growth. The site presents a comprehensive overview of the land use planning techniques currently being used and also lists case studies, upcoming conferences, and funding opportunities for growth-related projects. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention - Active Community Environments Initiative Browse Smart Growth Resources by State. This page allows quick access to resources listed by state. California State
Treasurer's Office - Pollution Control Financing Authority Organizations/Non-Government Programs Smart Growth Network. The Smart Growth Network (SGN) offers a wealth of resources to help you in your smart growth efforts. Membership in the Smart Growth Network is free. Now, anyone interested in smart growth can join SGN, and receive the bi-monthly newsletter Getting Smart, participate in discussions on the SGN members listserv, get tips and useful information from the SGN Information Hotline, and get access to the members section of the SGN Web site. Trust for Public Land. TPL is the only national nonprofit working exclusively to protect land for human enjoyment and well-being. In addition to news, the TPL Web site offers a variety of full text, on-line reports. Smart Growth America. A nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow: one that protects open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and provides more transportation choices. The Web site includes "Smart Tools," links to other smart growth sites, and produces a bi-weekly newsletter on smart growth issues across the country. American Farmland Trust. AFT is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1980 to protect our nation's farmland. AFT works to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthy environment. Louisiana State University Green Laws. This Web site contains guides to writing and understanding community tree ordinances, links to additional information resources, and more. Brookings Institution's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. This Web site examines urban policies that will help build strong neighborhoods, cities, and metropolitan regions. Regional Smart Growth Organizations1000 Friends of Florida Other Organizations Smart Growth Network (SGN) a partnership of government, business and civic organizations that support smart growth. Since its creation in late 1996, the Network has become a storehouse of knowledge about smart growth principles, facilitating the sharing of best practices and acting as a catalyst for implementation of ideas. AARP
- Livable Communities Publications Community Design ToolsContext Sensitive Street Design EPA Smart Growth Publications. A categorized list of Smart Growth publications. Smart Growth and the Clean Air Act. This study, published by the Northeast-Midwest Institute, attempts to reconcile the contrasting views of the Clean Air Act as a cause of sprawl and as a useful tool to curb it by examining its application in several major metropolitan areas, and suggests that the Act does not necessarily divert growth from urban centers and indeed can complement efforts to promote growth in areas with existing infrastructure. Smart Growth and the Clean Water Act. This study, published by the Northeast-Midwest Institute, investigates the relationship between three Clean Water Act programs (stormwater, combined sewer overflow and sanitary sewer overflow, and total maximum daily load) and smart growth, and demonstrates how these programs can promote smart growth when federal, state, and local governments grasp opportunities to integrate water quality and smart growth goals. Coastal Sprawl: The Effects of Urban Design on Aquatic Ecosystems in the United States. This report, published by the Pew Oceans Commission, looks at the effects of urban design and land-use practices on aquatic ecosystems in the United States. It presents new strategies and tools that communities may use to preserve the same ecosystems that attract residents, tourists, and businesses to the coasts. The report also highlights national efforts underway to reform development patterns, embodied in such movements as Smart Growth and the New Urbanism. The Economic Benefits of Parks and Open Space: How Land Conservation Helps Communities Grow Smart and Protect the Bottom Line. This publication describes how communities around the country are learning that open space conservation is not an expense but an investment that produces important economic benefits. Local Tools for Smart Growth: Practical Strategies and Techniques to Improve Our Communities. This report, produced by the National Association of Counties, identifies tools, resources, and examples to empower local governments to make their own smart growth decisions. Legislative Guidebook for Growing Smart. This publication contains model statutes for planning and the management of change. The model statutes are intended to provide local governments and others with ideas, principles, methods, and procedures drawn from various states, regions, and local governments across the country. A Roadmap for Adopting Local Sustainability Strategies. This guide provides an introduction to sustainability and includes an annotated 21-agenda Community Sustainability roadmap of constructive local options. Town Meets Country: Farm-City Forums on Land and Community. American Farmland Trust (AFT) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) have produced a report called Town Meets Country: Farm-City Forums on Land and Community, a joint project addressing the issue of sprawl. The report is based on a series of farm-city forums held by AFT and the USCM to encourage urban, suburban and rural leaders to work together for smart growth. Local Greenprinting for Growth: Creating a Greenprint. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has published the first volume of a report on greenprint conservation programs entitled Local Greenprinting for Growth: Creating a Greenprint. The report is a guidebook for communities seeking to create a greenprint conservation program. Greenprinting is TPL's term for a smart growth strategy that ensures quality of life, clean air and water, recreation, and economic health. Developments and Dollars: An Introduction to Fiscal Impact Analysis in Land Use Planning. This guide provides local officials and others concerned with sprawling development and growth issues with tools they need to examine the likely impacts of development proposals on local taxes and municipal budgets. Livability and Affordability: Open Space Preservation and Land Supply. This report provides an overview of state programs to preserve open space and describes the effects of preservation on land supply. Building a Sustainable Development Infrastructure. This concept paper outlines a series of modules that (1) define in a preliminary way the scope of what will be needed to address infrastructure development needs over a multiple-year time period; (2) break the problem down into pieces which facilitate identification of who might be involved in working together on that module; and (3) provide a basis for beginning to set priorities depending on available resources, agency commitments, etc. Best Development Practices: A Primer for Smart Growth. Available for $9 from the International City/County Management Association, this primer shows how changes in current development patterns can help stop sprawl. Pedestrian- and Transit-Friendly Design: A Primer for Smart Growth. Available for $8 from the International City/County Management Association, this primer illustrates essential features of pedestrian- and transit-friendly design. A Region Divided: The State of Growth in Greater Washington, D.C. This report, produced by the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, includes: (1) an overview of the region's economy, (2) an examination of growth in metropolitan Washington; (3) a summary of what the response has been to date in the region to address some of the concerns around growth, and (4) thoughts about how this region can begin to frame its vision and efforts for building a vibrant region. Sustainable Measures. Sustainable Measures develops indicators that measure progress toward a sustainable economy, society and environment. This site offers users free training materials, a searchable database of indicators, a list of online and print resources, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. Treelink. This Web site offers an urban forestry database, guidelines for improving urban forestry in your community, recent news, lists of urban forestry forums, and links to other Web sites. Tools for Community Design and Decision Making. This is an Internet-based presentation which offers information about the planning tools of the future. The tools presented on this Web site will help to diminish barriers to smart growth such as community opposition to density and the mixing of uses, outdated regulatory practices, and financing. Grants and Funding. Find out about financial assistance available to organizations and communities.
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