Is

This

Smart

Growth
About the Smart Growth Network

The Smart Growth Network (SGN) is a network 

of private, public, and non-governmental partner 

organizations seeking to improve development 

practices in neighborhoods, communities, and 

regions across the United States. The network 

was formed in response to increasing community 

concerns about the need for new ways to grow 

that boost the economy, protect the environment 

and public health, and enhance community vitality. SGN partners include environmental groups, 

historic preservation organizations, professional 

organizations, developers, real estate interests, 

and local and state government entities.

SGN works to encourage development that 

serves the economy, community, public health, 

and the environment. It is a forum for:

• Raising public awareness of how growth can 

improve quality of life;

• Promoting smart growth best practices;

• Developing and sharing information, innovative 

policies, tools, and ideas; and

• Cultivating strategies to address barriers to and 

advance opportunities for smart growth.

For more information about SGN and its partners, 

visit www.smartgrowth.org.

Join the Smart Growth Network

Any individual or organization interested in fi nding innovative tools and strategies for community 

development can become a member of the Smart 

Growth Network. As an SGN member, you will be 

part of a diverse network of private, public, and 

nonprofi t partners seeking to encourage better 

development decisions, and you’ll gain information to help implement smart growth principles in 

your own community. Membership is free! To join, 

visit www.smartgrowth.org/sgn/join.asp, or send 

an e-mail to smartgrowth@icma.org. You can also 

contact SGN by calling 202/962-3623.

Acknowledgements

This is a Smart Growth Network publication, produced under a cooperative agreement between 

the International City/County Management 

Association (ICMA) and the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA). The writing team 

included: ICMA—Dan Emerine, Christine Shenot; 

EPA—Mary Kay Bailey, Lee Sobel, and Megan 

Susman. Research assistance was provided by 

Reginald LaFond and Sheritha Wright. Thanks 

to Jane Cotnoir for her editing and to Will Kemp 

for the graphic design. Special thanks to ICMA’s 

Nadejda Mishkovsky and EPA’s Geoff Anderson 

for their guidance and leadership.

ICMA would also like to thank the Smart Growth 

Network working group for shaping the publication, providing essential ideas, and reviewing 

the text for accuracy. Members of ICMA’s Smart 

Growth Advisory Group and colleagues, friends, 

and family of the writing team also reviewed 

early drafts of the document and provided helpful 

comments.
Contents

Introduction: What Is Smart Growth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

 1 A Shot at the American Dream of Opportunity for All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

 2 Safe, Convenient Neighborhoods With Homes That People Can Afford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

 3 Development Decisions That Are Fair to Everyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

 4 Investing Taxpayer Money Wisely in Our Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

 5 Protecting and Preserving Our Natural Heritage and Working Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

 6 Freedom to Choose How We Get Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

 7 Healthy Communities for All Ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

 8 Places Designed for People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

 9 A Lasting Legacy in Our Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

10 Growth and Development That Improves Our Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

A Better Future for Everyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Resource Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Endnotes and Photo Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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
1

What Is Smart Growth?

Health, schools, taxes, traffi c, the environment, economic growth, fairness, opportunity—many of the things we care about—are all affected by development decisions. From 

the length of our daily commute to the price of a new home to the safety of our neighborhoods—what, where, and how we build have major impacts on our personal lives, our communities, and our nation.

Growth presents a tremendous opportunity for progress. Communities around the country 

are looking for ways to get the most out of new development and to maximize their investments. Frustrated by development that requires residents to drive long distances between 

jobs and homes, many communities are challenging rules that make it impossible to put 

workplaces, homes, and services closer together. Many communities are questioning the 

fi scal wisdom of neglecting existing infrastructure while expanding new sewers, roads, and 

services into the fringe. And in many communities where development has improved daily 

life, the economy, and the environment, smart growth principles (see facing page) have 

been key to that success. 

When communities choose smart growth strategies, they can create new neighborhoods 

and maintain existing ones that are attractive, convenient, safe, and healthy. They can foster 

design that encourages social, civic, and physical activity. They can protect the environment 

while stimulating economic growth. Most of all, they can create more choices for residents, 

workers, visitors, children, families, single people, and older adults—choices in where to 

live, how to get around, and how to interact with the people around them. When communities do this kind of planning, they preserve the best of their past while creating a bright 

future for generations to come.

If you’ve heard the term smart growth and want to know what it actually looks like, this 

publication is a good starting point. If you’re already familiar with smart growth ideas, this 

publication can help you educate others. It contains many examples of how smart growth 

principles have been applied in cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural areas; some of these 

examples may look much like your own community.

Thirty-two national organizations that work on community design and development, environmental protection, and public health have approved or endorsed this booklet. These 

organizations have many resources, some of which are listed in the Resources section, to 

help you learn more about smart growth techniques and apply them in your community. 

Growth is smart when it gives us great communities, with more choices and personal 

freedom, good return on public investment, greater opportunity across the community, 

a thriving natural environment, and a legacy we can be proud to leave our children and 

grandchildren. 

This is smart growth.
The Kentlands

Location: Gaithersburg, Md.—Population: 58,091

The Kentlands is a Traditional Neighborhood Development, 

27 miles northwest of the nation’s capital. Besides live/work 

units, the Kentlands includes houses, cottages, townhouses, 

apartments, and a town center.

A new grocery store and other businesses are key parts of 

East Liberty’s revival, bringing jobs and vital services back to 

this neighborhood.

When you think of the American Dream, what 

comes to mind? Maybe it’s owning a home 

or running your own business. It could be 

graduating from college, raising a child, serving your 

country, owning a boat, or writing a novel. It could be 

something else entirely. The American Dream celebrates 

that we are a free nation, built on opportunity and 

choices. Whatever we choose, we have a decent shot at 

making our dreams a reality if we work hard. 

In neighborhoods where services and jobs are lacking, development can bring them. In neighborhoods 

where housing is unaffordable, development can supply 

new options nearby. Of course, everyone can think of a 

situation where development contributed to the opposite 

effect: a neighborhood school closed, jobs moved away, 

housing prices rose, or transportation options were limited. But when development is based on smart growth 

principles, it increases opportunities and the chance to 

achieve the American Dream.

For instance, Americans have a long history of starting their own businesses at home. Small businesses are 

the principal source of new jobs in the United States, 

and they often start in inexpensive spaces that people 

supply for themselves. However, zoning and homeowners’ association rules these days often prohibit 

home-based businesses. As a solution to this problem, 

developments designed with smart growth principles are 

providing new opportunity with “live/work” units. Buyers benefi t because their monthly mortgage payments 

1A Shot at the American 

Dream of Opportunity 

for All

cover their business rent, typically one of the biggest 

expenses for small-business owners. Main Street in the 

Kentlands, a development in Gaithersburg, Maryland, 

includes 62 live/work units alongside townhouses, 

detached homes, and an apartment building for seniors. 

In this neighborhood, you can own a home and a business at the same address.

Vasilis and Julie Hristopoulos were looking for an 

opportunity like this when they moved to the Kentlands’ 

Main Street. They were the fi rst to build a restaurant 

there and live in a three-bedroom home upstairs. “My 

husband always wanted this kind of arrangement,” 

Julie says. It makes life easier for two people who spend 

much of their time running a restaurant. When business is slow, they can take care of household chores 

like laundry, and they appreciate having more time with 

their children. “We didn’t want them far away from us,” 

Julie says. “This is a wonderful concept. I would recommend it to any family.” Of course, not all families would 

choose to live this way. But they should have the choice 

if they want it.

Expanding options in new developments like the 

Kentlands is important, but it is also critical to restore 

opportunity to cities and older suburbs. As stores and 

other businesses have moved to the suburbs over the 

past 50 years, many older, downtown neighborhoods 

have lost jobs, amenities, and investment. Residents 

of these areas lack the basics that many of us take for 

granted, such as a neighborhood grocery store, and even 

2

East Liberty

Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.—Population: 322,450

RURAL The Kentlands
More than a dozen museums and theaters near the Moore 

Square School serve as extended classrooms. The school also 

works with local businesses to expose students to career 

options.

Bethel Center houses a bank, Head Start classes, day-care and 

employment services, a dry cleaners, and a sandwich shop in a 

convenient location next to the rail station. 

those willing to work hard may face signifi cant barriers 

to personal achievement. 

Restoring economic vitality to these neglected areas 

takes a concerted community effort, but it can be done. 

East Liberty, a declining neighborhood in Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania, reversed its fortunes by working with 

national retailers, local activists, and government and 

nonprofi t agencies to bring back stores, jobs, services, 

and well-built affordable homes. The stores and construction companies made commitments to hire people 

from the neighborhood for decent-paying jobs. Following 

closely behind the revitalization of the neighborhood 

were new and renovated houses and apartments affordable to the current residents, along with market-rate 

homes. 

Access to a good education is a key part of many 

Americans’ dreams. Where kids live can play a strong 

role in determining the quality of their education. By 

investing money for schools in communities where 

families already live and by creating neighborhoods that 

have a diversity of housing types and income levels, 

smart growth approaches can make good educational 

opportunities accessible to more children.

To put these opportunities within reach, the Wake 

County, North Carolina, school system has invested in 

a new middle school in a downtown Raleigh neighborhood. In addition to helping revitalize and diversify 

the neighborhood, the Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School takes advantage of the city’s nearby 

museums to give students unique learning opportunities. 

Our communities are full of resources that we can 

use to create new opportunities, as the Moore Square 

school did. In the Garfi eld Park neighborhood of Chicago, many residents rely on public transportation to 

reach jobs and services downtown. When the transit 

authority planned to close the Green Line in the early 

1990s, a group of churches and neighborhood organizations worked together to keep it open. Led by Bethel 

New Life, a faith-based community development corporation, the community got the transit authority to 

upgrade the station and train service. Next to the station, Bethel built Bethel Center, with stores and services, 

and Parkside Estates’ custom-built yet affordable homes. 

The new homes and Bethel Center give residents more 

options in their neighborhood; the train station makes 

it easier for them to reach jobs and other opportunities 

farther away.

The American Dream can mean something different 

to everyone. Smart growth isn’t a magic bullet, but communities can use it to create new choices and opportunities to help people achieve their goals. ■

Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School

Location: Raleigh, N.C.—Population: 326,653

Garfi eld Park

Location: Chicago, Ill.—Population: 2,862,244

3

East Liberty Garfi eld Park URBAN

Garfi

The live/work units in the Kentlands allowed the Hristopouloses 

to fulfi ll their dream of owning a business and a home.

Live/work units are designed to provide for both residential and commercial uses. Live/work owners conduct 

business on the fi rst fl oor while living upstairs. Businesses you might see in live/work units include restaurants, stores, law offi ces, real estate brokers, nail salons, 

and other neighborhood services.

e Sc

Moore Square 

Museums School
Wellington

Location: Breckenridge, Colo.—Population: 2,663

Breckenridge workers can afford to live close to their jobs, 

thanks to the partnership that created the Wellington neighborhood. 

F

inding a good home in a safe neighborhood, 

convenient to jobs, good schools, and other daily 

needs, can be diffi cult. More often than not, 

neighborhoods with lots of amenities, such as public 

transit, shops, restaurants, parks, churches, and schools, 

are expensive because more people want to live there. 

As a result, people who can’t afford to live in these 

neighborhoods often fi nd themselves either moving far 

from their jobs or living in areas where they might not 

always feel safe. But no one should have to sacrifi ce 

safety or convenience for affordability. Communities 

should strive to provide decent homes in safe neighborhoods for people of all incomes.

When plans were being created to redevelop Denver’s old Stapleton Airport into a neighborhood with 

homes, offi ces, schools, and shops, citizens wanted it 

to include housing in every price range. The Stapleton 

neighborhood has a wide variety of homes at different 

prices, so that everyone from a receptionist to a CEO can 

live in the same neighborhood. There are apartments for 

retirees and people with lower incomes, as well as townhouses and single-family homes. Some residents live 

close enough to their jobs to walk to work, and many 

children can walk to school. 

Stapleton illustrates a range of choices that’s missing in a lot of new developments. Have you ever driven 

through a new community and seen signs advertising 

homes in the “low 300’s” in one direction and “high 

2Safe, Convenient Neighborhoods With Homes 

That People Can Afford

400’s” in another, while “luxury homes starting in the 

900’s” are in a different subdivision—and homes for 

anyone of more modest means are somewhere else 

entirely? That’s not the way neighborhoods used to be 

built.

Middleton Hills, in Middleton, Wisconsin, is trying 

to create more choices by bringing back the traditional 

neighborhood with its blend of residents with different 

incomes and at different stages of life. Built in 1995, 

Middleton Hills resembles many older Midwestern 

neighborhoods. Its wide range of home sizes and prices 

has made it a place many people can afford. “I really 

sense it’s a good, diverse neighborhood,” says Susan 

West, a member of the neighborhood association. “We 

have retired couples, young couples, and new couples.”1

4

Middleton Hills

Location: Middleton, Wis.—Population: 15,956

RURAL

Middleton Hills’ pleasant streets offer the feel of a traditional 

neighborhood, with a variety of house styles to attract diverse 

residents.

Wellington Middleton Hills

ton Mid

Stapleton
The many home choices in Stapleton’s neighborhoods mean 

that singles, families, and empty-nesters can all fi nd a place 

they can afford.

This revitalized neighborhood has become an award-winning 

community. People of various incomes live in its new and 

renovated homes and enjoy its parks, shops, and churches.

Safety, like price, is important when choosing a place 

to live. Careful planning and hard work can make a 

neighborhood safer, and even a dangerous neighborhood 

can be brought back. 

Look at Fall Creek Place, a formerly distressed 

neighborhood on the north side of Indianapolis. Things 

started to improve in the late 1990s, when public and 

private investment began fl owing into the neighborhood. 

Market-rate homes and homes for low- and middleincome families were built side by side, with similar 

style and quality, without displacing any of the existing 

homeowners. Now there are “women joggers, dog walkers, and couples pushing baby strollers out as late as ten 

o’clock at night,” says Chris Palladino, the developer. 

“You never would’ve seen people out at night a few 

years ago.” The neighborhood saw an 80 percent drop in 

major crimes from 2000 to 2004.2

In some communities that are already thriving and 

safe, a different problem has arisen: police offi cers, 

fi refi ghters, teachers, and other essential workers can’t 

afford to live anywhere near their jobs. Breckenridge, 

Fall Creek Place

Location: Indianapolis, Ind.—Population: 784,242

Stapleton

Location: Denver, Colo.—Population: 556,835

5

Stapleton Fall Creek Place URBAN

Colorado, a historic resort town, faced this problem. 

Rising home prices were pushing workers farther and 

farther out, forcing some to brave a 45-minute commute 

over often-snowy mountain passes. To give Breckenridge 

residents more choices, the town government, citizens, 

and property owners worked together with state and federal offi cials to support the construction of Wellington, 

a neighborhood of more than 100 homes. Eighty percent 

of the homes are reserved for purchase by people who 

work in the county, who get them for about one-third 

(or less) of the median home price in Breckenridge. 

“You’ve got to fi nd ways to keep the police offi cers, 

the teachers, the managers in the community,” says Sam 

Mamula, who was mayor of Breckenridge when the Wellington neighborhood was built. “These people are both 

the economic engine and the soul of the town.”3

Places like Stapleton, Middleton Hills, Fall Creek 

Place, and Wellington are still the exception rather than 

the rule. Making communities like these more common 

gives people the opportunity to live near jobs and amenities in neighborhoods that are safe and affordable. ■

Middleton Hills is 

designed to make it easy 

for residents to walk to 

stores and parks.
New Jersey Pinelands

Location: Southern New Jersey—

Size: 1 million acres, 40,000 permanently protected

Over the past 20 years, the New Jersey Pinelands TDR program 

has permanently conserved more than 40,000 acres of farms 

and forests in the nation’s most densely populated state.3

Davidson preserves its small-town feel through careful, inclusive planning. Everyone in the community has a chance to help 

shape development proposals to meet the town’s goals. 

Any new development brings change. It can mean 

new economic opportunities, changes in traffi c, 

more homes, or loss of farmland. Property owners, neighbors, renters, developers, businesses, schools, 

governments, and taxpayers all feel the effects, and they 

all have rights and responsibilities that must be fairly 

balanced.

Developers expect a timely and predictable approval 

process, and citizens expect that new development will 

not harm them and will be consistent with the community’s vision. Both groups should work constructively 

with local government and each other on development 

proposals. Local offi cials should establish development 

policies and priorities that use tax dollars wisely, protect 

public health and welfare, balance the needs of residents 

and developers, include citizens in the decision-making 

process, and plan for the long term.

Thinking about the long term prompted steel industry CEO Robert Grow to wonder, “What are the choices 

we’re leaving our children and grandchildren about 

how they’re going to live? Are we actually robbing them 

of opportunities and choices we had ourselves?”1

 To 

answer these questions, Grow and other leaders in the 

Salt Lake City area formed Envision Utah, a partnership 

of business and civic leaders and policy makers, which 

engaged thousands of residents to discuss their vision 

for growth in the region. In essence, Envision Utah gave 

the people who would be affected by future decisions a 

3Development Decisions 

That Are Fair to Everyone

fair chance to infl uence those decisions, ensuring that 

everyone had a stake in the outcome. The resulting 

vision was a future that conserved more land, provided 

transportation and housing choices, and invested public 

money wisely—all crucial components of a smart growth 

approach to development.

Another region found a way to fairly compensate 

property owners who own land that the community 

wants to preserve because of its agricultural, aesthetic, 

environmental, or cultural value. The New Jersey 

Pinelands is an ecologically unique and sensitive area 

surrounded by encroaching development. To satisfy the 

interests of landowners, developers, and the community, 

the federal and state governments worked with seven 

counties and 53 municipalities to develop a regional, 

6

Davidson

Location: Near Charlotte, N.C.—Population: 8,343

RURAL

New Jersey 

Pinelands Davidson

y Pinel

N

Barracks Row
Careful economic planning helped revitalize Barracks Row, but 

not at the expense of older businesses and longtime residents.

Salt Lake City’s Gateway Plaza is one result of towns and 

citizens coming together and planning for the future they 

want for the region. 

market-based transfer of development rights (TDR) program. Property owners get money from selling development rights that are tied to their land. Developers can 

buy these rights to build in areas designated for growth. 

And the community knows that the green space will be 

protected.

Balancing interests fairly is important, and a clear, 

predictable, timely, and participatory process helps to 

ensure fair results. One such process is a “charrette,” 

a series of workshops in which community members 

discuss their concerns, ideas, and goals for development; developers explain their proposals; and professional designers illustrate these ideas and suggest ways 

to fulfi ll the community’s vision. In Davidson, North 

Carolina, every new development proposal must go 

through a charrette. Developer Frank Jacobus says that 

the charrette helped him “come up with a new plan that 

was better than the original.”2

 The collaboration gives 

residents a fair chance to express their concerns and 

goals. Developers benefi t because the process is predictable and enables them to line up public support so that 

their projects can move forward smoothly.

When neglected communities revitalize, longtime 

residents and business owners who suffered through 

the bad times should be able to share in the good times. 

However, as these communities attract more investment, 

they often become more expensive, making it harder for 

existing residents and business owners to stay. Barracks 

Row, a historic Main Street in southeast Washington, 

D.C., is experiencing a renaissance. As new shops and 

restaurants fi ll the once-vacant commercial buildings, 

the local Main Street organization encourages new businesses to hire nearby residents. The organization also 

has provided loans to established businesses for façade 

improvements and has brought in consultants and other 

resources to help those businesses adapt to changes.

“There’s always a danger, when you go into a community and start to revitalize it, that it will run out the 

people who live there and work there,” says Denise 

D’Amour, who co-owns a bike shop and a specialty 

shop selling hand-crafted gifts and home furnishings. 

“Barracks Row Main Street has really made an effort 

not to let that happen.” The partnerships in Barracks 

Row have helped ensure that businesses, residents, and 

other members of the community are responsible to one 

another for the neighborhood’s success. 

Ultimately, “fair” does not mean that everyone will 

agree with the result. What it does mean, at a minimum, 

is that a community should engage the public in development decisions in good faith. This means involving 

citizens early enough for their input to be effective, letting people air their concerns openly, assessing impacts, 

addressing undue hardships, and providing developers 

with a more predictable process. ■

Barracks Row

Location: Washington, D.C.—Population: 553,523

Envision Utah

Location: Greater Wasatch Area, Utah—

Population: 1.6 million in 1995, 2.7 million projected by 2020

7

Barracks Row Envision Utah URBAN

n:

Public transit is a key component of Envision Utah’s plan for growth.
Carroll County

Location: West of Atlanta, Ga.—Population (entire county): 87,268

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners responded to area 

residents’ desire for clean water and scenic beauty by purchasing wetlands and other sensitive lands.

Public investment in Burlington’s Main Street has brought 

people to other downtown events, like this farmers’ market.

When our tax dollars are invested in growth 

and development, we expect that our lives 

and the community as a whole will improve. 

We want to get the most out of investments we’ve 

already made and use our current resources wisely, 

building where it makes sense to build and not duplicating or undermining previous expenditures. 

Studies have shown, and communities are discovering, that more compact development makes tax dollars go farther because it reduces the cost of providing 

services and infrastructure.1

 The Minneapolis–St. Paul 

Metropolitan Council found that by using smart growth 

techniques, “the region overall could save $3 billion . . . , 

94 percent [of which] would come from local communities saving money on roads and sewers. These local 

savings could be even far greater by including lower 

spending on school construction and other services 

such as health care, public safety, libraries, etc.”2

 The 

Metropolitan Council helps its member governments 

generate these savings by investing in projects in established cities and suburbs. In St. Louis Park, a suburb 

of Minneapolis, public funding helped get the Excelsior 

and Grand project off the ground. While the project was 

mainly funded by private investment, the public contribution was around 20 percent of the total cost. The 

development has created a downtown for St. Louis Park 

and sparked a residential building boom. 

As the Metropolitan Council’s efforts show, it is up 

to state and municipal governments to direct public and 

4Investing Taxpayer 

Money Wisely in 

Our Communities

private investment to areas where they want growth or 

revitalization. Paying for new infrastructure for development on the fringes of a community—while neglecting 

buildings and infrastructure in which the community 

has already invested—is not fi scally prudent, but it is 

often how communities grow. Increasingly, however, 

communities are realizing that this approach undermines their efforts to strengthen downtowns and 

improve existing infrastructure. 

In Florence, Alabama, city leaders struggled with an 

aging downtown that was losing stores and residents. 

To make the most of investments in the area, Florence 

made a bold decision to build a state-of-the-art library 

in the heart of town. This investment reassured citizens 

and businesses that additional private dollars invested in 

the area would not be wasted, and now it is paying off: 

nearly 95 percent of downtown buildings are occupied.3

By working with what it already had to revive the downtown, Florence has given new meaning to its nickname, 

“The Renaissance City.”

The Mefford family played a role in the city’s recent 

turnaround. “We really wanted to stay downtown,” says 

Olin Mefford, whose grandfather opened a jewelry store 

there in 1945. Encouraged by the visible public investment and the commitment of business owners like the 

Meffords, other businesses have moved downtown, 

bringing hundreds of jobs.4

 “I feel better now than at 

any time in the last 20 years,” Mefford says, pointing 

to new restaurants and increased foot traffi c. “Even the 

8

Burlington

Location: Southeastern Iowa—Population: 25,579

RURAL Carroll County Burlington Florence

arrol
Excelsior & Grand

Florence’s public investment in the downtown sparked a 

revival along its main street.

Strategic public investment helped to create this walkable 

town center for St. Louis Park, adding stores, housing, services, 

and a new town green.

old stinky pool hall has been remodeled. They have live 

music on the weekends now. There’s just a lot going on.”

One way to make the most of public investment is 

to reuse an old structure in a new way. In Burlington, 

Iowa, residents worried that shopping malls outside 

of town were drawing business and vitality away from 

downtown. The closing of the historic Hotel Burlington, 

once considered the fi nest hotel in the Midwest, was a 

particularly painful blow. In 1985, Burlington started a 

Main Street program, spawning local partnerships that 

created a start-up center for new businesses, expanded 

the local farmers’ market, and turned the old Hotel 

Burlington into the Burlington Apartments, where senior 

citizens of varying incomes can live close to shopping, 

parks, and other downtown amenities. Other projects 

include a new grocery store and the recent redevelopment of a downtown department store, which is now 

home to a coffee and sandwich shop, a bridal shop, 

offi ces, and apartments. Val Giannettino, the Main Street 

program director, hopes that the new stores and services 

will bring in more residents. “Nobody would have ever 

thought of living downtown until very recently,” she 

says. “I think we’re very similar to many of these other 

towns that have reinvented themselves.” 

As Florence and Burlington have shown, strategic 

public investments can deliver multiple benefi ts. Not 

only did these towns get new or renovated buildings, 

but they also got the added benefi ts of new amenities, 

an increased tax base, and a lively downtown to attract 

Florence

Location: Northwestern Alabama—Population: 36,258

Excelsior & Grand

Location: St. Louis Park, Minn.—Population: 43,607

9

Excelsior & Grand URBAN

When you hear the word infrastructure, you probably 

think of roads, sewers, or utility lines. But the term can 

also include hospitals, schools, emergency services 

like fi refi ghters and police, sidewalks, or ponds to hold 

stormwater. Infrastructure generally means any permanent resources that serve the community and are 

publicly funded.

visitors and residents. 

In Carroll County, Georgia, where development pressure from fast-growing Atlanta is mounting, investments 

to protect water quality are also protecting the scenic 

landscapes that residents love. Robert Barr, a lifelong 

resident and chairman of the Carroll County Board of 

Commissioners, notes that the county’s water supply 

comes almost entirely from surface water. He and others 

decided that the best way to protect water quality was 

by acquiring land in sensitive environmental areas and 

wetlands along rivers and streams. At the same time, 

in countywide listening sessions, Barr heard repeatedly 

that citizens valued their quality of life, which “centered 

on the rural nature, the beauty of the county.” With this 

input, the county has succeeded in protecting critical 

environmental areas while preserving its treasured rural 

scenery. 

Public investments in communities should be wise 

and enduring. Communities have to balance their limited resources between taking care of what they have 

and building new places. Thoughtful public investments 

based on smart growth principles can accomplish both 

of these goals. ■
Skagit County

Location: Northwest Washington State—

Population (entire county): 111,064

Skagit County’s fertile river valley produces more than 90 different crops and more tulip, daffodil, and iris bulbs than any 

other county in the United States. 

In addition to restoring natural lands, Coffee Creek Center encourages 

walking and bicycling to reduce pollution from cars, builds homes with 

environmentally friendly materials, and uses energy-saving measures 

to conserve resources and protect the environment. 

F

rom “amber waves of grain” to “purple mountains’ majesty,” natural landscapes help defi ne 

the character of our nation and our communities. 

Whether it’s a community garden in a busy neighborhood; a scenic river where people fi sh, kayak, or hike 

along the banks; or a “pick your own strawberries” 

farm, people care about conserving recreational, scenic, 

working, and environmentally valuable lands. Between 

1994 and 2005, citizens in 45 states voted to fi nance 

more than $30 billion worth of conservation measures.1

Communities around the country are buying land or 

directing development toward areas better suited for 

building. This tremendous public support for conservation refl ects how strongly people feel about natural 

places.

Parks, natural areas, and scenic landscapes also have 

great economic value. Protected open space increases 

the property values of nearby homes and attracts 

tourism and recreation. Working lands like farms and 

ranches support local economies, strengthen the tax 

base, and provide food. Preserving and restoring environmentally important areas such as wetlands helps 

protect drinking water from pollution, reducing the need 

for costly water treatment infrastructure. 

Coffee Creek Center in Chesterton, Indiana, is capitalizing on many of these values. By restoring nearly 170 

acres of land that naturally manages stormwater, developers reduced the need to build expensive infrastructure. 

Conserving this land also protects the beauty of the 

5Protecting and Preserving 

Our Natural Heritage and 

Working Lands

prairies, woods, and wetlands for visitors and residents 

of this traditional, walkable neighborhood, which has 

fi ve miles of trails and other outdoor amenities. “This is 

a preserve they can enjoy and see every day,” says Kelle 

Anne Mobley, the development company’s director of 

operations. “If you design [the community] properly, 

when you have all these natural areas to enjoy, you’re 

more likely to be outside and walking to the store or 

walking with friends. It just lends itself to connecting 

with your fellow neighbors.”

A distinctive landscape can make a community a 

great place to live, and local residents want to preserve 

that character. Skagit County, Washington, midway 

between Seattle and Vancouver, relies economically on 

agriculture and doesn’t want to lose its farming heritage 

and culture to the area’s rapid growth. To protect both 

farmland and the local way of life, the county’s Farmland Legacy Program buys development rights from 

interested farmers so that they can keep farming, and it 

directs development to more suitable areas. In this way 

the county is able to grow while protecting the agriculture that means so much economically and culturally.

Buying land or development rights is one way to 

protect our working and natural lands; another is to 

make it easy and attractive to live in more developed 

areas, reducing the demand for development on green 

space. Cuyahoga County, Ohio, home to Cleveland and 

its inner suburbs, had lost more than 300,000 residents 

from the 1970s through the late 1990s. Families who 

10

Coffee Creek Center

Location: Chesterton, Ind.—Population: 11,570

RURAL Skagit County Coffee Creek Center

ounty

hi
The county’s low-interest, home-improvement loan program 

“came at a very good time for us. Our family’s funds were low,” 

says Edward Caraszi, a loan recipient. “We will be staying in 

this house longer as a result.”3

The park system includes wilderness areas; shorelines; camping sites; places to swim, boat, or fi sh; and more than 1,000 

miles of trails. Some parks are accessible by public transit.

were looking for larger or newer homes unavailable in 

the urban county moved out to previously undeveloped 

areas. Now the county offers an innovative, low-interest, 

home-improvement loan program that makes it easier 

and less expensive for residents to repair, renovate, or 

improve their homes—and that is keeping people in 

the county. According to County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, 

“Eighty percent [of the loan applicants] said they will 

stay in the home longer since they were able to do their 

improvements.”2

At the same time, preserving green space in urban 

areas is critical for residents’ quality of life. City parks 

and community gardens offer recreation and respite 

from the urban bustle. With the support of local residents, the East Bay Regional Park District in the populous San Francisco–Oakland metropolitan area has 

preserved historic farms, woodlands and grasslands, and 

signifi cant portions of the San Francisco Bay coastline. 

The park system comprises roughly 85,000 acres in 

Alameda and Contra Costa counties where, a short distance from their homes, residents can swim, hike, fi sh, 

picnic, and enjoy natural beauty. 

Robert Pike, who lives about 20 miles south of 

Oakland, notes that within the huge park system “are 

literally thousands of hiking trails,” ranging from easy, 

fl at paths to steep mountain trails where “you might 

not see anyone for hours.” Pike volunteers in the Sunol 

Regional Wilderness, where students learn about nature 

and the traditions of Native Americans who fi rst settled 

the area. “These kids are brought here from Oakland, 

and they’re in an environment they’ve never seen before 

in their lives,” Pike says. “There are snakes and spiders 

and bobcats. There are all these trees. And they don’t 

know where all the houses have gone.”

In the past, development that brought new jobs, 

stores, and homes often meant giving up the farms, 

streams, and culture that people had known all their 

lives. Now, local governments, developers, and citizens 

are fi nding smarter ways to grow—bringing economic 

opportunity while preserving our landscapes for the 

future. ■

Cuyahoga County

Location: Northeastern Ohio—Population (entire county): 1,393,978

East Bay Regional Park District

Location: Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, Calif.—

Population: 2.5 million

11

URBAN

East Bay Regional 

Cuyahoga County Park District

trict

nti

Coffee Creek Center

One of the East Bay Regional Park District’s 65 parks
Missoula

Location: Western Montana—Population: 57,053

To make people feel more comfortable commuting by bus, vanor carpool, bicycle, or foot, the Missoula in Motion partnership 

offers commuters a free, guaranteed ride home in the event of 

an emergency or unexpected overtime.

Tim Bustos, Davis’ pedestrian and bicycling coordinator, notes, 

“The city’s extensive network of greenbelts is critical, because 

it makes parents comfortable with their children cycling. They 

don’t have to worry about their kids interacting with traffi c.”5

Think about the choices you have for getting 

around town. In many places in this country, you 

must use a car, because other options are not 

safe, practical, or even possible. But when snow, sleet, or 

construction snarl traffi c, can you ride a train or bus to 

work instead? If you’re in the middle of baking cookies 

and you run out of butter, can you safely send your child 

to a corner market? As you grow older, will you be able 

to go to the store, a doctor’s appointment, or a friend’s 

house on your own if you can no longer drive? Communities need to provide options for those who can’t or 

choose not to own a car, for children and seniors who 

want more independence, and for people who might 

want to drive to work one day and bike the next.

The key to effi cient transportation is to have multiple 

routes and types of transportation. In many places, we 

rely on highways and busy arterial streets to get from 

one place to another because there are few alternate 

routes. Then, when there’s traffi c or an accident, we’re 

stuck. But when our streets are connected in a complete 

network, we can choose from many different routes to 

get from point A to point B. Streets should be designed 

not only to move cars but also to be safe and inviting 

for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users. Such design 

means appropriate speeds, widths, and sidewalks, as 

well as buildings, trees, and even benches. Often, communities already have the basic infrastructure for people 

to get around without a car; they just need to make a few 

improvements so that it’s easier and more comfortable.

6Freedom to Choose 

How We Get Around

Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac 

River from Washington, D.C., gives its residents a wealth 

of options for getting around. Walking is easy because 

homes, offi ces, stores, and civic buildings are grouped 

near subway stations and in close proximity to each 

other. Forty percent of the people who live in the county’s subway corridors commute by public transit,1

 compared with a national average of about 5 percent.2

 For 

12

Davis

Location: Northern California—Population: 60,308

RURAL Missoula Davis

A Metro station in Arlington
For people who need cars only occasionally, car sharing 

is a popular concept. Typically, a company or organization owns a fl eet of cars that can be reserved by the 

hour. They are parked at strategic locations around a city. 

Members pay a fee to join and are charged an hourly 

rate to use the vehicle without having to pay separately 

for gas, maintenance, and insurance.

South Providence’s “Path to Health” encourages residents of 

this low-income neighborhood to bike and walk for exercise, 

for fun, and to get to where they need to go.

Arlington’s range of transportation choices has made it one of the few 

places in the country that’s managed to grow without signifi cantly 

increasing traffi c, benefi ting not only the people who choose to walk, 

bike, or take transit, but also those who choose to drive.

areas not served by the subway, the county has tailored 

bus routes to key corridors. It also has partnered with 

car-sharing companies to provide vehicles for residents 

to rent, making it easier for citizens to choose to own 

one car instead of two or three or not to own a car at all. 

Arlington’s comprehensive approach to transportation 

ensures that its residents, whatever their age, ability, or 

preference, have many options for getting around.

Subways or other rail systems may not work for 

smaller communities, but transit still plays an important 

role. Many communities use bus systems to supplement 

transportation choices. In Missoula, Montana, bus lines 

take people almost anywhere in the city. Students at the 

University of Montana ride for free, and businesses can 

arrange for employee discounts. While cars are still an 

important part of most Missoulians’ lives, the bus helps 

ensure that when people can’t or don’t want to drive, 

they can still get where they need to go.

Bikes are another option, especially for the roughly 

60 percent of all daily trips in the United States that are 

under fi ve miles.3

 Using bicycles to get around requires 

safe streets, bike routes and trails, and adequate bike 

parking. Davis, California, instituted strong policies to 

support biking and has one of the highest levels of bicycle commuting in the country—17 percent.4

 Davis has 

more than 100 miles of bike lanes and trails and thousands of bike parking spaces. The city has a good bus 

system, too, giving residents other transportation options. 

Then, there’s walking. In Providence, Rhode 

Island, South Providence Neighborhood Ministries has 

mapped a two-and-a-half mile pedestrian route along 

the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare, Broad Street. 

The nonprofi t group has linked a host of health-related 

programs and activities to what it calls the Broad Street 

“Path to Health,” which is lined with mom-and-pop 

shops and restaurants. Walkers can track their mileage 

on the path by checking signs marking every half mile in 

four languages. And along the route, South Providence 

Neighborhood Ministries offers various services to lowincome residents, including exercise and stress management classes, health screenings, and food distribution 

programs. Bobbi Houllahan, the nonprofi t group’s health 

coordinator, notes that Broad Street also is the route of a 

bus line that is heavily used by residents. “We have a lot 

of refugees and immigrants,” Houllahan says. “People 

can’t afford cars.”

People want more transportation choices, whether 

it’s to save money on gas, to get into shape by walking 

or biking to their destinations, or to have a more relaxing commute. Communities can provide these choices by 

making it easy for residents and visitors to drive, walk, 

bike, or take transit. Large or small, every community 

can use smart growth techniques to give people the freedom to choose how they get around. ■

South Providence

Location: Rhode Island—Population: 173,618

Arlington County

Location: Northern Virginia—Population (entire county): 189,453

13

South Providence Arlington County URBAN

rovid nty
Edwards Aquifer

Location: Central Texas—Size: 4,400 square miles

Protecting undeveloped land around San Antonio and Austin 

will mean safe, clean drinking water for generations to come.

With homes, shops, the senior center, doctors’ offi ces, a library, 

and more, downtown Saratoga Springs has everything seniors 

need to feel safe, welcome, and active in their retirement 

years.

The way we design, live in, and get around our 

communities directly affects our health. Many 

of the techniques that make communities more 

attractive and affordable places to live also make them 

healthier places. Streets that are safe and comfortable for 

walkers and bikers encourage people to get more exercise as part of their daily routines. Having transportation 

options besides cars helps reduce traffi c and air pollution. And preserving green space helps protect water 

quality while making communities more attractive.

Research shows that while daily physical activity is 

vital for keeping fi t and healthy, most people don’t get 

the exercise they need. When a community is designed 

to be easier to get around, people can more easily incorporate physical activity into their daily lives. 

Children can get daily exercise by walking or biking to school, but many parents are concerned about 

safety. Many communities have come up with innovative solutions, like the “walking school bus,” in which 

adult volunteers walk groups of children to school. The 

Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood in Cleveland, 

Ohio, instituted such a program to encourage children 

to walk to school. In another effort, local teenagers got 

training on bicycle safety and repairs and received free 

refurbished bicycles; the kids then toured every street in 

Slavic Village to map safe bicycling and walking routes.

Our youngest and oldest community members are 

typically the most vulnerable to health problems from 

air and water pollution. Children are especially suscep7Healthy Communities 

for All Ages

tible to respiratory problems like asthma, which can 

be worsened by air pollution. People in many large 

metro politan regions know about “code red” days, 

when the air quality is so poor that even healthy people 

are advised not to exercise outdoors, and children, 

the elderly, and individuals with respiratory and heart 

problems are advised to spend as little time outside as 

possible. Atlanta, Georgia, offers a dramatic example of 

the effects of air pollution on asthma. During the 1996 

Olympic Games, when the city discouraged driving 

and increased public transportation, rush-hour traffi c 

decreased substantially and ozone levels fell sharply. 

During the same period, the number of asthma-related 

medical emergencies in Atlanta fell by 42 percent.1

Reducing air pollution from driving was a key goal for 

Atlantic Station, a new neighborhood built on the site of 

14

Saratoga Springs

Location: Upstate New York—Population: 27,686

RURAL Edwards Aquifer Saratoga Springs

ward

Slavic Village
Slavic Village is encouraging kids to be active by making walking 

and biking in the neighborhood safer.

Atlantic Station’s in-town location and proximity to public 

transportation, new jobs, and stores mean residents don’t 

have to drive as much to meet their daily needs, helping to 

reduce air pollution from cars.

a former steel mill in Atlanta.2 Most growth in Atlanta is 

expected to occur outside the city, increasing commuting times. By contrast, Atlantic Station is near Midtown 

Atlanta and close to public transportation. It has homes, 

shops, offi ces, and parks close enough together that 

residents, workers, and visitors can walk to their destinations. Atlantic Station meets other community health 

goals as well. The redevelopment cleaned up a contaminated site, and the parks and pedestrian-friendly design 

of the neighborhood encourage people to be active. 

Places designed for people to be active are also 

places that enable people to stay in the same neighborhood as they grow older, a concept embraced by many 

of the nation’s baby boomers. Saratoga Springs, New 

York, where approximately 18 percent of the population is more than 60 years old, is one such place where 

homes, stores, and services are close together and 

served by public transit. 

Older residents don’t have to move out of town as 

their needs change. Homes and apartments are close to 

the Saratoga Springs Senior Center, a library, stores, and 

medical services. Besides being able to walk or drive, 

older adults can use free downtown transportation and 

the local Amtrak station. 

Designing communities that make it easy for older 

residents to stay in their homes lets them remain active 

and continue to enjoy the companionship of neighbors 

of all ages. Most of us don’t want to think about it, but 

there will come a day when we can no longer drive. The 

question is, when that day arrives, do you want to live 

in a neighborhood where you can walk or take transit 

to a coffee shop, a doctor’s offi ce, a friend’s house, or a 

pharmacy? Or do you want to rely on fi nding someone 

to drive you everywhere you need to go?

Another health-related goal that smart development 

strategies can help us achieve is good water quality. 

Many communities around the country are protecting 

their water supplies by directing growth away from areas 

near drinking water sources or by preserving undeveloped land around those sources to protect them from 

pollution. The preserved land not only protects water 

quality, it also gives people valued places to play, relax, 

and connect with nature. Voters in San Antonio and 

Austin, Texas, have approved tax increases and bonds to 

buy land over the Edwards Aquifer, which supplies both 

cities with drinking water. The cities and their partners 

buy only from willing sellers and pay fair market value 

for the land. By preserving it as parkland, they spend 

less than they would to build water-treatment facilities, and they protect beautiful and culturally important 

natural places.

Places designed with smart growth principles—such 

as making walking and bicycling safe and attractive, 

protecting natural resources vital to our health, and 

supporting communities where people of all ages can 

live comfortably—help everyone in the community 

lead healthier lives. Making the healthy choice the 

easy choice can encourage physical activity and reduce 

pollution. ■

Slavic Village

Location: Cleveland, Ohio—Population: 458,684

Atlantic Station

Location: Atlanta, Ga.—Population: 349,555

15

Slavic Village Atlantic Station URBAN

Atlantic Station
Traverse City

Location: Northern Michigan—Population: 14,532

The citizen-inspired master plan helped make downtown 

Traverse City an interesting, engaging place to stroll, shop, or 

just relax.

Brick sidewalks, lush landscaping, and homes and shops close 

together give this neighborhood a “historic” character that 

attracts residents and visitors alike.

The physical design of a community affects our 

lives every time we step out our doors. Places 

that are designed with people in mind show 

careful attention to the experience each person will 

have with the street, the sidewalk, the buildings, and 

the surrounding environment. Buildings and routes are 

close together so that people can stroll from one place to 

another. Sidewalks have benches where weary walkers 

can rest or just people-watch. The buildings along the 

street are eye-catching, and shop windows facing the 

street encourage browsers to look inside the stores. Cars 

park by the curb, or in secure parking lots behind the 

building, to present a more welcoming and safer front 

entrance for pedestrians. Trees, squares, and “pocket 

parks” offer shade, beauty, and peace.

8Places Designed 

for People

The organization Project for Public Spaces points out 

that “activities are the building blocks of a place. They 

are the reasons people come the fi rst time and why they 

return.”1

 Traverse City, Michigan, long a favorite tourist 

site for its natural beauty and annual Cherry Festival, 

has made its downtown a destination for both visitors 

and residents. In 1997, following citizens’ wishes, the 

city rewrote its master plan to replace its downtown 

parking lots with homes, shops, and businesses. Today, 

its historic buildings are interspersed with attractive 

new ones; a trout stream runs through the middle of 

downtown; and tree-lined sidewalks go past parks, 

restaurants, shops, and offi ces. As in all successful town 

centers, the wide variety of activities piques visitors’ 

interest and brings residents back again and again.

Many people enjoy neighborhoods where they can 

get to know and chat with their neighbors. Places that 

are designed for people recognize the importance of this 

kind of personal interaction. Well-designed neighborhoods with attractive sidewalks, small parks, and shops 

and restaurants that serve the community lend themselves to chance encounters with friends and neighbors. 

This is what Dan Camp had in mind when he developed 

the Cotton District in Starkville, Mississippi, a sociable, 

walkable neighborhood where artfully crafted homes 

are linked with brick walkways and narrow, landscaped 

streets. “People like the intimacy we can offer them,” 

Camp says. “When you live in the Cotton District, you 

feel like you live in a neighborhood.”2

 Even though the 

16

Cotton District

Location: Starkville, Miss.—Population: 21,869

RURAL Traverse City Cotton District

Cotton District
Charming homes, mature live oaks, and narrow streets lead to 

a central green that’s lined with small commercial buildings in 

the tradition of a small village.

Portland’s streets and blocks are designed to make pedestrians feel comfortable in this large city built at a human scale.

Cotton District is only a couple of decades old, visitors 

often believe it is one of Starkville’s most beautiful “historic neighborhoods.”3

Designing for people can create value that lasts 

for generations. Haile Village Center, just outside of 

Gainesville, Florida, is a new neighborhood of homes 

and small commercial buildings set around a village 

green. Throughout its development, many old trees 

were preserved, and homes and shops were constructed 

in the elegant building styles found in the small towns 

of north-central Florida. The developer wasn’t trying 

to return to the past; rather, he was using time-tested 

characteristics that Floridians have long embraced. Haile 

Village Center’s delightful public squares and plazas 

host neighborhood celebrations and farmers’ markets. 

Although it is just a small part of the 2,000-acre masterplanned Haile Plantation, the Village Center has become 

the focal point for the entire community.

Attorney David Coffey, a former Gainesville mayor 

and commissioner, has lived and worked in the Village Center for more than eight years. “When I walk to 

work it takes fi ve minutes,” Coffey says. “When I drive 

it takes one minute, and I barely have to put my foot 

on the accelerator. I can go home for lunch whenever I 

want. But it isn’t just going to work. Many things I have 

to do on a daily basis, I can do right here in the Village 

Center.”4

Portland, Oregon, demonstrates this idea on a larger 

scale. The city’s streets, which feature fountains, art, 

and short city blocks, have made Portland one of the 

nation’s most walkable cities. This quality is enhanced 

by the city’s vibrant mix of shops, cafes, and galleries. 

The pedestrian is the primary benefi ciary of all this careful planning, but businesses benefi t as well: the short 

blocks create more valuable corner locations, and more 

pedestrian traffi c means more shoppers.

Walkability, beauty, sociability, and access to activities are critical ingredients in designing for people. 

When these elements are brought together through 

careful, smart design, our communities become timeless 

places for people who want safety, convenience, and 

choices in how they get around and where they go. ■

Haile Village Center

Location: Near Gainesville, Fla.—Population of Gainesville: 108,856

Portland

Location: Northwestern Oregon—Population: 533,492

17

Haile Village Center Portland URBAN

age 

Portland

Traverse City
Konza Prairie

Location: Near Manhattan, Kansas—

Population: 200+ bison on 8,600 acres

Bison still graze Konza Prairie, an important ecosystem that 

has remained intact for thousands of years.

Although it was designed in the late 1990s, Southlake Town 

Square is built on centuries-old historic traditions.

Every structure we build, every street we pave, 

every tree we plant, and every public square 

we shape contributes to the legacy we leave to 

those who will live in or visit our community after us. 

We all want to hand down strong, healthy, beautiful 

places where neighbors know one another; job opportunities are abundant; and people of all races, incomes, 

and backgrounds are welcome. But how do we plan to 

achieve this? 

Imagine how confusing and ineffi cient it would be if 

you didn’t plan ahead for a journey. You’d have to keep 

stopping, changing direction, backtracking, trying to fi gure out if you were on the right track or if you needed to 

fi nd a new way. It would be just as diffi cult and ineffective for a community to plan its development solely on 

the basis of what it sees coming in the next fi ve years. 

Planning for 50 or even 100 years into the future helps 

a community articulate the legacy it wants, set goals to 

achieve it, and create benchmarks it can use to check its 

progress and make necessary changes along the way.

Charleston, South Carolina, has taken this long-term 

view, preserving its legacy from years gone by, but also 

enriching that legacy for future residents and visitors. 

Its cobblestone streets, gardens tended for decades, 

moss-covered oak trees, and elegant churches make 

Charleston the distinctive place it is today. Proud of this 

heritage, Charlestonians have taken the responsibility 

not only to pass on what they’ve inherited, but also to 

honor the past by building new structures—whether 

9A Lasting Legacy 

in Our Communities

parking garages or public libraries—that fi t gracefully 

into the community’s aesthetics. “There’s no excuse 

to build anything that doesn’t add to the beauty of a 

city,” says Mayor Joseph Riley. “Humans and cities need 

memories.”1

Like Charleston, many communities around the 

nation have beautiful homes, historic churches, main 

streets, and grand civic structures that give them their 

identity. These historic structures enrich our lives aesthetically and link us to our history. At the same time, 

well-built buildings and civic spaces are durable and 

fl exible enough to adapt as needs, customs, and technologies change. The town of Lowell, Massachusetts, 

grew up around textile mills that were revolutionary in 

both their manufacturing methods and the progressive 

18

Southlake Town Square

Location: Southlake, Texas—Population: 24,490

RURAL

Konza 

Prairie

Southlake 

Town Square

za Prai

nh re

Southlake Town Square
Yesterday’s textile mill is today’s civic, business, and housing 

center. Reusing these old buildings links Lowell to its history 

while providing valuable services for the future. 

Long-term planning, respect for history, and attention to detail 

give Charleston its unique character, attract tourists, and generate civic pride.

living conditions they provided for workers from diverse 

backgrounds. The Victorian-era mill buildings now serve 

a variety of modern uses, including offi ces, homes, 

and museums, while their legacy of improving life for 

blue-collar workers is echoed in the day-care center and 

the apartments reserved for lower-income residents and 

seniors.

Newly established communities can also build on 

the past to create a lasting legacy. In Southlake, Texas, 

a growing suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth, the 

town square revives the old-time courthouse square 

pattern, the fi rst time in a century that a Texas town 

has been built in this historic manner. As in traditional 

towns, Southlake Town Square incorporates stores, a 

park, homes, and such civic uses as the town hall, a 

library, and the county commission’s offi ce, all in one 

central place. Residents enjoy this new town square: as 

many as 20,000 people attend the annual Fourth of July 

celebrations, and twice that many come to arts festivals 

and other events that are held there.2

Sometimes our responsibility is simply to be good 

stewards of what we’ve inherited: rivers that provide 

Lowell

Location: Northern Massachusetts—Population: 103,655

Charleston

Location: Coastal South Carolina—Population: 104,883

19

Lowell Charleston URBAN

clean water, forests with wildlife habitat and recreational 

space, scenic mountain views, and other precious 

natural resources. The Midwest’s tallgrass prairies are 

thousands of years old, ecologically unique, and historically signifi cant for their contributions to the livelihoods 

of Native Americans and early settlers. Yet less than 1 

percent of the original tallgrass prairie remains.3

Konza Prairie, near Manhattan, Kansas, is part of 

the state’s Flint Hills region, where the tallgrass prairie 

remains relatively intact after years of good stewardship 

of the land by ranchers. Although Konza is an important 

research site, with scientists studying the roles of fi re, 

grazing and climate in maintaining the tallgrass prairie 

ecosystem, the public is still allowed to hike in parts of 

the reserve. Cattle and bison still graze the land, which, 

in conjunction with periodic, controlled burning, helps 

keep the prairie healthy.

By preserving tangible links with our history, we 

honor our past. By planning new development that we 

can be proud of, we honor our future. With thoughtful planning, we can pass on a legacy of beautiful and 

vibrant communities for generations to come. ■

Charleston
Littleton

Location: Northern New Hampshire—Population: 6,116

Littleton made sure that its revival met multiple community 

goals, including economic growth, educational opportunities, 

and attractive buildings and streets.

Lakewood adapted its aging mall into a lively new town center. 

Belmar has an ice-skating rink, shops, restaurants, offi ces, 

live/work units, and other housing options. 

I

n many places, developers, environmental organizations, and smart growth groups are working together 

to support development projects that meet economic, 

environmental, and community goals. In fact, across the 

country, communities are using development to solve a 

variety of local problems. In the process, they are revitalizing vacant buildings and properties, creating housing 

choices, and bringing new amenities to neighborhoods. 

In Lakewood, Colorado, an aging, half-vacant shopping mall became an award-winning new neighborhood 

called Belmar. The developer worked with residents, 

many of whom felt attached to the old mall and were 

worried about losing it, to develop a plan that incorporated citizens’ desires and needs. Now Belmar is the 

walkable downtown that this Denver inner suburb had 

lacked. It has brought residents new stores, meeting 

places, and housing options, and it’s creating jobs and 

bringing new revenue to the community. “Everything 

about it is just fabulous,” says Samantha Bales, a Belmar 

homeowner. “The whole design, the concept, the whole 

look of the area. It’s the new downtown Lakewood.”1

All around us, we see places that have been 

improved by new development like Belmar. Communities that once lacked a decent grocery store now have 

places to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. Old factories, 

industrial areas, and parking lots are being cleaned of 

pollution and turned into vibrant neighborhoods where 

people can live, shop, and work. Orlando, Florida, met 

the challenge of losing a military base by transforming 

10Growth and Development That Improves 

Our Communities

the property into a new community, Baldwin Park. The 

neighborhood has hundreds of acres of parks; several 

different housing types, from apartments to townhouses 

to high-end homes; shops; offi ces; and more than 50 

miles of walking trails and sidewalks. Bob Giguere, a 

television producer who lives two blocks away, runs and 

bikes in Baldwin Park. He can do his grocery shopping, 

go out to eat, or get a haircut without getting in his car 

and dealing with traffi c. “For me, all of that is attractive,” he says. “I don’t have to go as far. I’m surrounded 

by all of the things I actually need.”

Baldwin Park illustrates how the trauma of losing a 

major employer can sometimes turn into an opportunity 

to start anew with development that offers something 

for the whole community. With the loss of hundreds of 

manufacturing jobs, Littleton, New Hampshire, looked 

to its Main Street to revitalize the economy, encouraging 

20

Belmar

Location: Lakewood, Colo.—Population: 141,301

RURAL Littleton Belmar

eton

Affordable homes at Cowart Place, a mixed-income 

development built in downtown Chattanooga by CNE
Riverfront cleanup and revitalization, along with a concerted 

effort to keep neighborhoods affordable for residents, has 

improved Chattanooga’s prospects for the future.

Baldwin Park developed from a closed military base into an 

attractive neighborhood with new jobs, homes, and parks.

unique shops to move into the street’s empty storefronts. 

Ruth Taylor, executive director of Littleton’s Main Street 

program, explains, “We want to give shoppers something different. Instead of wondering what mall they are 

in, we want them to enjoy a unique experience in downtown Littleton.”2

 The effort paid off in new businesses, 

jobs, and investment. Littleton used the revitalization of 

its downtown to improve other aspects of the community, including education. The local high school created 

“Main Street Academies” to give students real-world 

experience working with downtown businesses and the 

town government. The town of Littleton has succeeded 

in using development to revitalize the economy and 

make downtown a jobs center, a shopping destination, 

and a learning experience. 

Not everyone in the community will agree that 

development is going to help, and when they don’t, they 

have both the right and the responsibility to speak up 

and work with the local government, developers, and 

other residents to address their concerns. For example, 

residents might fear that new development will end up 

making their neighborhood unaffordable.

Chattanooga, Tennessee, addressed that issue headon when it embarked on a revitalization effort in the 

mid-1980s. During the previous two decades, the city, 

like many other manufacturing-intensive towns, suffered from severe air pollution, pockets of concentrated 

poverty, and disinvestment. Thousands of citizens came 

together to turn Chattanooga around, starting with a 

visioning process in 1984 that produced two catalysts 

for revitalization. One was turning the riverfront into a 

destination for residents and tourists—building attractions such as the popular Tennessee Aquarium and the 

Hunter Museum of American Art, connecting the riverfront to the city with pedestrian bridges, and making the 

waterfront a pleasant, inviting place to visit with public 

art, picnic areas, greenery, and cultural attractions. The 

other spark from the visioning process was Chattanooga 

Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE), a nonprofi t founded to 

be the city’s partner in keeping neighborhoods affordable, safe, and pleasant for its residents. CNE helps 

elderly and low-income residents fi x up or buy homes, 

and it develops housing at a blend of prices to encourage economically diverse neighborhoods. The riverfront 

revitalization has brought new prosperity and activity 

to Chattanooga, and CNE helps ensure that everyone 

shares in the improvements that growth has brought.

It makes sense that each new development project 

should improve the entire community. We have to work 

with local governments and developers to achieve this 

standard and use our power as citizens to ensure that as 

our communities grow, they grow smarter. ■

Chattanooga

Location: Southeastern Tennessee—Population: 154,853

Baldwin Park

Location: Orlando, Fla.—Population: 205,648

21

Chattanooga Baldwin Park URBAN

Baldwin Park

Belmar
A Better Future for 

Everyone

Development touches every part of our lives, so we should make sure we get the development we want. Sometimes people worry that development might degrade the quality of 

life in their community. It doesn’t have to be that way. What if, rather than traffi c problems, 

a new development near you meant new walking and biking paths? What if, rather than 

higher taxes, development meant new friends for your kids? What if, rather than more pollution, development meant a new neighborhood park? In short, what if development created 

great new places that made your community a better place to live?

As you have seen from the examples here, it can be done. Communities around the nation 

are developing in ways that offer more choices, protect natural resources, honor shared 

culture and heritage, use resources wisely, and improve the economy. They’re building safe 

and affordable homes, making it easier to get around, protecting health, and creating more 

opportunities for everyone. And a growing number of developers are responding to consumers’ desire for places like these.

Smart growth strategies are helping these communities create a better future. They can 

help your community, too.

22
23

Here are some of the many resources that can help you improve 

the quality of development in the place where you live. 

General Smart Growth Resources

Smart Growth Online. www.smartgrowth.org. Provides comprehensive information about smart growth and lists publications 

produced by Smart Growth Network partners. You can also 

become a member of the Smart Growth Network at this site.

EPA’s Smart Growth Program. www.epa.gov/smartgrowth. 

Tools, publications, and resources to help communities create 

great places.

Benfi eld, F. Kaid, Matthew D. Raimi, and Donald D. T. Chen. 

Once There Were Greenfi elds. New York: Natural Resources 

Defense Council and Surface Transportation Policy Project, 

1999. Describes the impacts of development patterns on the 

environment, economy, and social fabric of the United States.

Duany, Andres, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream. New York: North Point Press, 2000. Describes the 

practices shaping conventional development and provides 

alternative models.

Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization 

of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. 

Traces the factors that led to the growth of the American suburbs.

Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. 

New York: Vintage Books, 1961. Examines the elements of a 

functioning city and the practices that can improve or hinder 

its function.

Leccese, Michael, and Kathleen McCormick, eds. Charter of the 

New Urbanism. McGraw Hill, 2000. Sets out the principles of 

new urbanism, and illustrates key concepts with essays and 

case studies.

Smart Growth Network. Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies 

for Implementation. 2002. www.smartgrowth.org. Provides 100 

policies to implement smart growth principles.

. Getting to Smart Growth Volume II: 100 More Policies 

for Implementation. 2003. www.smartgrowth.org. Provides 100 

additional policies to implement smart growth principles.

. Why Smart Growth: A Primer. 1998. 

www.smartgrowth.org. Explores the reasons communities are 

choosing to follow smart growth principles.

Smart Growth Shareware: A Library of Smart Growth Resources. 

Smart Growth America, 2006. www.smartgrowthamerica.org. 

Includes hundreds of smart growth resources.

Resources for Chapter 1

Beaumont, Constance, et al. Why Johnny Can’t Walk to School: 

Historic Neighborhood Schools in the Age of Sprawl. National 

Trust for Historic Preservation. 2002. www.nationaltrust.org. 

Describes the loss of neighborhood schools and illustrates 

places that are trying to save historic schools.

Beyard, Michael D., Michael Pawlukiewicz, and Alex Bond. 

Ten Principles for Rebuilding Neighborhood Retail. Washington, 

D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 2003. www.uli.org. Illustrates principles for reinvesting in retail in urban neighborhoods.

Fox, Radhika. Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda 

for Rebuilding America’s Older Core Cities. PolicyLink. 2005. 

www.policylink.org. Examines how innovative transportation, 

neighborhood revitalization, and housing policies can bring 

about economic and social revitalization.

Council of Educational Facility Planners International and 

EPA. Schools for Successful Communities: An Element of Smart 

Growth. 2004. www.cefpi.org. Describes how communities can 

employ smart growth planning principles to build schools.

National Association of Realtors®. On Common Ground: Smart 

Growth for Better Schools. Winter 2005. www.realtors.org. 

Examines the links between smart growth and schools. 

For more information about:

• The Kentlands, see: www.kentlandsusa.com.

• Live/work units, see: www.live-work.com.

• East Liberty, see: www.eastliberty.org.

• Moore Square Museums Magnet Middle School, see: 

mooresquarems.wcpss.net/application.htm and 

www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=1820&res=800.

• Bethel New Life, see: www.bethelnewlife.org.

Resources for Chapter 2

Local Government Commission. Creating Great Neighborhoods: 

Density in Your Community. 2003. www.smartgrowth.org. 

Describes how well-designed, compact development provides 

housing and transportation options, greater economic development, and a chance to preserve land for recreation and open 

space.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation. www.lisc.org. Hosts a 

library with resources on community development.

Smart Growth Network and the National Neighborhood 

Coalition. Affordable Housing and Smart Growth: Making the 

Connection. 2001. www.smartgrowth.org. Describes how to 

provide affordable housing through smart growth. 

Urban Land Institute, National Multi Housing Council, and 

Sierra Club. Higher-Density Development: Myth and Fact. 2005. 

www.nmhc.org. Dispels myths about higher–density development and gives examples of high-quality developments.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Why 

Not in Our Community? Removing Barriers to Affordable 

Housing. 2005. www.huduser.org/publications/affhsg/

whynotourComm.html. Reviews efforts by communities to 

reduce barriers to providing affordable housing.

For more information about:

• Stapleton, see: www.stapletondenver.com.

• Middleton Hills, see: www.middletonhills.com and 

www.asu.edu/caed/proceedings01/GRAMILL/gramill.htm.

• Fall Creek Place, see: www.fallcreekplace.com. 

• Wellington, see: www.poplarhouse.com.

• Neighborhood organizations and smart growth, see: 

www.neighborhoodcoalition.org.

Resources for Chapter 3

American Farmland Trust. Fact Sheet: Transfer of Development 

Rights (TDR). 2001. www.farmlandinfo.org/documents/27746/

FS_TDR_1-01.pdf.

Enterprise Foundation. Enterprise Resource DatabaseTM. 

www.practitionerresources.org. Online collection of tools and 

resources to assist community development practitioners.

Fannie Mae Foundation. Building Blocks. Volume 4 Issue 1. 

Summer 2003. www.fanniemaefoundation.org/programs/bb/

v4i1-index.shtml. Describes how to use charrettes and stakeholder analysis to improve public participation processes.

Resource Guide
24

Goldberg, David. Choosing Our Community’s Future: A 

Citizen’s Guide to Getting the Most Out of New Development.

Smart Growth America. 2005. www.smartgrowthamerica.org. 

Provides information on key terms, procedures, and issues in 

development so that citizens can be active participants in the 

development process.

For more information about:

• Charrettes, see: www.charretteinstitute.org.

• Scenario planning, see: 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/Planning/scenplan/index.htm.

• Envision Utah, see: www.envisionutah.org.

• Davidson, see: www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.

asp?art=1816.

• Barracks Row, see: www.barracksrow.org. 

• New Jersey TDR programs, see: 

www.state.nj.us/dca/osg/resources/tdr/index.shtml.

Resources for Chapter 4

Burchell, Robert, et al. Sprawl Costs: Economic Impacts of 

Unchecked Development. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2005. 

Analyzes the costs and benefi ts of different approaches to 

growth and examines various policy options. 

EPA. Growing Toward More Effi cient Water Use: Linking 

Development, Infrastructure and Drinking Water Policies. 2006. 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth. Focuses on the nexus between the 

supply of drinking water, its costs, and growth patterns.

. Parking Spaces/Community Places: Finding the 

Balance through Smart Growth Solutions. 2006. www.epa.gov/

smartgrowth. Describes how communities balance parking and 

other goals to create compact, walkable places.

For more information about:

• Main Street communities, see: www.mainstreet.org.

• Excelsior and Grand, see: www.excelsiorandgrand.com.

• Burlington, see: www.downtownpartnersinc.com. 

• Florence, see: www.fl orencemainstreet.org.

• Carroll County, see: www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_

item_id=15776&folder_id=249.

Resources for Chapter 5

American Farmland Trust and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. 

Town Meets Country: Farm-City Forums on Land and Community. 2002. www.farmland.org. Looks at growth issues and 

solutions for areas that are growing toward their rural lands. 

Conservation Fund. www.conservationfund.org. Has information on gateway communities, greenways, green infrastructure, 

and the nexus between conservation and development.

EPA. Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth. 2004. 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth. Documents 75 policies that can be 

used to protect water quality through smart growth practices.

National Association of Local Government Environmental 

Professionals. Smart Growth for Clean Water. 2003. 

www.nalgep.org. Discusses the links between clean water and 

smart growth.

Trust for Public Land. Local Greenprinting for Growth. 2003. 

www.tpl.org. Gives communities the tools they need to craft 

a conservation program consistent with the goals of smart 

growth.

For more information about:

• Coffee Creek Center, see: www.coffeecreekcenter.com.

• Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program, see: 

www.skagitcounty.net.

• East Bay Regional Park District, see: www.ebparks.org.

• Cuyahoga County Housing Enhancement Loan Program, see: 

www.cuyahogacounty.us/treasurer/homeimprove/default.htm.

Resources for Chapter 6

Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations. 

www.ampo.org. Provides resources about integrating transportation and land use planning at the regional level.

Context Sensitive Solutions. www.contextsensitivesolutions.org. 

Includes hundreds of resources about designing transportation 

projects in a way that fi ts the physical setting and preserves 

scenic, aesthetic, historic, and environmental resources, while 

maintaining safety and mobility.

Dittmar, Hank and Gloria Ohland. The New Transit Town: Best 

Practices in Transit-Oriented Development. Washington, D.C.: 

Island Press, 2004. Describes localities throughout the U.S. that 

are leading the way in transit-oriented development.

Ewing, Reid. Pedestrian- and Transit-Friendly Design: 

A Primer for Smart Growth. Smart Growth Network. 1999. 

www.smartgrowth.org. Illustrates techniques to design places 

so that they are pedestrian- and transit-friendly.

Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Congress 

for the New Urbanism. Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing 

Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities. 2006. 

www.ite.org. Provides engineers and planners guidance on 

designing major urban streets in a way that supports walkability and livability.

ITE. Guidelines for Neighborhood Street Design. 2001. Provides 

traffi c engineers with information on how to build more 

neighborhood-scaled streets.

National Center for Biking and Walking. www.bikewalk.org. 

Resources to make communities more walkable and bikeable.

Reconnecting America. www.reconnectingamerica.org. Focuses 

on integrating all modes of transportation and has a Center for 

Transit Oriented Development.

Transportation Research Board. Transit-Oriented Development 

(TOD) in the United States: Experiences, Challenges, and 

Prospects. 2004. trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=4060. 

Provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of the 

practice and the benefi ts of TOD throughout the U.S.

Walkable Communities, Inc. www.walkable.org. Offers a 

variety of photos and publications.

For more information about:

• South Providence “Path to Health” program, see: 

www.spnm.org/about/services/healthpromotion.shtml. 

• Arlington County, see: www.CommuterPage.com, 

www.BikeArlington.com, and www.WALKArlington.com.

• Carsharing, see: www.carsharing.net.

• Missoula, see: www.mountainline.com.

• Davis, see: www.city.davis.ca.us/topic/bicycles.cfm.

Resources for Chapter 7

AARP. www.aarp.org. Includes information on livable communities, transportation options, walking, and housing, focused 

on senior citizens but applicable to everyone.

Bailey, Linda. Aging Americans: Stranded Without Options. 

Surface Transportation Policy Project. 2004. www.transact.org. 

Addresses the transportation needs of older Americans.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Designing 

and Building Healthy Places. www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces. 

Describes health issues related to land use and development 

and links to resources.

McCann, Barbara, and Reid Ewing. Measuring the Health 

Effects of Sprawl. Smart Growth America and Surface Transportation Policy Project. 2003. www.smartgrowthamerica.org. 

A national analysis of the impacts of development patterns on 

physical activity, obesity, and chronic disease.
25

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. www.pedbikeinfo.

org. A clearinghouse for information about health and safety, 

engineering, advocacy, education, enforcement, and access 

and mobility. Includes affi liated sites focusing on walking, 

bicycling, and safe routes to school.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supports several 

programs to address physical activity and community development, including:

• Active Living Leadership: www.activelivingleadership.org. 

Works with government leaders to create and promote active 

communities.

• Active Living Network: www.activeliving.org. Promotes 

active, healthy environments by building a national coalition of professional leaders who have a stake in the health 

impacts of how places are designed and built.

• Aging Blueprint: www.agingblueprint.org. Develops strategies to increase physical activity among adults age 50 and 

older.

For more information about:

• Broadway-Slavic Village, see: www.slavicvillage.org.

• Atlantic Station, see: www.atlanticstation.com and 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/topics/atlantic_steel.htm.

• Saratoga Springs, see: www.saratoga-springs.org.

• Edwards Aquifer, see: www.edwardsaquifer.org.

• Safe Routes to School programs, see: www.

saferoutestoschool.org and safety.fhwa.dot.gov/saferoutes.

Resources for Chapter 8

American Institute of Architects. Livability 101 for Communities. 2005. www.aia.org/liv_liv101. Provides resources to communities looking to create a vision for the future.

Bohl, Charles. Place Making: Developing Town Centers, Main 

Streets, and Urban Villages. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land 

Institute, 2002. Defi nes design and development elements for 

place-making. 

Congress for the New Urbanism. www.cnu.org. Contains 

reports, bibliographies, and an image bank of projects.

Gindroz, Ray. The Urban Design Handbook: Techniques and 

Working Methods. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 

2003. Uses case studies and illustrations to discuss how to 

design attractive, functional places. 

New Urban News. New Urbanism: Comprehensive Report & 

Best Practices Guide, 3rd Edition. New York: New Urban News, 

2003. Comprehensive review of cutting–edge tools, policies, 

and practices shaping new urbanist development.

Project for Public Spaces. www.pps.org. Provides resources on 

how to design good public places. 

The Town Paper. List of Traditional Neighborhood Developments. www.tndtownpaper.com/neighborhoods.htm. Contains 

an updated list of planned and completed projects designed 

using traditional neighborhood development techniques.

For more information about:

• Traverse City, see: www.tcchamber.org/newdesigns.php.

• Cotton District, see: www.thecottondistrict.net.

• Haile Village Center, see: www.hailevillagecenter.com and 

www.ntba.net/towns_haile.html.

• Portland, see: www.portlandonline.com/planning.

Resources for Chapter 9

American Planning Association. www.planning.org. Thousands of resources and references on all aspects of planning.

Morrish, William and Catherine R. Brown. Planning to Stay. 

Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 1994. A guide for citizens to 

assess their neighborhoods and create development that supports community goals.

National Trust for Historic Preservation. www.nationaltrust.org. 

Includes information on preservation, redeveloping Main 

Streets, and restoring signifi cant structures.

Parzen, Julia. Foundations and Real Estate: A Guide for Funders 

Interested in Building Better Communities. The Funders’ 

Network for Smart Growth. 2004. www.fundersnetwork.org. 

Presents examples where foundations have made strategic 

investments to spur more smart growth real estate investment. 

Scenic America. www.scenic.org. Includes tools and resources 

focused on protecting natural beauty and distinctive community character in the U.S.

For more information about:

• Charleston, see: www.ci.charleston.sc.us/dept/?nid=336

and www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/Charleston/preservation.htm.

• Lowell, see: www.lowellma.gov.

• Southlake Town Square, see: www.southlaketownsquare.com

and www.pps.org/gps/one?public_place_id=842.

• Konza Prairie, see: climate.konza.ksu.edu.

Resources for Chapter 10

Benfi eld, Kaid, et al. Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth 

in Communities Across America. Washington, D.C.: Island 

Press, 2001. Provides 35 examples of how citizens in cities, 

suburbs, and rural areas have created places that support community goals. 

Booth, Geoffrey, et al. Ten Principles for Reinventing Suburban 

Business Districts. Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 

2002. www.smartgrowth.org/pdf/uli_Ten_Principles.pdf. 

Describes ways that suburban business districts can be revitalized to become more compact, mixed-use, walkable areas.

National Vacant Properties Campaign. www.vacantproperties.org. 

Provides resources for communities dealing with vacant and 

abandoned properties.

Oregon Department of Transportation. Main Street . . . When a 

Highway Runs Through It: A Handbook for Oregon Communities. 1999. www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/docs/

mainstreethandbook.pdf. Provides techniques for dealing with 

state highways in downtown areas, using Oregon examples.

Sobel, Lee. Greyfi elds into Goldfi elds: Dead Malls Become 

Living Neighborhoods. San Francisco: Congress for the New 

Urbanism, 2002. Highlights communities that have turned failing malls into vibrant, new neighborhoods.

For more information about:

• Belmar, see: www.belmarcolorado.com and 

www.tndtownpaper.com/Volume7/belmar_colorado.htm.

• Baldwin Park, see: www.baldwinparkfl .com.

• Littleton, see: www.golittleton.com.

• Chattanooga, see: www.waterfrontchattanooga.com and 

www.nextstep.state.mn.us/casestudy.cfm?id=74.
Population Figures

All population fi gures are taken from either 

2000 or 2004 Census data.

Chapter 2

1 Quoted in: Ann Marie Ames. “The Hills Are 

Alive: Is Middleton Development Working as 

Planned?” The Capital Times. September 26, 

2005.

2 From application submitted to EPA’s National 

Award for Smart Growth Achievement. 2005.

3 Quoted in: EPA. National Award for Smart 

Growth Achievement. 2002. Available at 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards_2002.htm

(accessed April 5, 2006). 

Chapter 3

1 Center for Transportation and the Environment. National Teleconference Series no. 34 

transcript. “Scenario Planning for Better Transportation Decision Making.” March 3, 2005. 

p. 22. Available at itre.ncsu.edu/CTE/

TechTransfer/Teleconferences/docs/

TC34transcript.pdf (accessed April 5, 2006). 

2 Quoted in: EPA. National Award for Smart 

Growth Achievement. 2004. Available at 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/sg_awards_

publication_2004.htm (accessed April 5, 2006).

3 State of New Jersey. “The New Jersey 

Pinelands, a Success Story.” Available at 

www.state.nj.us/dobi/pinelandssuccess.htm

(accessed May 18, 2006).

Chapter 4

1 See, for example, Robert W. Burchell, William 

R. Dolphin, and Catherine C. Galley, The Costs 

and Benefi ts of Alternative Growth Patterns: The 

Impact Assessment of the New Jersey State Plan 

(New Brunswick, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy 

Research, Rutgers University, September 2000), 

available at www.state.nj.us/dca/osg/docs/

iaexecsumm090100.pdf; Mark Muro and Robert 

Puentes, Investing in a Better Future: A Review 

of the Fiscal and Competitive Advantages of 

Smarter Growth Development Patterns (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, March 

2004), available at www.brookings.edu/metro/

publications/200403_smartgrowth.htm; and 

Keith Schneider, Mac McClelland, and Andy 

Guy, Follow the Money: Uncovering and Reforming Michigan’s Sprawl Subsidies (Beulah, Mich.: 

Michigan Land Use Institute, January 2005), 

available at www.mlui.org/growthmanagement/

fullarticle.asp?fi leid=16785. All Web sites 

accessed April 5, 2006.

2 Metropolitan Council. Directions Newsletter. 

May 25, 2002. Available at www.metrocouncil.

org/directions/planning/regional_scenarios.htm

(accessed April 5, 2006).

3 Florence Main Street Program. Personal 

communication, July 12, 2006.

4 . www.fl orencemainstreet.org/pages/

renovation-construction.htm (accessed July 3, 

2006).

Chapter 5

1 Trust for Public Land. LandVote database. Available at www.tpl.org/tier3_cdl.

cfm?content_item_id=15266&folder_id=2607

(accessed April 5, 2006). 

2 Quoted in: Brad Miklosovic. “Residents Get 

HELP.” West Life. May 30, 2001.

3 Quoted in: EPA. National Award for Smart 

Growth Achievement. 2003. Available at 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/2003_awards.htm

(accessed April 5, 2006).

Chapter 6

1 Arlington County. Master Transportation 

Plan: Baseline Conditions Report. September 

2005. p. 19.

2 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation 

Survey. npts.ornl.gov/npts/1995/Doc/

index.shtml (accessed April 5, 2006).

3 Ibid.

4 League of American Bicyclists. “First 

Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Community 

Recognized.” May 2005. Available at 

www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/October2005award.htm (accessed April 5, 2006).

5 Quoted in Paul Dorn. “Cycling in BikeFriendly Davis.” 2001. Available at 

www.runmuki.com/paul/writing/davis.html

(accessed July 11, 2006).

Chapter 7

1 Non-asthma medical emergencies did not 

decrease during the period. Richard J. Jackson 

and Chris Kochtitzky, Creating a Healthy Environment: The Impact of the Built Environment 

on Public Health (Atlanta, Ga.: Sprawl Watch 

Clearinghouse Monograph Series, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 2001). Available at www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/articles/

Creating%20A%20Healthy%20Environment.pdf

(accessed April 5, 2006).

2 For more information about the analysis 

of Atlantic Steel’s effects on air quality, see 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/atlantic_steel_

xl.pdf (accessed April 5, 2006). 

Chapter 8

1 Project for Public Spaces, How to Turn a Place 

Around: A Handbook for Creating Successful 

Public Spaces (New York: Project for Public 

Spaces, 2000), p. 19.

2 Quoted in: Ben Alexander. “Cotton Remains 

King in Starkville District.” East Mississippi 

Business Journal, Vol. 4, no. 2. September 2004. 

Available at www.thecottondistrict.net/

embj.html (accessed April 5, 2006).

3 Victor Dover. “Peer Review: Dan Camp’s 

Cotton District.” Council Report III. Congress for 

the New Urbanism. 2003. Available at 

www.thecottondistrict.net/council02.html

(accessed April 5, 2006).

4 Quoted in: Jim Jordan. “Haile: The Realization of a Vision.” Gainesville Today. May 

2003. Available at www.gainesvilletoday.com/ 

2003/05/haile_plantation.html (accessed Mar. 

31, 2006).

Chapter 9

1 American Society of Landscape Architects. 

“ASLA’s 2005 Annual Meeting Breaks Attendance Records.” Oct. 10, 2005. Available at 

www.asla.org/press/2005/release101005.htm

(accessed April 5, 2006). 

2 Charles Bohl. Place Making: Developing 

Town Centers, Main Streets, and Urban Villages 

(Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute, 2002), 

p. 263.

3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Northern Tallgrass Prairie Web page. www.fws.gov/midwest/

NorthernTallgrassPrairie/history.htm (accessed 

April 5, 2006). 

Chapter 10

1 Quoted in: EPA. National Award for Smart 

Growth Achievement. 2005. Available at 

www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards/2005_

built_lakewood.htm (accessed April 5, 2006).

2 Quoted in: Mamie Marcuss. “Reviving Main 

Street: Two New England Case Studies” (Boston: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2005), 

p. 9, available at www.bos.frb.org/commdev/

c&b/2005/winter/Main.pdf (accessed April 5, 

2006).

26

Cover/Table of Contents:

Fall Creek Place: Chris Palladino, Mansur Real 

Estate Services, Inc.

Smart Growth Principles

Santana Row San Jose, Calif.: EPA. Cohassat, 

Mass.: EPA. Stapleton: EPA. Wisconsin Farm: 

Scenics of America/PhotoLink.

Chapter 1

Page 2: The Kentlands: EPA. East Liberty:

Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh

Page 3: The Kentlands, Vasilis Restaurant:

EPA. Moore Square School: Dana Deaton. Garfi eld Park: Mary Nelson, Bethel New Life Inc.

Chapter 2

Page 4: Stapleton: EPA. Wellington: Wellington 

Neighborhood. Middleton Hills: Mark Opitz.

Page 5: Middleton Hills: Mark Opitz. Stapleton: EPA. Fall Creek Place: Chris Palladino, 

Mansur Real Estate Services, Inc.

Chapter 3

Page 6: Barracks Row: EPA. New Jersey Pinelands: Joel M. Mott. Davidson: Photo courtesy 

of Town of Davidson.

Page 7: Barracks Row: EPA. Envision Utah:

EPA.

Chapter 4

Page 8: Carroll County: Peter P. Debick. Burlington: Downtown Partners, Inc.

Page 9: Florence: David R. Messer. Excelsior & 

Grand: Both photos courtesy of the Metropolitan Council.

Chapter 5

Page 10: Skagit County: Dan Berentson. Coffee 

Creek Center: Trent Albert.

Page 11: Coffee Creek Center: Steve Barker. 

Cuyahoga County: Cuyahoga County Treasurer’s Offi ce. East Bay Regional Park District:

both photos by East Bay Regional Park District.

Chapter 6

Page 12: Arlington: EPA. Missoula: Missoula 

Urban Transportation District. Davis: Local 

Government Commission.

Page 13: Carsharing: EPA. South Providence:

EPA. Arlington: EPA.

Chapter 7

Page 14: Slavic Village: Scott Gerstenberger. 

Edwards Aquifer: City of Austin. Saratoga 

Springs: John Conners.

Page 15: Atlantic Station: both photos courtesy 

of Atlantic Station. Slavic Village: Slavic Village 

Development.

Chapter 8

Page 16: Cotton District: both photos by EPA. 

Traverse City: EPA

Page 17: Portland (upper right): Offi ce of Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Traverse City: EPA. 

Haile Village Center: EPA. Portland (lower 

right): Portland Oregon Visitors Association.

Chapter 9

Page 18: Southlake Town Square: both photos 

by Mike Lewis. Konza Prairie: Eva A. Horne, 

Kansas State University.

Page 19: Charleston: both photos courtesy of 

City of Charleston. Lowell: Jim Higgins.

Chapter 10

Page 20: Cowart Place (Chattanooga): RiverCity Company. Littleton: Art Tighe. Belmar:

EPA.

Page 21: Belmar: EPA. Baldwin Park: Baldwin 

Park Development Company. Chattanooga:

Todd Stailey, Tennessee Aquarium.

A Better Future for Everyone

Silver Spring, Md.: EPA.

Endnotes

Photo Credits
Smart Growth Network 

Partner Organizations

For a complete list of the Smart Growth Network partners, go to www.smartgrowth.org/sgn/partners.asp.
06-064

smartgrowth.org

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