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smart growth

A spiffy green waterfront begins to take shape in DC

January 19, 2012 by Kaid Benfield
with 117 views
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   Washington, DC is finally getting a green waterfront development to be proud of.  A 42-acre redevelopment along the Anacostia River, The Yards will comprise some 1.8 million square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail and cultural spaces, 2,700 rental and for‐sale homes, and a significant riverfront park... [read more]

Smart Growth Goes Mainstream

December 7, 2011 by The Dirt ASLA
with 213 views
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At the 10th annual smart growth awards held at the E.P.A. headquarters in Washington D.C., Doug McKalip, White House Senior Policy Advisor for Rural Affairs, praised this year’s winners for demonstrating strategies that create jobs, protect the environment, and improve the quality of life. The five winners are... [read more]

Why Smart Growth is Important to Land Conservation

December 7, 2011 by Kaid Benfield
with 145 views
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Years ago, I was motivated to participate in what became the cause of smart growth, and now for many of us has evolved into the cause of sustainable communities, because of the devastating effect of suburban sprawl on the American landscape. For decades, the amount of developed land in our country has grown much faster than population, in some regions of the country several times faster. In the 25-year period from 1982 to 2007, we lost some 23 million acres of agricultural land - an area the size of Indiana - irretrievably to pavement, malls, and subdivisions, according to the American Farmland Trust. [read more]

Presentations From The Smart Growth Awards

December 2, 2011 by Ben Schulman
with 120 views
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The EPA announced the winners of the 2011 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement today, and CNU's fingerprints left a heavy imprint this year. Congrats to CNU Board Chair Victor Dover and Dover-Kohl Partners for recognition of their work on Plan El Paso, and to CNU Board Member Doug Farr for his work on the Uptown Normal... [read more]

Why Ordinary Urban Experiences Motivate Change

November 7, 2011 by Chuck Wolfe
with 491 views
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One of my favorite motivational scenes, that inspires city reinvention, is the one above. The photo shows the first part of the Nice, France tramway—a city-center transit line which has helped change an automobile-oriented downtown. Experiencing this image in real-time, applying the full range of human senses, compelled my... [read more]

Smart Growth Investment Key To Small Cities' Economic Vitality

September 16, 2011 by Kaid Benfield
with 177 views
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  This recent report from the Center for Neighborhood Technology looks very interesting.  Among other things, it seems to confirm exactly what Chuck Marohn (Community Growth Institute, Strong Towns) has been telling us about the economic imperatives facing smaller cities and towns in Heartland America:  to become... [read more]

Atlanta's Ambitious Belt-Line Project Easier Planned Than Executed

July 26, 2011 by Kaid Benfield
with 169 views
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        I once called the Atlanta BeltLine “the country’s best smart growth project.”  I still haven’t seen one that is better in concept.  But now, with a few years of history, how is the implementation coming along?  Is the reality matching the vision? The challenge with writing about the BeltLine... [read more]

Smart Growth's Conservation Imperative

July 22, 2011 by Kaid Benfield
with 132 views
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    It's certainly well-known among my colleagues that I am passionate about cities.  I'm proud to think of myself as an urbanist who believes we can no longer accept sprawl as the dominant form of land use in America.  Instead, we must direct growth and development in ways that strengthen our existing cities and... [read more]

Does US-style Planning and Smart Growth Work Elsewhere?

July 19, 2011 by Kaid Benfield
with 130 views
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    American culture pervades the world - music, movies, cars, consumption.  Not all of it is good.  But surely sustainability is good, yes?  While many cultures are ahead of us on the sustainability curve, not all are. So:  do American ideas of sustainable communities, smart growth and urbanism work... [read more]

House Appropriations Committee Votes to Cut Smart Growth Funding

July 14, 2011 by Ben Schulman
with 184 views
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The following comes direct from the Smart Growth America blog, in response to legislation just passed by the House Appropriations Committee: The House Appropriations Committee just passed legislation that would eliminate funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Smart Growth. We need your help to... [read more]

Do Fuel Innovations Discourage Public Transit?

July 14, 2011 by the polis blog
with 116 views
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In 2003, New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere pointed out that transportation had to be “factored in at the earliest stages of project development” in order to prevent sprawl. He was referring to public transportation’s pivotal role in the creation of sustainable, walkable neighborhoods. Compared to many parts of the... [read more]

How Smart Growth Reduces Emissions

June 3, 2011 by Kaid Benfield
with 203 views
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Rob Steuteville has posted a terrific analysis on the New Urban Network rebutting the claim by the National Association of Homebuilders that “the existing body of research demonstrates no clear link between residential land use and greenhouse gas emissions.” Rob responds with Todd Litman’s excellent research and writing on the subject,... [read more]