The definitive guide to Smart Growth

If you’re looking for one illustrative guide to define smart growth, The Smart Growth Network (SGN) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) have recently done the work for you with This Is Smart Growth.

The 32-page image-filled color document presents dozens of model communities to describe the Smart Growth Principles:
– Mix land uses
– Take advantage of compact building design
– Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
– Create walkable neighborhoods
– Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
– Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
– Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
– Provide a variety of transportation choices
– Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
– Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

Here are some of the more urban places profiled:
East Bay Regional Park District, SF-Oakland Metro Area, California
Barracks Row, Washington DC
Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois
Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts
Traverse City, Traverse City, Michigan
Excelsior & Grand, St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Cotton District, Starkville, Mississippi
Missoula, Missoula, Montana
Moore Square Museums Magnet Middles School, Raleigh, North Carolina
Slavic Village, Cleveland, Ohio
Portland, Portland, Oregon
East Liberty, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
South Providence, Providence, Rhode Island
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina
Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Envision Utah, Greater Wasatch Area, Utah
Arlington County, Northern Virginia, Virginia

Check out a slide show from Fast Company magazine here.

About The Author

neilkt