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Smart Growth

What is Smart Growth?

Smart Growth describes an approach to land use planning that promotes a concentration of development and diversity of uses. The term encompasses a number of existing planning concepts and zoning capabilities, generally meant to counteract single-use zoning, suburban sprawl, separation of residential and commercial centers, and an automobile-dependant lifestyle.

Smart Growth is a broad and flexible concept that has been used by planners and urban designers across the country, in a variety of capacities and different settings — from older urban areas to new suburban subdivisions. Planning practitioners have used Smart Growth with the intent of reducing sprawl, preserving open space, and focusing development around concentrated main streets and mixed-use communities. Smart Growth often encourages the revitalization of existing urban centers and bringing new life to older communities-as opposed to greenfield development. However, it can also be applied to new communities, in which Smart Growth promotes a form of development that mirrors elements found in traditional small towns and cities. These elements include mixed-use development; main streets and town centers; interconnected streets; diversity of housing types; a focus on human-scale, street-level urbanism; and an overall emphasis on walking and mass transit.

When properly implemented, Smart Growth can be a fiscally responsible development pattern — with lower costs for individual units, public utilities, and travel. Smart Growth is environmentally sound — encouraging brownfield development, preserving open space by concentrating development, and reducing emissions by promoting mass transit and walkability. Smart Growth is sometimes promoted as a socially conscious strategy, calling for a diversity of housing types, and encouraging inclusionary zoning practices. Finally, some proponents of Smart Growth tout it as a strategy for returning communities to a traditional American identity — preserving elements like small town main streets, local shops, allowing children to walk to school, and promoting a sense of "front porch" interaction between neighbors.

Smart Growth Principles

Smart growth is a broad term with a variety of applications and groups promoting its use, therefore the principles can vary, but often include:

Anti-Sprawl: Smart growth encourages the renewal of existing communities and concentration of higher-density development in new communities. Smart growth grew out of a response to conventional post-WWII suburban developments with single-family tract housing, large yards, dead end streets and cul-de-sacs.
Infill and Preservation: Smart growth proponents often encourage the adaptive reuse of buildings, and the revitalization of existing cities and towns. Many preservation groups have adopted Smart Growth, promoting it as a strategy to save historic structures and restore traditional community contexts.
Mixed-Use Development: Smart growth encourages mixed-use development, similar to existing urban areas and small towns, including ground-floor retail with offices or housing above. Smart growth has become a tool to combine uses and curtail single-use development and zoning practices.
Land and Resource Conservation: Smart growth has been adopted by a number of conservation and environmental organizations, looking to preserve farmland and natural resources. Land use regulation has been used for years to preserve open space in land trusts or through deed restrictions, or through such strategies such as the purchase or transfer of development rights.
Walking, Bicycling and Transit: Smart Growth promotes walkable, centralized communities. This translates to easily walkable streets, facilities for bicycling, and transit connnections. Transit-oriented development focuses development around transit stations. Groups that promote mass transit have adopted Smart Growth as a development concept that encourages accessibility and enhanced transit use.
Affordable/Work Force Housing: Successful smart growth development includes a variety of housing types, affordable at a variety of income levels. The opportunity for everyone who works in a community to also live there is an important element of building diverse, vibrant places. A number of municipalities across the region have implemented inclusionary zoning policies, with developer incentives, to promote or require mixed-income housing.
Community Design/Public Process: Smart Growth promotes the concept of community design-a comprehensive strategy focusing development on neighborhood livability and quality of life. In order for Smart Growth strategies to be successful, they must have buy-in from the public and the development community-implemented through a hands-on public process or charrette.

Who Promotes Smart Growth Nationally?

Over the past decade, Smart Growth has become widely accepted and made into policy through state and local legislation. Maryland was the first to officially legislate "Smart Growth" through its Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation Initiative in 1997. Several states such as Maryland and New Jersey now have Smart Growth offices or centers. For many states, planning, commerce, and conservation offices have been addressing Smart Growth for years through studies and land use policy recommendations.

Universities are now incorporating Smart Growth into their planning, preservation, and environmental science programs. The University of Maryland hosts the National Center for Smart Growth, producing studies dealing with national issues, and the local impact of Maryland's Smart Growth legislation. Some locally focused organizations, like 1,000 Friends of Oregon, have been propelled into the national spotlight for their work on Smart Growth issues. Examples of several national organizations that have taken the lead in terms of promoting Smart Growth agendas and assisting local governments, communities, and developers in implementing Smart Growth follow.

American Planning Association: The American Planning Association (APA) is a national, nonprofit research organization, based in Chicago, focusing on land-use planning, transportation planning, policy, and zoning issues. It also operates its professional institute--the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). APA has produced a significant number of reports, books, multimedia resources, and periodicals relating to a variety smart growth issues.
Smart Growth Network: Smart Growth Network (SGN) was created in 1996 as a coalition of national organizations, convened by the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection (EPA). SGN offers a service called Smart Growth Online (www.smartgrowth.org) — "a web-based catalogue of Smart Growth-related news, events, information and resources." Smart Growth Online is a collaboration between the US EPA and Sustainable Communities Network.
Smart Growth America: Smart Growth America (SGA) is a national nonprofit coalition of organizations that focuses on research and policy to promote Smart Growth initiatives. SGA's membership includes over 100 organizations dealing with planning, community development, conservation, affordable housing, bicycling and transit, land use law, public policy, and historic preservation. SGA's work includes convening its Smart Growth Council, comprised of "business, labor, government and civic leaders" to discuss Smart Growth policy; its Smart Growth Leadership Institute, providing resources to communities to aid in designing and advancing a Smart Growth agenda; the National Vacant Properties Campaign; and reports on Smart Growth policy and the impacts of sprawl.
Urban Land Institute: The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a nonprofit Washington D.C.-based organization focusing on land-use issues in the context of the development industry. ULI's mission is "to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide." ULI undertakes research, creates publications, and hosts forums on pertinent land-use issues. It maintains district councils in 14 countries and 47 U.S. cities, including Philadelphia.
Congress for the New Urbanism: New Urbanism is a planning and land use movement in the U.S. started in the late 1980s by a group of planners and architects including Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. The work of the New Urbanists is largely advanced by the Chicago-based nonprofit Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). New Urbanism was created with the goal of "reform[ing] all aspects of real estate development," promoting building forms that echo the ideals of older urban areas-concentrated, walkable, mixed-use communities. New Urbanism has influenced a variety of settings, with the most well-known being new communities such as Florida's Seaside and Celebration. New Urbanism had significant impact in shaping the federal Hope VI Program, which supported the redevelopment of high-rise public housing projects into lower-density, mixed-income communities. New Urbanism shares many of the core values that have come to define Smart Growth.

Who Promotes Smart Growth in the Delaware Valley?

Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance: DVSGA is an "initiative of various government, private sector and non-profit organizations in the Greater Philadelphia tri-state region encompassing Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware." Its major role is to endorse projects that exhibit a strong commitment to Smart Growth principles, in accordance with its set of criteria, covering elements including location, density, design, diversity, mobility, environmental impact, and community participation. Applicants submit their project plans for consideration. They are judged quarterly by an independent jury, and either awarded endorsement or not. DVSGA only considers projects that are in the planning stage (not under construction or built), as its goal is to support projects through the permitting process.
10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania: 10,000 Friends is a policy and advocacy organization, focusing on land use and resource consumption issues across Pennsylvania. It produces toolkits on key policy issues, and publications and studies regarding land use and Smart Growth subjects. It organizes the Southeastern PA Metropolitan Development Network, bringing developers to the table to talk about land use issues, and undertakes state policy advocacy and lobbying efforts. Since 2003, 10,000 Friends has also run its annual Commonwealth Design Awards, recognizing "smart development projects" and "local visionaries... [who] put Smart Growth and sound land use principles to work on the ground by designing and building cutting edge projects."
New Jersey Future: New Jersey Future is a statewide policy and advocacy organization focusing on Smart Growth, land use, environmental, affordability, and transportation issues, as well as property tax policy. It produces regular studies and reports, and scorecards on the quality of development and municipal planning in meeting Smart Growth criteria. NJ Future additionally sponsors events and hosts its annual Smart Growth Awards.
Pennsylvania Planning Association: PPA is Pennsylvania's local chapter of the American Planning Association. With about 1,300 members, it runs workshops, produces publications, awards scholarships, and hosts an annual conference for its members.
APA New Jersey Chapter: New Jersey's local chapter of the American Planning Association develops resources for planners, organizations, and the general public.
Association for the New Urbanism in Pennsylvania: ANUPA is the Pennsylvania Chapter of the national Congress for the New Urbanism. ANUPA holds events and provides resources for planners and community leaders in Pennsylvania. It was instrumental in pushing for the Traditional Neighborhood Development legislation in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. While New Jersey does not yet have a local CNU chapter, there has been action taken to form one in the near future.

DVRPC Efforts Relating to Smart Growth

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's Office of Smart Growth focuses on applying a smart growth approach to the agency's land use and transportation planning work. Below are some of the DVRPC's recent studies relating to smart growth.

Revitalization and Livability:

Transit-Oriented Development:

Multi-Municipal Planning:

Traffic Calming and Context-Sensitive Solutions:

Municipal Implementation Tools:

Municipal Tree Management
Safe Routes to School
Form-Based Codes for Big-Box Retail
Aging in Place
Traffic Calming
Reclaiming Brownfields
Inclusionary Zoning
Transfer of Development Rights
Historic Preservation
Parking Management Strategies
Impact Fees
Residential Infill Development
Multi-Municipal Planning
Main Street Programs and Business Improvement Districts
Transit-Oriented Development

In Progress:

Germantown Avenue City/Suburb Collaboration Study
Assessment of Refined Regional Parking Strategies
2008 Taming Traffic: Context-Sensitive Solutions in the DVRPC Region (case studies TBD)