Community residents want neighborhoods with a sense of place, with walkable streets, with conveniences and amenities nearby. It's also an economic and fiscal issue. Smart growth makes more efficient use of land and public infrastructure, saving taxpayers' dollars. The projects emphasize mixed land uses, such as integrated commercial and residential projects, transit and pedestrian connections, civic spaces and a range of housing types - all in a relatively compact configuration. And the projects are located all over the metro area - central cities, older suburbs and developing areas.
Smart growth gives people choices.
Smart growth is about expanding people's options - about the types of neighborhoods they may want to call home, about the ways they get around the region, about the ways they can make their communities healthier and more livable. For details, see the St. Croix Valley development study . Now, an expanded version of this study is going region-wide. The three-year Smart Growth Twin Cities Project will demonstrate how communities can plan together to grow more compactly and preserve open space, clean air and community appeal, while minimizing costs for transportation and sewers.