Mix Land Uses Resources

Smart growth supports the integration of mixed land uses into communities as a critical component of achieving better places to live. By putting uses in close proximity to one another, alternatives to driving, such as walking or biking, once again become viable. Mixed land uses also provides a more diverse and sizable population and commercial base for supporting viable public transit. It can enhance the vitality and perceived security of an area by increasing the number and attitude of people on the street. It helps streets, public spaces and pedestrian-oriented retail again become places where people meet, attracting pedestrians back onto the street and helping to revitalize community life.

Mixed land uses can convey substantial fiscal and economic benefits. Commercial uses in close proximity to residential areas are often reflected in higher property values, and therefore help raise local tax receipts. Businesses recognize the benefits associated with areas able to attract more people, as there is increased economic activity when there are more people in an area to shop. In today's service economy, communities find that by mixing land uses, they make their neighborhoods attractive to workers who increasingly balance quality of life criteria with salary to determine where they will settle. Smart growth provides a means for communities to alter the planning context which currently renders mixed land uses illegal in most of the country.

The 59th annual Honor Awards will be hosted by The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Seattle chapter on November 9, 2009. The event honors architects for their creative solutions and resourceful projects. With the theme “Improv\Improve,” this year’s Honor Awards will celebrate the agility, inventiveness and foresight architects bring to their work in this era of change – improvising and reacting quickly to new constraints, and going above and beyond to improve the built environment.

AIA Seattle received over 175 submissions — both envisioned and realized — ranging from commercial to residential and beyond. Projects are reviewed by a distinguished jury. Winning projects are first announced at the live Awards presentation. All projects submitted will be available to view online beginning October 20th at the link below.

Tickets also can be purchased online at the link below. Advance ticket sales end at 5pm, Sunday, November 8, 2009. Tickets also are available at the door the night of the event.

Many people want to know what smart growth looks like. This Is Smart Growth, a publication from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Smart Growth Network, illustrates and explains smart growth concepts and outcomes. This full-color booklet describes how, when done well, development can help create more economic opportunities, build great places where people want to live and visit, preserve the qualities people love about their communities, and protect environmental resources.

Explosive growth in the Sunshine State has come at an expensive price: diminished health of its freshwater springs. For its vital role in enhancing public understanding about spring damages and effective ways to reduce the problem, 1000 Friends of Florida is receiving one of two 2007 National Planning Excellence Awards for Best Practice from the American Planning Association (APA).

As part of its 10th year celebration, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin is recognizing ''10 of the Best'' individuals, organizations, companies, and efforts to promote better communities through land use and transportation ideas, policies, projects, and investments.

The American Farmland Trust (AFT) profiles Steve Sinton and his 18,000-acre California ranch in their Steward of the Land awards. Sinton, who received the AFT's 2005 Steward of the Land award, has dedicated much of his time to developing conservation strategies for his land and other California ranches.

The International Awards for Liveable Communities is the world’s only Competition for local communities that focuses on environmental management and the creation of liveable communities.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have announced that the North Portion of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) will receive the 2005 Landmark Award during the ASLA Annual Meeting October 7-10, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Eleven outstanding developments from the Americas have been selected as winners for the 2005 Urban Land Institute's first ever (ULI) Awards for Excellence: The Americas competition.

The Civic Award of Excellence will be presented to a person (in North America) who through a substantiated action has advanced the public policy debate on green roofs. The 2006 contest has been extended to accept nominations until March 15th, 2006 (midnight EST).

The Green Roof Award of Excellence in Research honors a person or research team who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of green roof research in North America. The nomination process is open to the private and public sector. The contest has been extended to accept nominations until March 15th, 2006 (midnight EST).

Conference proceedings and presentations from the 2006 Massachusetts Smart Growth Conference are now available online at the conference website. More than 750 people from the private, public, and non-profit sectors attended this event, co-hosted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association.

On November 15, 2006, EPA announced five winners of the 2006 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in smart growth by tribal, state, local, or regional governments in five categories: Overall Excellence, Built Projects, Policies and Regulations, Small Communities, and Equitable Development.

Audio compact discs from the 2006 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference are available for purchase. The fifth annual conference drew more than 1,200 attendees and offered dozens of seminars, symposia, workshops, and other events.

Vision Long Island hosted more than 375 leaders, experts and advocates at the 5th Annual Smart Growth Awards on June 16, 2006. The event put a spotlight on the cutting edge people, projects and policies that are shaping the future of Long Island’s landscape. Categories were based on Vision Long Island's “Principles of Smart Growth,” and included awards for green development and regional leadership.

Vision Long Island is seeking nominations for its fourth annual Smart Growth Awards. This special event will honor individuals and organizations taking leadership in advancing Smart Growth projects, policies, regulations and initiatives. Deadline for submission is February 28, 2006.

The New York State Association of REALTORS Award for Smart Growth Excellence was created to recognize the successful efforts of New York's communities to incorporate the principles of smart growth into their projects, policies and programs. Its purpose is to promote the continued advancement of smart growth in the state, in accordance with the principles adopted by REALTORS.

Good planning helps create communities of lasting value. Creating such communities takes effort, vision, and dedication.

Vision Long Island honored a dozen individuals and organizations in their 2007 Smart Growth Awards ceremony, held on June 15, 2007, at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, New York.

The Virginia Sustainable Building Network (VSBN) announced the fourth annual Virginia Green Innovation Awards at its Annual Meeting on June 25, 2008. Each year, VSBN members are asked to nominate Green businesses, organizations, design firms, and community programs that represent ''the best Green projects or programs in Virginia.''

Five outstanding developments have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) 2008 Awards for Excellence: Europe competition. The Awards for Excellence competition is widely recognized as the land use industry's most prestigious recognition program.

Each year, 1000 Friends of Florida honors successful efforts to save special places, fight sprawl, and build better communities in this rapidly growing state. The 2008 Better Community Awards will recognize Florida's leading citizens, public servants, programs and communities that are contributing to an enhanced quality of life in this state.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has announced comprehensive planning grants for 149 local governments throughout Wisconsin, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin reports. This funding will help communities develop and adopt locally created plans to address long-term needs, promote economic development, and guide future land use decisions.

2009 City Parks Facts is a report published by the Trust for Public Land that has methodically researched urban parks across the United States and created a database on acreage, facilities, staffing, budgets, usership, and more. This information is then broken in to sections throughout the report with information such as acres of parkland by city or agency, total spending on parks per resident by a selected city, a series of top 10 lists for facilities (dog parks, pools, skateboard parks etc.) per 10,000 residents, and interesting parks with notable statistics such as most visited, oldest and largest. Information for over 20,000 individual parks for the 77 largest cities in the United States has been collected for this report.

The Trust for Public Land is a national non-profit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy. Since 1972, the Trust for Public Land has worked with landowners, community groups, and national, state and local agencies to complete more than 3,900 land conservation projects in 47 states. Since 1994, they have helped states and communities pass over 330 ballot measures, generating almost $25 billion in new conservation related funding.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth will present its Sixth Annual Livable Communities Leadership Award to Congressman Gerry Connolly at an awards ceremony on February 25, 2009.

The Maine Downtown Center is seeking nominations for its 2009 Downtown Achievement Awards. The deadline for submitting nominations has been extended to March 20, 2009, at 4:00 pm.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson presented the 2009 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement on December 1 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Through the awards, four communities were recognized for their comprehensive approach to improving access to affordable housing, providing more transportation options and protecting the local environment for residents.

The four recipients of the 2009 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement are:

Overall Excellence: Lancaster County Planning Commission for Envision Lancaster County. Lancaster County, in south-central Pennsylvania, is known for its historic towns and villages, and its fertile farmland. To maintain the county’s character, its diverse economy, and its natural resources for future generations, the Lancaster County Planning Commission established a countywide comprehensive growth management plan, which protects valuable farmland and historic landscapes by directing development to established towns and cities in the county.

Policies and Regulations: City of Charlotte for Urban Street Design Guidelines. As the central city in a rapidly growing metropolitan area, Charlotte, N.C., is under intense development pressures. Rather than continue the automobile-dominated development patterns of the last 50 years, Charlotte adopted Urban Street Design Guidelines to make walking, bicycling, and transit more appealing and to make the city more attractive and sustainable.

Built Projects: Chicago Housing Authority, FitzGerald Associates Architects and Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation for Parkside of Old Town. Parkside of Old Town sits on eight city blocks that were once home to a public housing complex notorious for criminal activity. The redevelopment has transformed the neighborhood by reconnecting it to downtown Chicago and tying together mixed-income housing, parks, and new shops and restaurants.

Smart Growth and Green Building: City of Tempe, Ariz. for the Tempe Transportation Center. The Tempe Transportation Center is a model for sustainable design, a vibrant, mixed-use regional transportation hub that incorporates innovative and green building elements tailored to the Southwest desert environment. The Tempe Transportation Center is a true multi-modal facility that integrates a light rail stop, the main city bus station, and paths for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The Local Government Commission (LGC) is conducting a ''Call for Session Proposals'' (CFSP) for the 2009 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference program. This process will be open from May 19 through June 25, 2008. The submittal review process will take place from early-July through late-August 2008.

The Valley Development Council, in collaboration with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, invites you to participate in the 2009 Smart Growth Design & Reuse Competition.

Architects, designers, landscape architects, planners and students are invited to prepare concept plans for the redevelopment of three strategic sites in the Pioneer Valley, a region of Western Massachusetts defined by the Connecticut River Valley. These sites are located in Southampton, Palmer and Hadley.

The goal for this international design competition is to create a local example of sustainable development and redevelopment, and to provide a model of how communities in the region can grow smarter. With the partnerships formed through this competition process, there will be significant momentum for turning the winning concept plan idea into reality.

Deadline for submissions is January 15, 2010.

Smart Growth Vermont announces its 2009 Smart Growth Awards and Art Gibb Award Ceremony. This awards program honors projects, initiatives, and plans anywhere in the state of Vermont that demonstrate smart growth principles in action.

The ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition, now in its eighth year, offers graduate-level students the opportunity to form their own multidisciplinary teams and engage in a challenging exercise in responsible land use. Student teams comprising at least three disciplines will have two weeks to devise a comprehensive design and development program for a real, large-scale site fraught with challenges and opportunities. Submissions will consist of boards that include drawings, site plans, tables, and market-feasible financial data.

ULI will announce this year’s competition site on January 18, 2010, which is the day the competition officially gets underway.

The winning team will receive $50,000 and the finalist teams $10,000 each.

MetLife Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) are partnering for the ninth year to recognize, sustain and share the work of innovative partnerships between community groups and police to promote neighborhood safety and revitalization.

Preliminary Application Deadline: February 26, 2010

Awardees will receive monetary grants ranging from $15,000 to $25,000.

Case studies about award-winning partnerships will be disseminated throughout the community development and law enforcement industries.

Cash grants will be awarded in the following two categories:

Neighborhood Revitalization Awards (Six at $15,000-25,000): These awards celebrate exemplary collaboration between community groups and police that yields crime reduction as well as economic development outcomes, such as real estate development, business attraction and job growth.

Special Strategy Awards (Five at $15,000): Community and police partners who have achieved significant accomplishments in one of the following areas will receive awards:

Metropolis's 2010 Next Generation Design Competition is now accepting entries based on the theme is One Design Fix for the Future. The competition is looking for one small (but utterly brilliant!) design fix that can be made now, and that will have a lasting postive impact on the designed environment. The competition is open to all designers and architects in practice ten years or less (including design students), and the winner will receive $10,000 to help make his or her idea a reality.

Deadline: January 29, 2010.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now accepting applications for the 2010 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. This competition is open to public- and private-sector entities that have successfully used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically.

The application period is open from February 8, 2010 to April 5, 2010.

Up to five awards will be given in the following categories:

February 4-6, 2010 – Seattle, WA

The 9th Annual 2010 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Seattle, Washington, boasted record-breaking attendance. Some 1,600 people from across the country gathered for three days of presentations, discussions, and information sharing. For more information about the conference, see www.newpartners.org.

The conference was produced by the Local Government Commission (LGC), with support form a very impressive and multi-disciplinary group of partners and sponsoring organizations, agencies, and companies. Without their collective support, this dynamic event would not have been possible. For a complete list of sponsors and cosponsors, see

The conference was produced by the Local Government Commission (LGC), with support form a very impressive and multi-disciplinary group of partners and sponsoring organizations, agencies, and companies. Without their collective support, this dynamic event would not have been possible. For a complete list of sponsors and cosponsors, visit the conference website.

PDF files of available PowerPoint presentations are now available on the conference program page at the link below. These files are available for FREE download.

Please note: some presentation files are large and may take time to download.

On February 10, 2010, HUD published an Advance Notice (75 FR 6689) announcing its intent to offer funding through competitive NOFA under its Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program. Through the Advance Notice, HUD sought input from state and local governments, regional bodies, community development entities, and a broad range of other stakeholders on how the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program should be structured in order to have the most meaningful impact on regional planning for sustainable development.

HUD is publishing this new Notice to inform potential applicants of the multi-week time frame for the registration requirements that must be met before an application can be submitted, as well as the application procedures to follow once the NOFA itself is published.

HUD is using this notice to request entities interested in applying for the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program to notify HUD of their intent to submit an application. Providing HUD with this information will allow HUD to properly access the workload anticipated during the review process and plan accordingly to ensure timely decision-making.

If your organization is interested in applying for the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program, please call the HUD NOFA Information Center as soon as possible at 1-800-HUD-8929. The NOFA Information Center will ask for your organization name and address, contact name, email, and telephone number, including area code. Notification of intent to apply is not a requirement for application. If you are an eligible applicant, you may still apply – notification merely helps HUD determine staffing requirements for review and evaluation of applicants.

The full Notice is available at the link below.

The U.S. Forest Service recently issued a Request for Proposals for the 2010 National Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost-Share Grant Program. There is approximately $900,000 available for projects within four issue areas:

A copy of the grant package is available on the Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry website at the link below.

Pre-Proposals must be posted to www.grants.gov or Courier hard copies received by 11:59 PM Eastern, December 15, 2009. Innovation proposals selected for full proposals will be (tentatively) due by 11:59 PM Eastern, March 17, 2010. The U.S. Forest Service will award the successful projects as Federal Financial Assistance grants no later than September 30, 2010.

In 21st Century Land Development Code from APA Planners Press, two of the nation's leading experts in land-use law and planning provide a comprehensive guide to drafting and updating land-use regulations.

The American Planning Association (APA) has announced its 2008 list of Great Neighborhoods, Great Streets, and Great Public Spaces -- in 21 states and the District of Columbia -- that offer better choices for where and how people work and live.

The March 2008 issue of Popular Science Magazine has ranked America's 50 Greenest Cities. Popular Science used raw data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society's Green Guide, which collected survey data and government statistics for American cities over 100,000 people in more than 30 categories, including air quality, electricity use, and transportation habits.

A Call To Farms: A Mid-Decade Review of Connecticut’s Agricultural Lands, a report prepared by The Working Lands Alliance, features a summary of key farmland data in the state of Connecticut, including land prices, land use, and farmland loss.

A Global Urban Agenda from the Urban Land Institute highlights issues discussed at ULI’s World Cities Forum in June 2005.

The Alternatives and the Rooftop Garden Project are publishers of Guide to Setting Up Your Own Edible Rooftop Garden, a guidebook that provides a top-to-bottom outline of creating and maintaining rooftop gardens.

A Guide to Smart Growth and Cultural Resource Planning, prepared by the Wisconsin Historical Society's Division of Historic Preservation, is now available.

Written by pioneering attorneys in the emerging fields of urbanism and green building, A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development for Planners, Developers and Architects offers you practical solutions for legal issues you may face in planning, zoning, developing, and operating such communities.

In an address to a gathering of the Urban Age in New York City on May 4, 2007, Bruce Katz argues that contrary to popular opinion, the United States exemplifies the world's drive towards urbanization, and that to remain prosperous, the U.S. must recognize the central lesson of the Urban Age: that the ability of the U.S., or any nation, to compete globally and meet the great environmental and social challenges of our time rests largely on the health and vitality of major cities and metropolitan areas.

''A National Model for Smart Growth'' is the title of this PowerPoint presentation from Ventura, California, on how the city is making smart growth central to its planning.

From the Executive Summary:
Governor Gary Locke convened the Sustainable Washington Advisory Panel in September 2002 because of the widening gap between our state’s current reality and a Washington that is equitable, healthy, and prospering. The Panel concluded that it is imperative to initiate significant changes now if we want Washington’s quality of life to improve, not diminish, over the next generation.

A Plan for Tomorrow: Re-Thinking Density to Create Stronger, Healthier Communities is a free PowerPoint presentation jointly prepared by the Urban Land Institute, the National Multi-Housing Council, and the Sierra Club, that shows how density can transform neighborhoods, and offers compelling research to allay conventional fears about density.

People need walkable communities where sidewalks, trails, and street crossings are safe, accessible, and comfortable for people of all ability levels. A Residents' Guide to Creating Safe and Walkable Communities from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, provides examples from communities that are working to improve pedestrian safety. It includes information, ideas, and resources to help residents learn about issues that affect walking conditions; find ways to address or prevent these problems; and promote pedestrian safety.

A Smart Growth Reader, prepared by the American Planning Association (APA), is designed as an aid to understanding the various elements that make up Smart Growth. This on-line publication draws on articles that have appeared in APA publications over the past two years, and is intended as a rich compendium of perspectives on the smart growth.

This briefing book from Grow Smart Rhode Island provides background information about issues that are critical for the state’s healthy economic and physical development, quality of life, and social well-being.

This analysis examines how schools and development can be planned together using common population projections, facility budgeting, comprehensive plans, and even common review staff.

Access to Safe Parks is a brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research that presents policy recommendations aimed at improving neighborhood environments and access to parks to encourage physical activity by California adolescents.

PolicyLink has developed Achieving Equity and Inclusion in America: Policy Principles for the Obama Administration and New Congress, a framework of principles that can guide federal decision-making to maximize the return on national investment for all Americans, especially low-income people and communities of color. These principles reflect the knowledge and experience PolicyLink has developed through its decade-long partnership with local leaders working to foster economic and social inclusion in communities across America.

The New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning (OEP) has produced a report and website, Achieving Smart Growth in New Hampshire. This project documents how New Hampshire is changing and highlights some positive examples of development and conservation throughout the state.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, architects and urban reformers helped to defeat infectious diseases, such as cholera and tuberculosis, by improving design of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, clean water systems and parks. In the 21st century, designers can again play a crucial role in combating the most rapidly growing public health epidemics of our time: obesity and its impact on related chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Today, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet are second only to tobacco use as the main causes of premature death in the United States. A growing body of research suggests that evidence-based architectural and urban design strategies can increase regular physical activity and healthy eating.

The Active Design Guidelines provides architects and urban designers with a manual of strategies for creating healthier buildings, streets and urban spaces, based on the latest academic research and best practices in the field. A growing body of research suggests that evidence-based architectural and urban design strategies can increase regular physical activity and healthy eating.

The Guidelines includes:

The Active Design Guidelines was developed through a partnership of the New York City departments of Design and Construction, Health and Mental Hygiene, Transportation, City Planning and the Office of Management and Budget, working with leading architectural and planning academics, and with assistance from the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. Other City agencies that contributed to the Guidelines include the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, Department of Buildings, Department of Parks and Recreation, School Construction Authority, Housing Preservation and Development and the Department for the Aging.

The Active Living Resource Center (ALRC) is an online resource designed to help citizens take charge in their neighborhoods and make them more physically active by making them more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. The ALRC Library provides dozens of resources that support this goal.

Active Living Research grantees have developed an objective and practical checklist to help residents, community groups, local government officials and advocacy organizations determine whether their neighborhoods are activity friendly. The checklist rates communities on land use, presence of public recreational facilities, availability of public transportation and quality of the environment.

Active Transportation for America from the Rails to Trails Conservancy makes the case and quantifies the national benefits -- for the first time -- that increased federal funding in bicycling and walking infrastructure would provide tens of billions of dollars in benefits to all Americans.

This report identifies a range of policies and approaches that help achieve both smart growth and affordable housing objectives. The report provides case studies of towns, cities, and states that have benefited from linking these two interrelated goals.

The Canadian Province of Manitoba has launched an Age Friendly Initiative with numerous partners to address the challenges facing the growing population of seniors.

The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) and Partners for Livable Communities (PLC) have launched a joint initiative to work with cities and counties over an 18-month period to facilitate a community dialogue on ''aging in place,'' and to assist community leaders in developing an action plan to ensure programs and services are in place so that communities are good places to grow old.

The U.S. EPA is inviting eligible candidates to submit applications for the Excellence in Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging award. Applications are due September 12, 2008.

This report to the New York State Advisory Council on Agriculture summarizes results from six regional round table discussions on Agriculture and Farmland Protection held between May and September, 2003. These discussions were held to obtain informed stakeholder views on current State programs designed to promote the agricultural industry and maintain the agricultural land base.

There is a growing recognition that the protection of farmland around cities and towns -- urban-influenced farmland -- contributes to smart growth and the livability of our communities. Not only does agricultural protection further smart growth, integral to smart growth is the protection of urban-influenced farmland. Sustainability begins -- although it does not end -- with the land that feeds us.

50to50 from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a how-to resource intended to assist architects and the construction industry in moving toward the AIA's public goal of a minimum 50 percent reduction of fossil fuel consumption in buildings by 2010 and carbon neutrality by 2030.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) has announced winners of its 2008 ''Top Ten Green Projects.'' Each project was evaluated on ten measures, documented extensively on the COTE Web site, which include design innovation, community context and land use, longevity, bioclimatic design, water and energy conservation, materials, and indoor environment.

Did you miss the 2009 AIA convention? The American Institute of Architects is offering through its website a video stream of select presentations and workshops from the 2009 National Convention and Design Exposition.

Through a commitment initiated by the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable in 1986, AIA Seattle has established two funds to advance professional diversity through support of students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds at the University of Washington College of Architecture and Urban Planning: the AIA Seattle Diversity Scholarship, and the Denice Hunt K-12 Internship.

The SDAT is a community assistance program that focuses on the principles of sustainability. SDATs will bring a team of volunteer professionals (such as architects, urban designers, planners, hydrologists, economists, attorneys, and others) to work with community decision-makers and stakeholders to help them develop a vision and framework for a sustainable future.

The American Institute of Architects Center for Communities by Design announces the 2009 Sustainable Design Assessment Team Program Request for Proposals.

The AIA Center for Communities by Design announces the 2010 Sustainable Design Assessment Team Program Request for Proposals. The RFP solicits applications for inclusion in the Sustainable Design Assessment Team 2010 program.

The Alcan Prize for Sustainability is a $1 million prize that recognizes organizations demonstrating a comprehensive approach to addressing, achieving and further advancing economic, environmental and/or social sustainability. The Alcan Prize for Sustainability is one of the world’s most significant, privately funded Prizes. One Prize is awarded annually.

NOAA Coastal Services Center offers an extensive online library of information and tools for coastal development, mapping, and restoration. In Alternatives for Coastal Development: One Site, Three Scenarios, the Center examines design scenarios in terms of Smart Growth.

America 2050 is a national initiative to meet the infrastructure, economic development and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add about 130 million additional Americans by the year 2050.

American Makeover is a new web-exclusive series that explores growth and development alternatives in communities across America, looking at what can be done to help our communities grow in such a way that gives us the kind of neighborhoods and choices we're increasingly looking for.

The first episode ''sounds the alarm bell on Atlanta’s sprawl.'' No one who has ever been to Atlanta will argue their status as poster child of sprawling growth, but it's encouraging that the filmmakers spend most of the short episode taking a closer look at the alternatives in Atlanta — focusing on those growing millions of people who are looking for places to live that are walkable and connected and dontt entail hour-long car commutes to work, school, or the local market.

The series is expected to include episodes of four to five more cities.

APA is a nonprofit, public interest organization representing 30,000 practicing planners, elected and appointed officials, and citizens involved in urban and rural planning issues. APA's members believe that sound planning is essential to meeting our nation's economic, environmental, and community development needs. Sixty-five percent of the members work in state and local government agencies, helping citizens define the kind of community they want to live in and developing policies, plans, and land use regulations that respond to those desires. APA is working with the SGN to disseminate ''best practice'' techniques for encouraging citizen participation, reforming state and local planning frameworks, and promoting sustainable development patterns.

Presentations from the 2004 Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations Conference are available online as PowerPoint files through the AMPO website.

Presentations from the 2008 Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations Conference are available online as PDF files through the AMPO website. The event was held October 28-31, 2008, in in Seattle, Washington.

The AMPO Annual Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, October 2-4, 2007, drew close to 300 attendees from MPO's, state and federal agencies, and consulting firms. Presentations from many conference events are now available online at the AMPO website.

An Alternative Future is a comprehensive look at an alternate trend for development that would accommodate the predicted doubling of Florida's population by 2060 without changing the character of the landscape. By creating an efficient transportation infrastructure, a significant cost-savings can be realized -- up to $526 billion dollars -- over the current development trends.

The American Planning Association (APA) offers the Audio Conference Training Series comprised of thematic audio and visual training programs. Topics during the current series include Economic Development for Small Towns, Planning and Public Health, and Planning for Safe Growth.

With northeastern Illinois expected to grow by 1.9 million people over the next 25 years, a new vision -- one that will accommodate this anticipated growth in an efficient, coordinated and sustainable manner -- is guiding decision making around the region. This vision is a key component of the 2040 Regional Framework Plan, recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Planning Award for a Plan from the American Planning Association (APA).

The American Planning Association has created a website featuring resources and information from their 2007 National Planning Conference. Session reports, photos from various events, media coverage, and more can be found at this resource.

The American Planning Association (APA) is seeking proposals for providing educational content at the 2009 APA National Planning Conference in Minneapolis, April 25–29, 2009.

The April 2007 issue of Getting Smart! focuses on three case studies of faith-based organizations and religious institutions that have been pivotal in the success of smart growth efforts.

The April 2009 Getting Smart e-newsletter features articles on energy-related topics. With the Obama Administration declaring energy a priority and investing billions of federal dollars in new and existing programs, this edition offers some ideas for broader consideration.

The Atlanta Regional Commission's (ARC's) Green Communities Program is a voluntary certification program for jurisdictions in the 10-county Atlanta, Georgia, region to encourage local governments to become more sustainable. ARC developed the program to assist local governments in reducing their overall environmental impact.

The Arizona Smart Growth Scorecard is a valuable tool for community self-assessment developed by a working group of the Growth Cabinet with input from public and private stakeholders. It is designed to strengthen the ability of local officials to plan for future growth and development and to adopt comprehensive strategies that address growth-related pressures. As Arizona continues to attract unprecedented population growth, all levels of government must play a role in wisely planning and managing both the challenges and opportunities that new growth and development present.

Recognizing that communities measure and track how well they are implementing smart growth and look for areas of improvement, the Growth Cabinet prepared this Scorecard to help communities assess whether they have the right tools in place to promote smart growth. Executive Order 2007-05, directed state agencies to identify how state discretionary funds might provide incentives to communities for growing smarter and technical assistance for those needing support. The intent is to provide communities, counties, and Tribal governments - small or large, rural or urban - with a simple, clear, usable means of evaluating how well prepared they are for the pressures of growth. In addition, the Scorecard can help spur action on local and regional approaches to address growth issues and provide incentives and assistance to communities wanting to effectively and efficiently manage development. Cities, towns, counties, and Tribal governments will be evaluated by the set of smart growth criteria and indicators contained within the Scorecard.

Arlington's Smart Growth Journey is a documentary film that traces the dramatic history of the past half-century of growth and development in Arlington, Virginia.

This online document catalogs smart growth initiatives such as compact development, urban revitalization, affordable housing, and open space protection at the local, regional, and state level in the Bay Area, elsewhere in California, and in the rest of the country.

The Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) Livable Centers Initiative encourages local jurisdictions to plan and implement strategies that link transportation improvements with land use development strategies to create sustainable, livable communities consistent with regional development policies.

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) has launched an ambitious initiative, called ''Fifty Forward: Metro Atlanta Futures Forum,'' to explore possible future scenarios for metro Atlanta and forge an action plan to ensure future livability, prosperity and sustainability.

New audio recordings are now available from three Smart Growth Speaker Series events at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. These lectures are part of a four-part series focusing on Smart Growth in Washington, D.C., which will conclude with the April 23, 2008 event celebrating 10 years of the Smart Growth Speaker Series.

The August 2007 issue of Getting Smart! focuses on one of the hottest -- no pun intended -- issues of the day: climate change. The transportation sector is one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. To effectively reduce emissions from the transportation sector, we must reduce the number of miles U.S. residents drive; in other words, land use patterns must change. Smart growth will play a critical role in making this change happen.

The latest issue of Getting Smart! is now available for all Smart Growth Network members in the Members Section. This edition of Getting Smart! examines how the most public of places -- our community's streets -- can be transformed to serve not only vehicles but also pedestrians and cyclists.

The Home Depot Foundation’s Awards of Excellence for Sustainable Community Development recognizes public-private partnerships that have successfully developed projects and/or initiatives that promote and exemplify a more sustainable community. Truly sustainable projects take a holistic, integrated approach, whereby sustainability planning, affordable housing and the creation of green spaces and planting of trees are inextricably linked.

Projects that qualify for the Awards of Excellence in Sustainable Community Development program exhibit thoughtful construction of a neighborhood which includes green affordable housing and tree plantings and have gone beyond to address overarching community issues. These projects have contributed to creating a stronger connection among the residents and addressed many broad-scale issues, including treatment of stormwater, economic development, reducing urban heat island effect, disaster preparedness, carbon reduction strategies, abandoned and foreclosed properties, pedestrian friendliness, traffic calming, transit oriented development, and resident health and quality of life.

The Awards of Excellence go to both the cities and their non-profit partners representing the partnership that completed the local initiative. The Foundation will recognize a National Winner ($75,000 grant), National Runner-up ($25,000 grant), and up to three Honorable Mentions ($2,500 grant).

The grants are to be used at the discretion of the non-profit to further the sustainability goals of the community.

Responses are due March 31, 2010.

Balancing the Land Use/Transportation Equation, from the American Institute Of Certified Planners, discusses recent research and examples of the integration of land-use and transportation policies.

This unique, 312-page volume from the Environmental Law Institute features an extensive categorization of land development conditions by type of public facility and an extensive discussion of ways in which impact fees can be calculated.

Barriers to Environmental Design in Maryland, a report by 1000 Friends of Maryland, examines the barriers that continue to discourage environmental design in Maryland and offers suggestions for how State and local governments can remove these roadblocks and help foster more environmentally responsible decisions in conceiving and constructing landscapes.

Four San Francisco, California Bay Area regional agencies have joined forces in a Joint Policy Committee. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) are working together to create complete, livable communities.

Housing located far from transit and employment centers places a heavy financial strain on working families in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, according to a 2009 publication from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing. Beltway Burden: The Combined Cost of Housing and Transportation in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, documents the challenges faced by area working families who are forced to ''drive 'til they qualify'' for housing, incurring higher transportation costs that eventually erode their housing cost savings. It finds that area families are victim to combined housing and transportation costs that constitute, on average, nearly 47 percent of the area median income.

The Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC) has produced this report that rates 18 projects in nine counties of the San Francisco Bay area.

APA Planners Press. 1996. In this book Reid Ewing argues that the best development is both profitable and sustainable. APA Planners Press.

This lavishly illustrated, hardcover awards book profiles 48 top development projects throughout the world. Each project description includes photos, the development story, and project data and is a winner or finalist for the prestigious ULI Awards for Excellence. The annual prize is based on financial viability, the resourceful use of land, design, relevance to contemporary issues, and sensitivity to the community and environment.

Better Models for Development in California is a one of a kind publication for creating, maintaining and enhancing livable communities in California.

Authors Edward McMahon and Shelley Mastran offer practical advice on key issues facing communities throughout Maryland in Better Models for Development in Maryland, published by the Conservation Fund.

Better Models for Development in Pennsylvania is a 134-page book that offers officials and citizens dozens of ideas and examples of ways to balance conservation with economic development.

The City of Bridgeport and Bridgeport Regional Business Council have released BGreen 2020, a Sustainability Plan that outlines the policies and actions to be implemented in the next decade to improve the quality of life, social equity, and economic competitiveness of the city while reducing carbon emissions and increasing the community's resilience to the effects of climate change and increasing energy costs. The program management team, led by Regional Plan Association, convened the efforts of more than a hundred stakeholders in a Community Advisory Committee and working groups to develop strategies to address brownfields and land use, pedestrian and transit access, renewable energy production, and environmental protection while supporting the growth of green jobs in the region.

BGreen 2020 is the result of a public-private partnership between the City of Bridgeport and the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, a consortium of local business groups. By building on Bridgeport's existing strengths, BGreen will modernize the city's infrastructure, create wealth, intensify urban amenities, enhance environmental quality, enable revitalization without gentrification, and retain Bridgeport's historic character. Early priorities are the creation of an Energy Improvement District to support energy efficiency and production, adopting a ''Transit First'' policy, developing a plan for open space use and maintenance, expanding recycling, and protecting the region's waterways through enhanced stormwater management. A Green Collar Institute will train workers and act as an incubator for developing green industries.

More information, and a download link, can be found at the link below.

(Reprinted with permission from Regional Plan Association)

This paper discusses the relationship between biodiversity conservation and smart growth, the work that is being done, and suggests promising strategies and explicit collaborations for consideration by philanthropic and public funders and other key actors.

Blueprint Buffalo is a report from the National Vacant Properties Campaign (Campaign) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation -- Buffalo (LISC-Buffalo) that outlines a strategy to rebuild the Buffalo, New York region using smart growth development principles, with an emphasis on reclaiming and reusing vacant and abandoned properties.

This PowerPoint presentation promotes Smart Growth principles in the Greater Washington, D.C. metro area.

The Blueprint for American Prosperity is a multi-year initiative from Brookings to promote an economic agenda for the nation that builds on the assets -- and centrality -- of America's metropolitan areas.

From 2005-2007, 1000 Friends of Oregon, the Bus Project, and more than 50 other organizations hosted a series of town hall forums in 16 locations across the state. Called ''Envision Oregon,'' these forums challenged more than 2,200 participants from over 140 towns and places in Oregon to describe their vision for Oregon's future, and to help create strategies for making that vision a reality. They also formed the foundation for Blueprint for Oregon's Future.

Blueprint Houston is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building community support for a planning process that makes improvements to Houston's quality of life and place.

Breaking the Codes is a report from Good Jobs First that documents the ways that states are revising their building codes to encourage more rehabilitation of existing structures, especially in urban areas.

To demonstrate the benefits of city parks and the varied positive affects they can have on a community, the City Parks Forum is producing a series of briefing papers on ''How Cities Use Parks For…''

Since the 1970's, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has been helping to transform used land into gardens and parks. TPL has posted on its website recent examples -- snapshot portraits of communities where brownfields are giving way to gardens, parks, greenways and open space.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting proposals from eligible entities and non-profit organizations for financial assistance to assist non-federal personnel in participating in three national Brownfields conferences to be planned and held over a five-year period, beginning in 2009.

This case study from the Local Government Commission examines how the town of Hercules, California, reclaimed a 426-acre brownfield site in the middle of town.

The Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) is one of the key competitive grant programs that HUD administers to stimulate and promote economic and community development activities under Section 108(q) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. BEDI is designed to assist cities with the redevelopment of abandoned, idled and underused industrial and commercial facilities with expansion and redevelopment of real or perceived environmental contamination.

The U.S Conference of Mayors website offers a list of brownfields links on its website.

Orlando's Baldwin Park community, the largest single-phase demolition and recycling project in history that has resulted in one of the nation's most successful residential real estate developments, has added yet another prestigious award to its trophy case. The Phoenix Award™ was presented to Baldwin Park Development Company during the Brownfields 2006 environmental conference in Boston.

The February 2009 Brownfields Policy Research Newsletter from Northeast/Midwest Institute (NEMW) includes links to recent reports and white papers plus a feature article, ''Infill, Historic Preservation, and Infrastructure Savings.''

Building Better: A Guide to America's Best New Development Projects from the Sierra Club reports on the current state of development in the United States and highlights some of the best new developments that are producing healthy neighborhoods and livable communities.

Building Commons and Community documents 45 years of the late Karl Linn's legacy creating neighborhood spaces for communities and by communities. In this richly-illustrated landscape-format hardcover book, Linn presents his philosophies and practical wisdom to help people use the resources they find in their own surroundings to create welcoming shared spaces.

The overarching goal of Building Community through Transportation, a Project for Public Spaces (PPS) initiative, is to support Placemaking and transform federal, state, and metropolitan transportation policies and practice that currently prioritize moving people and goods over creating walkable, healthy and sustainable communities. This campaign is also focused on influencing the design of streets and transit facilities so they become assets and gathering places for civic life.

Building Florida’s Future: Strategies for Regional Cooperation, a report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Florida Initiative on Regional Collaboration, outlines how the state's communities can benefit economically and in maintaining a high quality of life by working closely together during the substantial growth expected in the next 15 years.

The U.S. EPA's Aging Initiative is spearheading the multi-agency Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging Award. The The principal goal of the is to raise awareness across the nation about healthy synergies that can be achieved by communities combining Smart Growth and Active Aging concepts.

The principal goal of the Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging Award program is to raise awareness across the nation about healthy synergies that can be achieved by communities combining Smart Growth and Active Aging concepts.

The U.S. EPA has produced a booklet for recipients of its Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging Awards 2008. Included in this booklet are details on the 2008 Achievement Award Winner, 2008 Commitment Award Winners, and 2007 BHCAA Winner Updates.

Nominations are now open for the 2009 Excellence in Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging Awards. This award from the U.S. EPA's Aging Initiative program recognizes communities for their outstanding comprehensive approaches to implementing principles of smart growth, as well as strategies that support active aging.

The U.S. EPA has announced winners of its Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging: Training and Demonstration Projects. EPA has awarded the Training Grant to the Univeristy of Maine, and the Demonstration Grant to Portland State University.

Local Government Commission/The Center for Livable Communities. 1995; updated 2001. This guide suggests a number of ways to create infill development in your community and helps to answer two of a policymaker's most frequently asked questions: ''Why build in town?'' and ''What can local government do to encourage infill development?''

Planning for Prosperity: Building Successful Communities in the Sierra Nevada is designed to help decision-makers in the Sierra Nevada plan wisely and effectively for their communities' futures.

PolicyLink and Action! offer Building the Line to Equity: Six Steps for Achieving Equitable Transit Oriented Development in Massachusetts, a report that lays out a set of principles for achieving transit development without displacement.

Recorded in May of 2009 in Buffalo, New York, the short film ''Built to Last'' is independent filmmaker John Paget's short film exploring the connection between New Urbanism and environmental issues.

Newsweek, May 15, 1995. Lead article introducing the new urbanist movement, principals, practitioners and vision. Also includes a set of 15 steps needed to fix the American suburb from the viewpoint of new urbanists

The Califia Sketchbook Design Competition will demonstrate what life will be like in Califia, a proposed next generation eco-city. People from around the world are invited to enter a conceptual sketch conveying their view of ''slices-of-life'' within Califia, revealing smarter ways of building, powering, and maintaining the urban fabric. The program sponsors believe that allowing for more direct public involvement in the design of future living spaces is the first step in a successful eco-city project.

California's Proposition 1C, approved by voters in 2006, authorized the sale of bonds to fund existing affordable and support housing programs. In addition, Proposition 1C establishes funds totaling $1.15 billion to promote three types of housing projects that have never before received public support in such a targeted way: 1) infill development 2) transit-oriented development (TOD), and 3) brownfield development.

On behalf of the Strategic Growth Council, the California Dept. of Conservation is administering a $22.3 million competitive planning grant program for sustainable community plans.

The primary purpose of this grant program is to implement the vision of the Governor and Legislature to foster and support development of sustainable communities. Local governments will need to adopt land use plans and integrated strategies that can transform communities and create long term prosperity. Such communities shall promote equity, strengthen the economy, protect the environment and promote healthy, safe communities.

Under SB 732, approximately $60 million will be awarded to cities, counties, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs), Regional Transportation Planning Agencies (RTPAs), and Council of Governments (COGs). The Council anticipates two or three funding cycles.

Funds will be used to encourage sustainable regional and local actions that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, promote water conservation, reduce automobile use and fuel consumption, encourage infill and compact development, protect natural resources and agricultural lands, promote public health, and revitalize urban and community centers. Proposals must help achieve state planning priorities and environmental goals, as well as promote cooperative and scale-appropriate methods and strategies that reflect the interdependence of environmental, economic and community health.

Workshops will be conducted to provide technical assistance in preparing grant applications and vetting project proposals for eligibility and competitiveness.

Applications are due by August 31, 2010.

The State of California offers the internet-based Transit-Oriented Development Searchable Database. Access and search detailed information on 21 Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) in California -- also called transit villages -- such as: land uses, site maps, implementation processes, financing, facilities, zoning, design features, pedestrian access, transit services, photos, travel benefits, contact information, and other valuable data.

Urbanism Down Under 2005 -- Creative Urban Futures, an international urban design conference with an Australasian focus, has issued a Call for Abstracts for their August 2005 conference.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the fifth annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement.

The National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland will grant one award in the amount of $1000 for the best masters thesis focused on urban growth and development issues completed in the 2007 academic year. Masters students in urban planning, public policy, civil engineering, public and community health, economics and finance, political science or related fields are encouraged to apply.

The Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management (CUPEM), The University of Hong Kong, in association with ERP Environment, have announced the 12th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference 2006 will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong on April 6-8, 2006.

The Local Government Commission is conducting a ''Call for Program Ideas'' for the 2008 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference program. This process will be open from June 6th through July 11th, 2007. The submittal review process will take place from mid-July through late-September 2007, and those selected for inclusion in the final program will be notified by late September.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has received requests from communities and universities for help in developing model courses that incorporate smart growth into hands-on, applied course offerings.

Campus Sustainability Profiles is a web-based resource comprised of applications for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE's) Campus Sustainability Leadership Awards.

The Indiana University Task Force on Campus Sustainability has released the Campus Sustainability Report, a collective work of more than 100 IU faculty, staff, and students who have been engaged, over the past six months, in developing a sustainability plan for the IU-Bloomington campus.

Corporate Knights Magazine has issued its 2009 Sustainable Cities Report, the third annual report detailing which Canadian cities have the smallest environmental footprint.

The Charter of the New Urbanism is the guiding document of the new urbanist movement. Although it offers an encompassing vision of sustainable urbanism from the scale of the region to the block and building, three leading CNU members, including two who had a central role in drafting the original Charter, undertook an effort to clarify and detail the relationship between New Urbanism and sustainability. The resulting document, The Canons of Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism, is designed to serve as a set of operating principles for human settlement that reestablish the relationship between the art of building, the making of community, and the conservation of our natural world.

Northwest Environment Watch (NEW) offers the Cascadia Scorecard, a new gauge of regional progress that monitors seven key trends--health, economy, population, energy, sprawl, forests, and pollution--that are profoundly shaping the region's future.

Case Studies for Transit-Oriented Development, a report prepared for Local Initiatives Support Corp. by Reconnecting America, is a short summary of the TOD tools that are used by communities all across the country.

The New Jersey Smart Growth Gateway, a project of New Jersey Future, is an online resource to provide the information necessary to begin implementing Smart Growth Strategies in their communities. Included on this website are links to on- and off-site case studies from a variety of organizations.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) facilitates a Listserv that addresses issues related to health and the built environment. An e-newsletter that includes related news articles, latest studies, and updates on conferences and events related to livability is sent to all subscribers once a month.

The PolicyLink Center for Infrastructure Equity advocates for fair and inclusive policies and provides community and grassroots leaders, advocates, and public officials with the tools, training, and consultation needed to ensure that public investments in infrastructure create economic opportunity and health in all communities. The center has evolved out of several years of action-oriented research and partnerships by PolicyLink with state and local organizations, and is poised to continue that work while also addressing key new federal infrastructure policy opportunities.

Founded in 1978, CNT invents and develops tools and methods for sustainable development. CNT is working with the SGN to promote technical assistance and to enhance regional cooperation in South Florida. It is also working with the Surface Transportation Policy Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council to develop and implement location-efficient mortgages, which take into account the transportation efficiency of a property's location, making home ownership more affordable for properties located closer to public transportation. CNT has organized a coalition of 140 groups in the Chicago region to develop a long-range transportation plan that promotes smart growth. It has also led the way in using transit-oriented development as a redevelopment strategy in an urban setting, and it has created a financial intermediary to promote inner-city commercial development around transit.

Center for Sustainable Communities, part of the National Association of Counties (NACo) website, provides a forum for county officials to work with other government leaders, the private sector, and communities to develop policies and programs that lead to economic enhancement, environmental stewardship and social well being -- the three pillars of sustainable communities.

The Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD) is celebrating its fifth year in 2009, and has published a brochure detailing its projects, partnerships and intellectual capital.

The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) is an all-University applied research and technology center at the University of Minnesota that connects faculty and students with community organizations and public institutions working on significant public policy issues in Minnesota.

The Central Florida Regional Indicators Report 2005 establishes a regional key indicator system that not only measures progress in the myregion priority areas but indicates the region’s success in becoming less fragmented and more coordinated.

The Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida was established by the Governor and Legislature of Florida to envision the future of Florida -- to help citizens and state leaders prepare for a continued increase in population and to craft a plan that meets the challenges and opportunities this presents. This First Annual Report lays the foundation for the creation of a sustainable Florida.

CEOs for Cities is a membership-based national network of urban leaders dedicated to creating next generation cities that hold the answers to many of the challenges our nation faces. Through its website, members and visitors can keep current on events, publications and projects, meetings, and more.

Forward Scotland is currently developing and looking for partners for Champions for Sustainable Communities. Originally launched in 2008, this is an award that recognizes the achievements of individuals across society who have lead the way in community development with the highest regard for sustainable development principles.

As the nation looks to make significant new federal investments in infrastructure, Changing Metropolitan America: Planning for a Sustainable Future, a new publication from the Urban Land Institute, outlines strategies for building and maintaining infrastructure that fosters sustainable cities and metropolitan areas.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council has established a scholarship award in memory of Charles W. Eliot, II. Mr. Eliot was an advocate of regional cooperation and especially interested in land use planning as it affected open space protection, land management, and other ecological issues.

This scholarship is open to any senior in a secondary school in the 101 city-and-town MAPC region, who is planning to further his/her education in these fields, which were of significant value to Mr. Eliot. A cash prize of at least $500 will be awarded in the form of a scholarship to the school of the recipient's choice.

The deadline for 2010 applications is April 23, 2010.

The Chicago Climate Action Plan describes the major effects climate change could have on the city and suggests how all city residents can work together to address those challenges.

Chicago's Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Center for Neighborhood Technology a reports on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the Chicago metro region for the years 2000 and 2005, assesses the impacts of the 8.4 million people who live in the region and the commerce conducted there, and provides four key findings of the research.

Chicago's Green Dividend is a fact sheet that illustrates how a difference of 2 miles in commuting distance can result in billions saved in transportation costs. Chicago residents, who travel on average 2 miles less in their daily commute than residents of other major U.S. cities, enjoy this “green dividend.”

Center for Neighborhood Technology recently helped to co-author Chicago's Guide to Completing an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, a guide that will help cities and counties to develop a long-term and sustainable energy efficiency and conservation plan.

CitiesGoGreen is a project focused on answering the question, ''How can cities and other local governments become sustainable as quickly and effectively as possible?'' With both an online and offline presence -- the project includes a digital and a print magazine, distributed with the intent to encourage effective movement by cities and other local governments toward sustainability.

The Citistates Group is a network of journalists, speakers and civic leaders focused on building competitive, equitable and sustainable 21st century metropolitan regions.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy offers U.S. planning boards a complimentary Citizen Planners Resource Kit. The Citizen Planners Resource Kit was developed for distribution to local planning boards and commissions across the U.S. as part of the Lincoln Institute’s mission to reach out to citizen planning commissions through educational programs, publications, multi-media resources, and its website.

The City Parks Forum, a special initiative of the American Planning Association (APA), has published a second series of briefing papers that show mayors, city managers, planners and others how to use healthy parks to create safer neighborhoods, protect and enhance urban environments, improve learning among children, and improve public health.

When There's Nothing to Conserve -- Create! is a publication from the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) that describes how, from Boston to San Francisco, successful parks have been created out of former factories, home sites, office buildings, railyards, parking lots, landfills, and even highways.

When your city is seeking solutions, avoid reinventing the wheel by using the City Practice Resources compiled by the staff of the National League of Cities. Four City Practice Resources are now available: City Practice Online Database, City Practices Briefs, Municipal Action Guides, and the Municipal Reference Service Inquiry Service.

Civilizing Downtown Highways from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is a must-read for anyone interested in traffic management. Using California as a case study, this book discusses the struggle New Urbanists face in reconstructing inner-city super highways into walkable, business-friendly thouroghfares.

The Climate Neutral Campus Report contains peer-reviewed white papers, case studies, executive interviews and vendor profiles that share strategies, challenges and solutions for higher education institutions that are striving for climate neutrality.

''Success Stories from our Cities and Counties'' is a project of the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network Climate Protection Task Force. Formed in May 2007, the Joint Venture Public Sector Climate Task Force includes representatives from every city and county in Silicon Valley, plus several special districts and representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric and SunPower.

The Climate Smart Communities program from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is a state and local partnership to encourage climate protection. The program is centered around a pledge to combat climate change and includes the online resource, A Guide for Local Officials: Climate Smart Communities.

Climate protection is one of the four key goals of the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the Climate, Energy and Transport section of its website deals with the topic of climate change on a global scale.

Climate@CNU is the Congress for the New Urbanism's (CNU's) Low-Carbon Urbanism Campaign, which emphasizes low-carbon neighborhoods and high-quality living.

Sim Van der Ryn became the 10th recipient of the Athena Award when the the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) honored him at its Sustainable Communities 2008 conference in September 2008. Van der Ryn earned an international reputation as the ''father of the green building'' during his tenure as California State Architect during then Governor Jerry Brown's administration.

The Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) has honored 19 professional, student, and faculty projects with in their 2006 Charter Awards competition.

The Congress for the New Urbanism announces the recipients of its 2007 Charter Awards, the annual prize honoring the best of the New Urbanism. The 20 winning professional submissions and 5 student/faculty submissions were chosen by a seven-member jury of distinguished urbanists in March 2007.

The Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) is accepting nominations for its 2007 Charter Awards, recognizing achievements in design, planning, and development that meet the exacting standards of the Charter of the New Urbanism.

The Congress for the New Urbanism-New England recognized five winners at its First Annual CNU New England Awards. These awards recognize the best of new urbanist plans, programs, designs, and projects based upon the principles set forth in the Charter of the New Urbanism.

Are you looking for ideas on how other communities are successfully promoting walkable, neighborhood-based development? The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) offers a Project Database that features dozens of new urbanist developments from throughout the United States and other countries.

The Congress for New Urbanism offers the CNU XIV Multimedia Toolkit, a collection of materials from sessions and events at the 2006 CNU Congress. The Toolkit includes audio and video from nearly 50 Congress sessions, a similar number of slideshows, and reports from the correspondents who covered the Congress for the online Daily NUws.

The Coalition for Smarter Growth will host its Tenth Anniversary Celebration November 14, 2007 in Washington, DC at the True Reformer Building, with a reception, silent auction, and presentation of the 2007 Capital Region Visionary Awards.

Codifying New Urbanism describes New Urbanist essentials, the steps to putting New Urbanism to work in your community, and the successes of 12 communities who have followed the approaches described in the report.

GreenReportCard.org is the first website to provide in-depth sustainability profiles for hundreds of colleges in all 50 U.S. States and Canada. Its College Sustainability Report Card is the only independent evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

The Colorado Governor's Awards for Downtown Excellence is an annual program that recognizes the progress being made in revitalizing Colorado's historic downtown and neighborhood business districts and the contributions these districts are making to Colorado's quality of life and economy.

This commentary in the Springfield (MO) News-Leader argues that Springfield's economic resilience depends on the city setting a statewide example of growth management in the Show Me State.

The Commonwealth Capital (CC) policy of the Office for Commonwealth Development (OCD) coordinates Massachusetts capital spending programs that affect development patterns. The state's goal is to invest in projects that are consistent with OCD's Sustainable Development Principles and partner with municipalities seeking to advance the Commonwealth's development and resource protection interests.

Honoring smart growth design, cutting-edge community development, and progressive urban and rural planning in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Design Awards recognize design excellence and responsible development in Pennsylvania.

Communities Creating Healthy Environments is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that aims to prevent childhood obesity by increasing access to healthy foods and safe places to play in communities of color. The program will advance RWJF's efforts to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015 by supporting diverse, community-based organizations and federally chartered tribal nations in the development and implementation of effective, culturally competent policy initiatives to address childhood obesity at the local level.

To aid communities to begin the planning process, the Smart Growth Education Foundation has established a grant program to provide seed money to help pay for professional planning help.

SGEF will fund up to 40% of an eligible project with the maximum amount not to exceed $4,000 for any single project. However, each project will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, if a project demonstrates ''extraordinary compliance'' with multiple Smart Growth principles, a higher level of funding could be considered.

One-half of the grant amount will be paid at the outset of the project; the second half will be paid when the project is completed. SGEF generally expects that the project will be completed within 12 months.

This is a unique service of an HBA that is to be part of an HBA organized Smart Growth Education Foundation that actually grants funds to local governments, so that they can implement ''Smart Growth'' zoning. The reality is local governments coming to an HBA Foundation for funding that will foster the goals of both entities.

This Environmental Protection Agency guide is a technical document designed to help environmental professionals engage human communities in the processes of creating, implementing, and sustaining environmental protection efforts. It is based on elements of social science theory and methodology (e.g., anthropology, cultural geography, political science, economics, and sociology) that are relevant to defining and understanding the connections between community life and environmental issues.

Community Design for Healthy Eating: How Land Use and Transportation Solutions Can Help, a research paper from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examines how community design and transportation flaws have contributed to a decrease in physical activity among Americans and an increase in rate of obesity.

''Community for a Lifetime'' is a statewide community recognition program offered by the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, in conjunction with the Michigan Commission on Services to the Aging and in cooperation with Michigan State University Extension.

Community Growth Options, a 1000 Friends of Minnesota program, is designed to deliver to small, fast-growing communities financial and other assistance for community planning, ordinance development and implementation.

1000 Friends of Minnesota and their University of Minnesota partners, the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, are managing the Community Growth Options (CGO) initiative, a six-year program funded by the McKnight Foundation and designed to deliver to small, fast-growing communities financial and other assistance for community planning, ordinance development, and implementation.

The Community Image Survey from the Local Government Commission (LGC) is a tool for helping decision-makers and their constituents address community design, land use and transportation issues. It uses visual images to help participants evaluate their existing environment and envision their community's future. Tailored for the needs of each community, the survey provides a foundation for planning and implementation efforts.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy offers the Community Lots project, an online resource designed to help community-based organizations (CBOs) move beyond their traditional role of housing development and into the community at large.

This video focuses on the economic, social, and environmental benefits of preserving community character.

The Community Planner Pro™ CD-ROM, included as part of The Enterprise Foundation's Community Development Library, helps nonprofit, community-based organizations engage neighborhood residents in the process of developing practical action plans for their community.

Community Preservation in Action features articles about completed or planned projects that preserve and enhance quality of life in Massachusetts communities.

The City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, offers a Community Revitalization Unit, providing information, technical support, and technical assistance for communities and organizations within communities that wish to implement projects, programs and activities that will be a positive influence for that community.

The Summer 2005 edition of On Common Ground from the National Association of Realtors turns its focus to revitalization: success stories of rejuvenation in urban areas and inner-ring suburbs.

Written by the Vermont Forum on Sprawl and the Conservation Law Foundation, Community Rules is a guidebook for local planners, concerned citizens, and others who want to achieve smart growth in their communities through better planning, zoning, and permitting.

The Community Watershed Assessment Handbook is a simple and straightforward watershed assessment tool that is intended to direct community groups and local governments in conducting a comprehensive environmental assessment.

CommunityViz® GIS software for land-use planning from Placeways is designed to help people visualize, analyze, and communicate about important land-use decisions. CommunityViz® community planning software provides a real–time interactive environment of 3D visuals, intelligent maps and dynamic analysis tools.

Version two of the Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives is now available online. Use this searchable directory to find initiatives based on location, type, issue areas, and more. Search for topics including quality of life,housing, and transporation.

CNU is a collaboration of professionals working to reform North America's urban growth patterns. CNU encourages restoration of existing urban centers, reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, conservation of natural environments, and preservation of the built legacy. It works with governmental agencies and neighborhood activists to shape federal, state, and local policy and to promote the importance of neighborhood vitality, place-specific investments, and physical design. CNU is currently collaborating with the SGN to develop a workbook on strategies for infill development, to produce a series of fact sheets on smart growth, and to identify barriers to financing New Urbanist development.

The Conservation Fund is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting America's land legacy. The fund purchases and protects land--almost 2 million acres since 1985. It also assists local communities, private land owners, and government agencies with a variety of programs that balance conservation with economic development. Current efforts involve sustainable forestry, ecotourism, greenway development, battlefield protection, watershed sensitive design, and community visioning.

More than 34 million acres of open space were lost to development between 1982 and 2001, about 6,000 acres per day, 4 acres a minute. Of this loss, over 10 million acres are in forestland.

Coordinating Transportation and Land Development was the theme of the Local Government Commission's 3-day executive seminar that brought together teams from seven different states for a highly interactive series of discussions, presentations, and peer-to-peer exchanges on community development and transportation. A summary report of this event is now available online as a PDF document.

The Creating Community-Based Brownfields Redevelopment Strategies Resource List from the American Planning Association contains books, articles, and government document citations. The list is part of a continuous process and may be considered a literature review as well as a resource list for the project.

Creating Great Places is an initiative of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) that helps governors design and implement state growth and physical development strategies that promote healthy, economically competitive and sustainable communities.

Creating Great Town Centers and Urban Villages from the Urban Land Institute (2008) is a book that describes the inside story and details on how town centers were developed, what makes them special, and provides facts on costs, rents, land uses, and more.

The Creating Livable Places website is provided by the Southern California Association of Governments to promote more livable communities. The site includes ten case studies of regional communities that have made efforts to become livable communities. The site also provides information and resources related to transportation planning, transit, and growth visioning. A calendar of events and list of related links are also available at the site.

This program of the Mid-America Regional Council aims to foster the design of quality places in communities throughout the Kansas City region. Its 20 principles serve as a guide to quality development.

In Creating Value: Smart Development and Green Design, a new book from the Urban Land Institute, architect Vernon Swaback argues convincingly that financial success in real estate development will increasingly require design that is smarter, greener, and more sustainable.

Crossroads Hamlet Village Town broke new ground by offering specific design guidance to planners, developers, and others involved in laying out, regulating, and reviewing proposals for “traditional neighborhoods.'' This new 2004 edition addresses many particulars of residential site design and the use of open space, parks, squares, greenways, and greenbelts.

Crossroads Resource Center compiles and distributes data at the neighborhood level useful for community-based and asset-based initiatives in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota.

On June 22, 2006, the Center for Civic Partnerships organized and hosted a facilitated cross-sector dialogue in Glendale, California on land use, mobility and public health. The purpose of the meeting was to identify promising strategies and resource opportunities involving multi-sectored collaboration. Cross Sector Dialogue on Impact of Housing/Land Use and Mobility on Physical Activity and Older Adults is the final report from this event.

The Canadian Urban Institute's annual Brownie Awards program recognizes leadership, innovation and environmental sustainability in brownfields redevelopment across Canada. Working with key industry and professional organizations, the Canadian Urban Institute presents its awards at its Brownfields conference, held in October each year.

This online data bank gives a panorama of present transformations in European cities. The reports focus on the main themes discussed at the 4th Biennial of Towns and Town Planners in Europe.

DataPlace™ aims to be a one-stop source for housing and demographic data about your community, your region, and the nation. Build maps, create charts, or compare data on any U.S. location.

The December 2008 issue of Getting Smart! is now available for all Smart Growth Network members in the Members Section.

Do you have a smart growth project on the horizon? Consider submitting an application for either preliminary or final recognition by the Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance.

To be eligible, the project must be located in Eastern or Central Pennsylvania (including Dauphin County), Southern New Jersey (including Mercer County and south) or Delaware, and not yet under construction.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance is a collaborative initiative of more than 200 government, private sector and non-profit organizations in the tri-state region. We support and promote good smart growth projects at the earliest stages by helping them get approved at the local level. Each quarter, applications are reviewed by an independent jury of architects, planners, developers, builders, bankers, engineers, and other related disciplines. Projects recognized to be in compliance with the DVSGA's published smart growth criteria receive a letter of endorsement and an offer of testimony before local approval authorities.

DVSGA recognizes projects that will foster regional growth and redevelopment in a manner that achieves important economic, environmental and quality of life objectives. By highlighting the potential of smart growth projects to add value to the region, the DVSGA hopes to encourage developers, business organizations, citizen groups and elected officials to strive for smart growth solutions.

To date, the DVSGA has granted preliminary and/or full recognition to 26 projects, including most recently a group of affordable infill townhomes in downtown Norristown that will soon be under construction.

Download an application, as well as the criteria and the list of more than 200 supporting organizations and companies and examples of recognized projects, at the link below.

The application deadline for the current round is September 1, 2010.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance jury provides on its website a list of project applications as good examples of smart growth development in the region. In January 2009 the Alliance recognized the West Chester Hotel of Pennsylvania.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance jury provides on its website a list of project applications as good examples of smart growth development in the region. In July 2008 the Alliance recognized University Place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance has added to its list of recognized smart growth projects: Kardon Ponds in Chester County, Pennsylvania; and Zurbrugg Mansion Redevelopment in Burlington County, New Jersey.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance (DVSGA), an initiative of various government, private sector and non-profit organizations in the Greater Philadelphia tri-state region, offers a free educational PowerPoint slide show on its web site.

The 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. The DVSGA promotes smart growth projects by recognizing proposed projects prior to development approval.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance jury provides on its website a list of project applications as good examples of smart growth development in the region. Projects recognized in 2006 include Bell Point in Sussex County, Delaware, and Pembroke North in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance jury provides on its website a list of project applications as good examples of smart growth development in the region. Projects recognized in 2006 include Towne Center at Haddon in Camden County, New Jersey, and The Village at Valley Forge in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance jury provides on its website a list of project applications as good examples of smart growth development in the region. Projects recognized in 2007 include Wyomissing Square, Wyomissing, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and Stafford Park, Stafford Township, Ocean County, New Jersey.

American Farmland Trust (AFT) initiated the Delmarva Farmland Strategy Project to bring new tools to communities that are struggling with how to accommodate change and growth while retaining a profitable agricultural sector.

The Design Center Image Bank contains over 17,000 images, including low-level oblique aerial photographs and eye-level images. The focus of the collection is the Twin Cities metropolitan region in Minnesota and dates from the early 1990s through the present.

The primary goal of the Design for Health Summit for Massachusetts Health Care Decision Makers was to bring together leading health care facility decision makers, discuss the arguments for and evidence supporting ''healthy design,'' and brainstorm initiatives and implementation strategies to achieve healthier hospitals—healthier for patients, healthier for staff, healthier for the environment and community, and healthier for hospital financial security.

The American Institute of Architects Seattle (Washington) (AIA Seattle) is seeking provocative presentations and discussion topics from a wide range of viewpoints for ''Design for Livability: Sustainable Cities,'' a forum set for October 15-16, 2009.

Design Guidelines to Enhance Community Appearance and Protect Natural Resources is a guidebook for citizens, decision-makers, and youth from Michigan Technological University that compares traditional development to a more visually appealing approach that also protects natural and cultural resources. Tools to accomplish the recommended approach are suggested.

The Atlanta Regional Commission and the Livable Communities Coalition are joint partners in the promotion of the Developments of Excellence Awards program.

''For so long we were floundering and taking ad hoc measures, but the minute I understood what a downtown plan really was I said 'We need one of those!' As it turned out, it was the most fantastic vehicle I've ever seen,'' said Susan Moffat-Thomas of New Bern, North Carolina. Her hometown got a much-needed shot in the arm from a good downtown plan. Does yours need a similar boost?

Philip L. Walker, an experienced downtown-planning consultant, offers practical tips for preserving a sense of place, improving fiscal efficiency, and enhancing quality of life in Downtown Planning for Smaller and Midsized Communities.

Planners and revitalization officials will learn how to address physical components of the downtown, as well as economic development. Walker, an experienced downtown-planning consultant, also explains how to develop an organization to implement a downtown plan; how federal, state, and local policies may influence the planning process; and how to fund a downtown revitalization effort.

The Planning Commissioners Journal is the nation's principal publication designed for citizen planners, including (but certainly not limited to) members of local planning commissions and zoning boards. ''Downtowns and Town Centers'' is an index of journal articles on downtown topics such as Farmers' Markets, Historic Preservation Ordinances, Public Buildings, Parking, and more.

The U.S. EPA's Draft Report on the Environment is a report that describes current national environmental conditions and trends using existing data and indicators. The report identifies data gaps and research needs, and discusses the challenges government and our partners face in filling those gaps.

Driven to Action encourages communities to reshape urban areas by helping to set the rules and making plans for sustainable cities.

EcoDensity is a concept being discussed with the Vancouver community. In brief, EcoDensity is an acknowledgement that high quality and strategically located density can make Vancouver more sustainable, livable and affordable.

Eco-industrial Strategies explores the key issues involved in eco-industrial development and identifies the stakeholders and their roles in such projects.

The goal of this manual is to illustrate how development objectives and natural resource protection needs within a high-growth area can be addressed through the physical design of residential projects.

Published December 2001. 42 pages; available online as a PDF document at the resource link below.

Ecological Riverfront Design puts forth a new vision for the nation's urban riverfronts and provides a set of planning and design principles that will allow communities to reclaim urban river edges in the most ecologically sound and economically viable manner possible.

What are the key principles of an ecological urbanism? How might they be organized? And what role might design and planning play in the process? These are the major questions addressed in Ecological Urbanism.

Lewis Publishers. 1999. This book provides easily understood, nuts and bolts solutions for controlling urban sprawl, emphasizing the integration of federal, state, and local land use plans

The Ecomunicipality: Model for Sustainable Community Change describes a systems approach to creating sustainable communities. Written by Torbjörn Lahti and Sarah James, and adapted and updated by Lisa MacKinnon, this document provides an overview of what an ecomunicipality is, how it functions, and what it can achieve.

Economic development success and smart growth can go hand-in-hand. The International Economic Development Council's (IEDC's) Economic Development and Smart Growth presents eight case studies on communities that incorporated smart growth principles in their development projects and have experienced economic development improvements in the form of increased tax revenue, more jobs, higher income levels, downtown revitalization, business growth, and other indicators of economic success.

Edens Lost & Found, a four-hour PBS series, showcases extraordinary stories of environmental rebirth in four very different American cities: Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Each one-hour program examines the unique environmental, economic and social issues that each of these great cities face.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) Electronic Green Government Network is a source for information on all things green for county officials, staff, and public and private companies with an interest in learning about county activities in this area.

This new book provides a refreshing look at how American cities are leading the way toward greener, cleaner, and more sustainable forms of economic development.

In Emerald Cities, Joan Fitzgerald shows how in the absence of a comprehensive national policy, cities like Chicago, New York, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle have taken the lead in addressing the interrelated environmental problems of global warming, pollution, energy dependence, and social justice. Cities are major sources of pollution but because of their population density, reliance on public transportation, and other factors, Fitzgerald argues that they are uniquely suited to promote and benefit from green economic development. For cities facing worsening budget constraints, investing in high-paying green jobs in renewable energy technology, construction, manufacturing, recycling, and other fields will solve two problems at once, sparking economic growth while at the same time dramatically improving quality of life.

Fitzgerald also examines how investing in green research and technology may help to revitalize older industrial cities and offers examples of cities that don't make the top-ten green lists such as Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio and Syracuse, New York. And for cities wishing to emulate those already engaged in developing greener economic practices, Fitzgerald shows which strategies will be most effective according to each city's size, economic history, geography, and other unique circumstances. But cities cannot act alone, and Fitzgerald analyzes the role of state and national government policy in helping cities create the next wave of clean technology growth.

Lucid, forward-looking, and guided by a level-headed optimism that clearly distinguishes between genuine progress and exaggerated claims, Emerald Cities points the way toward a sustainable future for the American city.

This translation paper from the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities contends there is much to be gained by expanding the smart growth movement to include greater attention on energy. Through greater use of energy efficient design and renewable energy sources, the smart growth movement could better achieve its goals of environmental protection, economic security and prosperity, and community livability.

This new report focuses on economies in transition—economies that are threatened by the consequences of environmental changes. The report explores how key civic leaders, faced with the challenge of ensuring the future strength of their economies, have employed creative new agendas that not only help reverse the effects of environmental degradation but also leverage the occasion for valuable economic gain.

While national debates rage over which production methods will lead to a stronger, more sustainable environment, and while research and development teams struggle to produce the next revolutionary technology, it is on the local level that incredible progress is being made in advancing sustainability measures beyond rhetoric. City governments and grassroots activists are often the most obvious players, but there is a powerful—and perhaps unexpected—player in the green arena that is leading the charge in cutting emissions and conserving energy while boosting regional economies: the business community.

These activities are not wild expansions of their mission, but are essential to fulfilling it. Businesses that emit little emissions and consume fewer resources are the stronger, leaner and more agile businesses of America’s future and as the organizations that work to support economic development and improve local quality of life, many chambers of commerce have dedicated themselves to aiding in the success of green businesses. The ingenuity and forward thinking exemplified by the chambers highlighted here are the first bold steps toward a more sustainable and robust American economy.

The report provides tells stories of entrepreneurship and success—stories of chambers of commerce throughout the country instituting green business recognition programs, working to attract clean industries, creating green jobs, and providing resources to local businesses to implement more sustainable practices.

This study conducted for NRDC, in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, suggests that the environmental benefits of smart growth are real and can be measured. The study focuses on the Metro Square neighborhood in Sacramento, California, and is one of the first to examine a fully completed and occupied development.

This new study (also conducted for NRDC in cooperation with EPA) continues that research by comparing two neighborhoods in Nashville, Tennessee, and suggests that the combination of better transportation accessibility and a modest increase in land-use density can produce measurable benefits even when both sites are automobile-oriented and suburban in character.

''Environmental Justice, Urban Revitalization, and Brownfields: The Search for Authentic Signs of Hope'' is a report on equitable development endorsed by the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) at its May 29-31, 1996 meeting in Detroit, Michigan.

Environmental Justice: The Power of Partnerships is a documentary film from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that tells the story of how one man, a local community organization called ReGenesis, and a handful of partners turned a downtrodden community around. It's about the process of discovering -- after being exposed to environmental contamination -- a public health problem, working together to envision broad solutions, bringing people together, and creating change. It's about a place that ''couldn't get any worse,'' according to one resident, that is now being transformed.

For nearly three decades, the Environmental Law Institute has played a pivotal role in shaping the fields of environmental law, policy, and management, domestically and abroad. Today, ELI is an internationally recognized, independent research and education center. The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) Sustainable Use of Land Program is an on-going collaborative program devoted to promoting the sustainable use of urban, suburban, and rural land at the state and local levels. ELI works in collaboration with partners to formulate and implement options for overcoming barriers to sustainable land use found in local,state, and federal law, while developing creative alternatives to promote sound economic, community, environmental, transportation, public infrastructure and other strategies.

The Environmental Law Institute® will pay tribute to its former president, J. William ''Bill'' Futrell, with the 2008 ELI Award for Achievement in Environmental Law, Policy, and Management. The award honors Futrell's career-long dedication to conservation and recognizes his 23 years of achievement as ELI President concluding in 2003.

Environmental Law Institute uses sustainability as an organizing principle to develop new strategies for the protection of land, water, and biological resources. ELI’s Sustainability and Resource Protection Programs improve our nation’s laws, policies, and institutions. Integrating environmental laws, tax laws, development laws, and other tools. ELI works with state, local, and federal agencies, citizen groups, non-profit organizations, and corporate partners to develop effective solutions to problems of land and resource use.

In The Environmental Planning Handbook, Tom and Katherine Daniels clarify complex environmental issues, examine current sustainability efforts, and offer step-by-step guidance for local governments to incorporate sustainable environmental quality into local and regional comprehensive planning.

Environmental Research and Education Needs: An Agenda for a New Administration is report from the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), published in December 2008, that organizes the recommendations relating to research and education policy from NCSE's first eight national conferences (2000-2008). It identifies research needed to improve scientific knowledge, and education needed to improve public understanding, professional capacity and a strong workforce.

Under the Environmental Restoration Program, the State of New York provides grants to municipalities to reimburse up to 90 percent of on-site eligible costs and 100% of off-site eligible costs for site investigation and remediation activities. Once remediated, the property may then be reused for commercial, industrial, residential or public use.

Randall Arendt's work has shaped a generation of planners, designers, and landscape architects. In Envisioning Better Communities, he brings his insights to a broader public, with a profusely illustrated demonstration of how local officials, planning commissioners, and everyday citizens can work to make their communities more attractive, more habitable, and more sustainable.

Despite the widespread acceptance of good design and planning principles throughout the professions, too many of our towns and rural areas remain needlessly ugly and inefficient. In side by side comparisons of similar places and kinds of buildings, Arendt shows that we need not live amid sprawling, characterless visual blight. Simple design choices and effective municipal decisions can have tremendous impacts on the quality of our communities.

Written in Arendt's well-known clear, accessible, nontechnical style, this book creates a sense of hope for those who face the everyday challenges of working with developers and landowners to create places that make economic, environmental, and aesthetic sense. Arendt shows us that with diligence, thoughtfulness, and care, we can make our communities better in countless ways.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invite submissions to the 6th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability.

A new grant RFP issued by the U.S. EPA's Development, Community, and Environment Division seeks to bring together emergency response officials, local government officials, transportation experts, and developers to engage in a problem-solving process around the issue of simultaneously meeting the needs for emergency response with the design of smart growth streets. The goal is to create a solution or set of solutions that have the endorsement of these multiple interests and will be applicable nationally across the U.S. and/or in significant regions of the country. The RFP will also support outreach efforts to educate relevant stakeholders nationally.

On November 17, EPA announced five winners of the 2004 National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. This Award recognizes outstanding achievement in smart growth by tribal, local, or regional governments in five categories: Overall Excellence, Built Projects, Policies and Regulation, Community Outreach and Education, and Small Communities.

EPA Region 4 is soliciting proposals for projects for Fiscal Year 2006 to address regional and state strategic priorities that meet national Regional Geographic Initiative (RGI) and Environmental Priorities Program (EPP) funding criteria.

The EPA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have agreed to work together to help coastal communities grow in ways that benefit the economy, public health, and the environment.

The U.S. EPA's Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program (SGIA) is an annual, competitive solicitation open to state, local, regional, and tribal governments (and non-profits that have partnered with a governmental entity) that want to incorporate smart growth techniques into their future development.

EPA developed the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance (SGIA) program in response to communities' requests for help in achieving their development goals. Through this program, EPA provides technical assistance from private-sector experts to help communities find the best tools and resources to plan for growth in ways that sustain environmental and economic progress and create a high quality of life.

Equitable Renewal: Ten Points to Guide Rebuilding in the Gulf Coast Region is an outline of steps from PolicyLink to help ensure that restoration of hurricane-damage communities is fair and just.

Across the country, local governments are searching for ways to create vibrant communities that attract jobs, foster economic development, and provide attractive places for people to live, work, and play. But many are discovering that their own land development codes and ordinances often get in the way of achieving these goals, and they may not have the resources or expertise to make the specific regulatory changes that will create more sustainable communities.

In response to this need, EPA's Smart Growth Program convened a panel of national smart growth code experts to identify the topics in local zoning codes that are essential to creating the building blocks of smart growth. The resulting document, Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Urban and Suburban Zoning Codes, presents the panel's initial work. This document explores 11 ''Essential Fixes'' that address the most common barriers local governments face in implementing smart growth. These actions are organized as modest adjustments, major modifications, or wholesale changes -- giving communities options based on their political will, financial resources, and organizational capacity.

This tool does not include model language, codes or ordinances. It can, however, help communities evaluate their existing codes and ordinances and apply that information to create more sustainable comunities. It is an evolving document that will be regularly revised and updated, and is intended to spark a larger conversation about the tools and information local governments need to revise their land development regulations.

The new report Estimating the Jobs Impact of Tackling Climate Change suggests that tackling climate change will be a major net job creator for the U.S. economy. According to the report, aggressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency can net up to 4.5 million new U.S. jobs by 2030 and provide the greenhouse gas emission reductions necessary to tackle climate change.

According to the analysis, renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment costs would be revenue neutral (or better), as costs to implement the technologies are offset by savings from lower energy bills, making total net costs near zero.

“The twin challenges of climate change and economic stagnation can be solved by the same action—broad, aggressive, sustained deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency,” said Brad Collins, ASES’ Executive Director, “the solution for one is the solution for the other.”

This jobs report offers the most detailed analysis yet on the potential role of the new energy economy in tackling climate change. It suggests that policy can play a significant role in both generating jobs and mitigating carbon emissions.

“For job growth the status quo is no match for innovation,” said Mr. Collins. “Congress can help get the economy back on track with smart energy policy - reduce energy consumption in buildings by 50%; adopt an aggressive national renewable portfolio standard; commit to end dependence on foreign oil by 2025; and implement an upstream cap and auction system to manage greenhouse gases at the points where they first enter the energy economy.”

This report analyzed the job potential of improving energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry, and assessed six renewable energy technologies: concentrating solar power, photovoltaics, wind power, biomass, biofuels, and geothermal power. Estimates in this report refer to net jobs since advancing new energy technologies can both create new jobs and displace jobs from less efficient industries. This report suggests that, in total, more than 4.5 million more jobs can be created by tackling climate change than would be lost.

The European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) shares knowledge and experience on tackling urban issues. Fifteen EU Member States, EUROCITIES, the URBACT Programme and the European Commission participate in this European initiative.

''Smart Growth on the Ground'' is an innovative program to change the way that development is done in British Columbia by creating real, built examples of smart growth. This unique program helps BC communities to prepare more sustainable neighborhood plans -- including land use, transportation, urban design, and building design plans. Extensive follow-up ensures that the plans become reality.

Facing the Future believes in the transformative power of widespread, systemic education to improve lives and communities, both locally and globally. The organization's positive, solutions-based programming is designed by and for teachers, and effectively brings critical thinking about global issues to students in every walk of life.

Recently released by Alan Mallach, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program of The Brookings Institution, this paper touches on the history of economic decline of American cities, noting that while many urban areas enjoyed a significant resurgence during the 1990s, others, such as Detroit and Cleveland, have continued to struggle.

By focusing on five keys areas (strategic planning, reutilizing urban land, investing in transformative change, revitalizing neighborhoods, and addressing affordable housing) Mallach identifies how federal lawmakers can play a major role in shaping the future success of older industrial cities.

Fair and Healthy Land Use, a report from the American Planning Association's (APA's) Planning Advisory Services, explains how the principles of environmental justice can be incorporated into land-use planning processes.

The Farmland Information Center (FIC) is a clearinghouse for information about farmland protection and stewardship. It is a partnership between the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and American Farmland Trust.

Fertile Ground is a report on the first year of Green Communities, a five-year, $555 million initiative to build more than 8,500 environmentally healthy homes for low-income families. The report states that the initiative exceeded expectations in its first year, as a diverse array of partners embraced the initiative’s holistic, cost-effective approach to sustainable development in low-income communities.

The Northeast-Midwest Institute examines ways that how rural communities successfully finance the redevelopment and reuse of brownfield sites in their report Financing Brownfield Development in Small Towns and Rural Areas.

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has announced five brownfield sites across the state will receive a total of $2.25 million to assist in redevelopment efforts under a pilot program proposed by Governor Rell and funded through the state Bond Commission.

The Florida Brownfields Association (FBA) offers this select list of success stories in its ongoing efforts to promote Brownfields redevelopment in the sunshine state.

The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) offers a smart growth presentation that provides an overview of smart growth in the context of public health. This resource emphasizes the connection between public health and the built environment, and how following Smart Growth principles can benefit Florida.

Florida Parks in the 21st Century, a report from the Trust for Public Land (TPL), catalogues $8.3 billion in both land conservation and park development needs of local governments. Co-produced by the Florida Recreation and Park Association, Florida League of Cities, and TPL, the report catalogues the need for $8.3 billion in land conservation and park development as derived from locally-approved comprehensive plans prepared by Florida's cities and counties.

1000 Friends of Florida has compiled this list of local advocacy groups that are dealing with the impacts of growth on a daily basis. This online resource contains contact information for more than a dozen organizations.

The Vision was created in 2002 by individuals and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area who believe that the region's population growth can be accommodated in a sustainable way. The Vision calls for the Bay Area to develop as a ''network of neighborhoods,'' where future growth is concentrated near transit and in the existing communities that surround the San Francisco Bay. Focusing Our Vision is the most recent effort to realize the Vision. Referred to as FOCUS, the program's nickname is fitting because it requires a FOCUS of efforts, resources and housing development in areas that will promote the long-term sustainability of the region.

For the Greener Good is a public series that affirms the National Building Museum's commitment to environmental sustainability. It calls on experts from diverse backgrounds to investigate links between environmental sustainability and design, public health, energy policy, bioscience, infrastructure, education, and even popular culture.

Commissioned by the Funders' Network, From Wall Street to Your Street: New Solutions for Smart Growth Finance reassess the current methods for smart growth finance and sketches out two different ''fixes'' for the problem of financing smart growth.

To acknowledge and celebrate its 10th Anniversary in 2009, the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities commissioned Looking Back: Influencing, Networking, Facilitating, a retrospective on the efforts undertaken by the Network and its members over the past ten years.

To acknowledge and celebrate its 10th Anniversary in 2009, the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities Looking Forward: Perspectives on Future Opportunities for Philanthropy, a compilation of essays from leading thinkers in the movement for smarter growth policies and practices that challenge philanthropy to think about its role over the next ten years.

Getting Density Right from the Urban Land Institute is a book that describes tools used to better support compact development, including visioning, planning, and new regulations. Case studies profile the experiences of eight communities, the policy tools they used to encourage compact development, and the development projects built using the new regulations.

This message kit is a resource for outreach by nonprofits on issues related to biodiversity and sprawl.

How do you create a flourishing, livable place appealing to residents and visitors of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds? Offering a ground-breaking alternative to uniform, ''cookie-cutter'' urban designs, Getting Real About Urbanism is a book that describes techniques for creating ''Real Urbanism'' -- designing places with personality that reflect what is distinctive and original in a neighborhood, district, city, or region.

The latest issue of Getting Smart! is now available for all Smart Growth Network members in the Members Section. The focus of this issue is smart growth in rural areas. Resources and tools related to smart growth are typically geared toward urban or suburban environments. So, what does smart growth mean in rural communities, where land can seem in endless supply?

Getting the Growth You Want: A Citizens Guide to Subdivisions and Smart Growth is the first of a two-part series from the Montana Smart Growth Coalition and the Great Yellowstone Coalition designed to help communities approve good subdivisions and deny bad ones.

This popular, 100-page primer from the ongoing series by ICMA and the Smart Growth Network describes concrete techniques of putting the ten smart growth principles into practice. The policies and guidelines presented in this primer have proven successful in communities across the United States, and range from formal legislative or regulatory efforts to informal approaches, plans, and programs.

Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 More Policies for Implementation is the newest primer in the ongoing series from the Smart Growth Network and ICMA, and follows on the heels of the extremely popular first volume of Getting to Smart Growth. The publication serves as a road map for states and communities that have recognized the need for smart growth but are unclear on how to achieve it. Spanish language version now available!

Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Polices for Implementation has been made accessible for Spanish readers and speakers. The document has been translated in its entirety, complete with all policies and practice tips.

Getting to Smart Growth has been adapted for Puerto Rico. Hacia el desarrollo inteligente: 10 principios y 100 estrategias para Puerto Rico is an adaptation of the popular, 100-page primer from the ongoing series by ICMA and the Smart Growth Network.

Getting to Work: Reconnecting Jobs with Transit from New Jersey Future reports that New Jersey residents spend more time getting to and from work than their counterparts in 48 of the 50 states -- but the state could reduce the stress and frustration of commuting, and advance several important public policy goals, by employing strategies to link job sites with public transportation, according to a research report released today by New Jersey Future.

Recognizing that planners and their organizations throughout the world provide leadership in addressing many societal issues, the Global Planners Network was initiated to further the goal of globally connecting planning groups to assist each other and share best practices.

Ethisphere magazine reports on The 20 Cities of 2020 as centers for global sustainability, with an emphasis on how density and mixed-use development provide more advantages for a vibrant, healthy community than subsurban sprawl.

Going to Town is a special report from the Michigan Land Use Institute (MLUI) that documents newfound interest among northwest Michigan’s developers and government officials in town center developments. Rising gas prices, escalating traffic congestion, and a rapidly growing population wary of both -- and eager for a more sensible, healthier lifestyle -- are fueling that interest. Today traditional-style neighborhood or town center developments are being planned, are already rising, or are now full of satisfied residents not only in larger towns such as Traverse City, Manistee, and Petoskey, but also in villages like Empire and Harbor Springs, and even rural townships like Acme.

Going to Town: New Urbanism Arrives in Northwest Michigan, a new report from the Michigan Land Use Institute (MLUI), discusses a new approach to residential and commercial development that is saving tax dollars, protecting the environment, and increasing prosperity and quality of life in northern Lower Michigan.

The Watershed Project is the sponsor of the Teacher Action Grants (TAG) program, which has distributed almost $380,000 to San Francisco Bay Area educators who have taken Kids in Creeks, Kids in Gardens, and Watching Our Watersheds workshops. By providing seed money in amounts up to $2,000 to cover direct expenses for classroom-based environmental studies, gardening, and restoration projects, Teacher Action Grants have educated and involved tens of thousands of students in local watershed-based projects, and increased awareness about natural resources in Alameda and Contra Costa counties for thousands of residents.

The 1000 Friends Great Neighborhoods Project is intended to help teach the residents and developers in Wisconsin about the social, environmental and economic benefits of building compact, mixed-use, aesthetically appealing neighborhoods; and to offer professional and layperson guidance for how to advocate for and create these neighborhoods.

Looking to illustrate the connection between planning and great places? APA's Community-Wide Audio/Web Conference Great Plans, Great Communities provides a striking introduction to planning and makes the case for the importance and wide-ranging benefits of planning.

The Greater Lansing Go Green! Initiative is working to promote environmental and economic health for all those who live, work, and play in Greater Lansing.

Greater Washington 2050 is a new regional initiative to improve the quality of life for Washington area residents in the next 50 years by fostering stronger regional awareness, leadership and action today and in the next few years.

The State of Connecticut offers the Green and Growing Tool Box, a website containing a comprehensive inventory of policies, plans, or programs administered by State Agencies represented on the Inter-Agency Responsible Growth Steering Council.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requests proposals for the Green and Healthy Homes and Technical Studies Program. Through this RFP, HUD seeks to improve knowledge of the effects residential green construction has on both indoor environmental quality and occupant health, with a particular focus on children and other sensitive populations. It is expected that benefits would be most likely observed for respiratory health outcomes and reductions in irritation-related symptoms.

Some $2.4 million expected to be available, up to 7 awards anticipated.

Responses are due November 17, 2009.

The University of California, Davis Extension offers a Green Building and Sustainable Design Certificate Program that addresses the trend of developing healthier communities through sustainable design by defining effective ways to utilize energy and water usage.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR's) Green REsource Council website offers a Green Building Glossary of terms specific to environmentally sustainable buildings, construction, and development.

Green Building Policy in a Changing Economic Environment is a new report that provides an inventory of policies and best practices intended to help policymakers advance a more sustainable legislative agenda for growth and development. The report also contains detailed case studies of the green building programs in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Nashville, and Grand Rapids, Mich.

According to the report, the number of U.S. cities with green building programs has increased 50% in two years. Green buildings generally include energy-efficient designs and other sustainable features. Among AIA’s findings, 138 cities have green building programs, compared with 92 cities in 2007, and 24 of the 25 most populated metropolitan regions are built around cities with a green building policy.

The report also notes that DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is providing ''an unprecedented opportunity for the advancement of green building and sustainability efforts in our nation's cities.'' AIA has stated a goal of making all building designs carbon neutral by 2030.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced recipients of its 2008 Green Building Research Fund grants. The Green Building Research Fund was created to spur research that will advance sustainable building practices and encourage market transformation.

The City of Portland, Oregon's Office of Sustainability has developed this ''G/Rated'' website, a depository of green building technologies, case studies, specifications, and other technical resources.

Green Cities, a report from Living Cities, is one of the first assessments of exactly how 40 of the country's largest cities are trying to limit their carbon footprints and take the steps needed to raise these efforts to the next level.

The Iowa Department of Economic Development has published its Green Communities 2008 Action Plan, a set of services and initiatives that encourage community sustainability.

Take a Green Community Tour with Enterprise's Green Communities. Trolley Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a 40-unit building that incorporates both retail and residential space. The location and neighborhood were chosen to minimize the building's environmental impact as well as to make the best use of available natural light and passive heating and cooling opportunities. The City of Cambridge identified Trolley Square, located on the site of a former trolley storage facility, as a critical location in the revitalization of the neighborhood.

New opportunities in green affordable housing, sustainable Green Communities projects, and how HUD is promoting energy efficiency are all topics of discussion in the October 2008 Green Communities newsletter from Enterprise.

News about winners in the first annual Sustainable Cities Awards program, a call for Congress to pass the Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhoods Act of 2008, and Rebuilding a Greener New Orleans are all topics of discussion in the July 2008 Green Communities newsletter from Enterprise.

Green Affordable Housing, the Green Communities Developers Summit, and information on Federal Grant Funds for Green Affordable Developments are all topics of discussion in the May 2008 Green Communities newsletter from Enterprise.

Based on the National Building Museum's exhibit, Green Community is a collection of thought-provoking essays that illuminate the connections among personal health, community health, and our planet's health.

Launched in 2007, the NACo Green Government Initiative provides comprehensive resources for local governments on all things green, including energy, air quality, transportation, water quality, land use, purchasing and recycling.

NACo's Green Government Initiative Publications are free resources for local governments on all things green, including energy, air quality, transportation, water quality, land use, purchasing and recycling. Includes fact sheets, guidebooks, and case studies of Green Initiatives from throughout the country.

NACo has posted presentations from its Green Government Initiative on its website. The presentations and recordings are from seminars, webinars, and workshops beginning with the May 2008 event, ''Green Counties 101.''

The WTC site in New York City is focus of the Green Ground Zero International Sustainable Design Competition. Entries should focus on ways to ''green'' the buildings that will surround the memorial on the World Trade Center grounds.

Natural Connections has produced a website offering a database of Green Infrastructure Maps that covers 14 counties extending out from the greater Chicago region, including the counties bordering the Wisconsin-Illinois and Illinois-Indiana state lines.

This resource introduces the key elements of Green Infrastructure, the network of natural lands, open space, waterways, and smart growth design measures that form the framework for healthy and sustainable communities.

Just about everything you think you know about the environment is wrong. Solar panels, electric cars, ethanol, big urban parks, and locavorism aren’t green; traffic jams, congestion, office towers, and crowded cities are. Green is not the country home in Vermont with the compost heap and the photovoltaic panels; it’s the concrete high-rise in New York City.

In a persuasive and provocative challenge to established environmental thinking, David Owen’s Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability challenges much of the conventional wisdom about being green and shows how the greenest place in the United States isn’t Portland, Oregon, or Snowmass, Colorado, but New York, New York.

Owen—a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1991—states that while most Americans view congested cities as environmental calamities, with their pollution, garbage, and gridlock, residents of dense urban environments individually drive, pollute, consume, and throw away less than other Americans. Residents of New York City—the most densely populated community in the U.S.—consume less electricity than the average inhabitants of any other part of the country, generate greenhouse gases at a level far below the national average, and rank last in gasoline consumption and first in use of public transportation.

New York City’s environmental efficiencies are the result of its extreme compactness: being forced to live in small spaces sharply reduces opportunities to be wasteful; gridlock and a scarcity of parking spaces makes driving prohibitive while proximity simultaneously renders walking, bicycling, and public transportation viable means of getting around. Put simply, it’s easier to be green in a crowded city. The ecological innocuousness of leafy exurban areas long favored by environmentalists is an illusion—spreading people thinly across the countryside may make them feel greener, but in fact it increases their damage to the environment. In the face of rapidly dwindling nonrenewable resources, we should not look to the country, but to the dense metropolis as a model of true environmentalism.

In a radical departure from environmentalist dogma, David Owen’s Green Metropolis redefines what it means to be green, and offers vital insights into how to make our way to a more sustainable future. In this eye-opening and meticulously researched polemic, Owen argues that sustainability doesn’t depend on the acquisition of fancy new “green” gadgetry or the advent of new energy-related technologies, but on lo-fi solutions already at work in dense cities around the globe. We already have a good idea of what we need to do, or at least how to get started.

Publisher: Riverhead Books. ISBN: 978-1-59448-882-5

The Playbook, a web-based resource, provides strategies, tips, and tools that cities and counties can use to take immediate action on climate change through: Green building, green neighborhoods, and sustainable infrastructure. The Playbook is designed both for communities that are considering making the first steps toward these, as well as for those who want to take existing efforts to a new level.

September 30, 2005 is the deadline for abstracts for the fourth annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards, & Trade Show, scheduled for May 10-12, 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Green Roofs Tree of Knowledge (TOK) is a full-featured database on research and policy related to green roof infrastructure. There is a considerable amount of work being done on the many socio-economic and bio-physical benefits that green roofs provide. This database is composed of detailed summaries of research and policy papers in English from around the world.

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation aims to help develop a system of ''Great Parks'' in Atlanta, tied to the larger vision of how public space connects the entire community. By providing support, the Foundation wants to help create parks and ensure that they are high quality, well-maintained and protected. Most of all, they must be accessible and available to all the citizens.

The Green Trails guidebook, published by Portland, Oregon's Metro organization, provides a comprehensive source of information about planning, construction and maintenance of environmentally friendly or ''green trails'' -- trails that avoid or minimize impacts to water resources and fish and wildlife habitat.

In Green Urbanism Down Under, a 2008 book from Island Press, author Timothy Beatley reports on the current state of ''sustainability practice'' in Australia and the many lessons that U.S. residents can learn from the best Australian programs and initiatives.

Green infrastructure is the interconnected network of open spaces and natural areas, such as greenways, wetlands, parks, forest preserves and native plant vegetation, that naturally manages stormwater, reduces flooding risk and improves water quality. The Green Values Stormwater Toolbox provides an overview of how the Great Lakes landscape works and offers details on methods to minimize stormwater runoff without expensive infrastructure projects.

Greenbelt Alliance received the 2007 Education Project Award for its Bay Area Smart Growth Scorecard from the California chapter of the American Planning Association (APA).

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) offers the Greenbuild 2005 Proceedings CD-ROM, a compilation of events and resources from the 2005 conference.

Greenfield Development Without Sprawl: The Role of Planned Communities is the second in a series of papers by noted authors on land use policy and practice issues of pressing concern to ULI members and the broader real estate and land use community.

Greening America's Capitals is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities between EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to help state capitals develop an implementable vision of distinctive, environmentally friendly neighborhoods that incorporate innovative green building and green infrastructure strategies. This program will assist three to four communities per year, with the first projects beginning in the fall of 2010.

EPA will offer technical assistance by funding a team of designers to visit each city to produce schematic designs and exciting illustrations intended to catalyze or complement a larger planning process for the pilot neighborhood. Additionally, these pilots could be the testing ground for citywide actions, such as changes to local codes and ordinances to better support sustainable growth and green building. The design team and EPA, HUD, and DOT staff will also assist the city staff in developing specific implementation strategies.

The assistance may include, but is not limited to, the following issues:

EPA is providing this design assistance to help support sustainable communities that protect the environment, economy, and public health and to inspire state leaders to expand this work elsewhere. Greening America's Capitals will help communities consider ways to incorporate smart growth strategies into their planning and development to create and enhance interesting, distinctive neighborhoods that have multiple social, economic, and environmental benefits.

This design assistance is being made available to all 50 state capital cities, plus the District of Columbia. EPA is soliciting letters of interest from mayors of state capitals. Any city department, office, or agency may submit the letter of interest, but only one proposal should be submitted on a city's behalf.

How do some of the world's best-known national capitals contribute to creating an environmentally and socially sustainable world? And how do they build successful support for sustainable development? Learn what capital cities are doing to lead the way to a greener planet in this report from the Capitals Alliance.

West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation announces the second edition of Greening Your Title: a Guide to Best Practices for Conservation Covenants.

The U.S. EPA offers archives of its Earth Day 2008 podcasts (MP3 sound files) on its Earth Day website.

Published by the Trust for Public Land, Groundswell: Stories of Saving Places, Finding Community celebrates the role of land conservation in preserving community character and connecting people to the land and to each other.

Growing by Choice or Chance details how South Carolina communities have an opportunity to direct their growth through more efficient land use that decreases the amount of land developed to accommodate population growth, and offers more variety in how people live, work and shop.

''Growing Cooler: Urban Development and Climate Change'' is a new ''virtual'' workshop from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) that examines the relationship between land use patterns, travel and CO2 emissions. The workshop will demonstrate the impact current development and transportation patterns are having on our environment.

In Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change, a 2007 book published by the Urban Land Institute, a team of leading urban planning researchers report that the key to mitigating climate change is less auto-dependent development, and that key changes in land development patterns could help reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.

Growing Smarter at the Edge, a new publication from the Sonoran Institute, reviews and evaluates urban edge development associated with large-scale planned communities, or master-planned communities.

This guidebook is intended for older adults who are interested in how our communities work and how we might help them become more 'age-friendly.' Many of us have longed for the kind of age-friendly neighborhood that has different types of homes for people at different stages of life; walking paths and public transit to make it easy to get around without a car; and parks, shops, services, and homes that are closer together. Older adults are finding that by designing new neighborhoods differently — as well as redeveloping existing neighborhoods and roadways — we can make places that are healthier for ourselves, our neighbors, and the environment. Rather than let aging limit our options, we can actually become more independent by reducing our dependence on the auto, increasing our travel choices, and improving our quality of life right when we've started to have time to enjoy it. We can enrich our own remaining decades, as well as hand off a more sustainable community to future generations. That is, if we decide to do something about it.

In this guide, we address the basic principles of neighborhood and town design. But it is also intended to help you understand why community design matters, and how becoming involved in your community's decisions about growth can make it a better place in which to grow old. You'll find suggestions for ideas to try, and links to resources to learn more about how to remake your neighborhoods to be easier to get around, whether you live in a city, suburb, or small town. We’ll also give you a few ideas for getting involved and staying engaged, providing more housing options and gathering places, eating healthier, and making it easier to carry out your daily activities. After all, our age group spans decades, and some of us are very active, while others have limited mobility.

Active Aging concepts (activities that increase endurance, strength, flexibility, balance, and the principles of injury prevention) can also be built into community design and development to encourage walking, biking, and active use of parks, so that people of all ages get exercise in the course of daily life. This is an image of a group of senior women doing water aerobics in a pool

The first chapter, Staying Active, Connected, and Engaged, outlines why our choices of where and how to live can have an impact on our health and wellbeing. The next three chapters — Development and Housing, Transportation and Mobility, and Staying Healthy — outline strategies and include project examples that address these key issues. Within each chapter, the What You Can Do section provides some ideas for what you can work on with your friends and neighbors. The Conclusion: Next Steps chapter summarizes additional follow-up ideas. In the Resources chapter, you’ll find links to more detailed strategies, websites, and information about each of the ideas discussed in the guide. We included a community self-assessment checklist for you to identify what your community is already doing, and where you might want to focus your energy — so get together, and get moving!

Growing Smarter, Living Healthier is a guidebook from the U.S. EPA intended for older adults who are interested in how our communities work and how we might help them become more ''age-friendly.''

This National Governors Association report cites expanding transportation choices, conserving greenspaces, and promoting new community designs as effective smart growth strategies for reducing greenhouse gases.

Guide to Placemaking in Chicago provides basic instruction on Placemaking at the local level and highlights specific examples of citizen-led Placemaking that has already led to sweeping improvements in Chicago neighborhoods. The book encourages citizen action and provides a framework to engage local businesses and government in helping create positive change.

The Minnesota Metropolitan Council's Guide for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) highlights key ideas about TOD and shows how these ideas have been put to work within the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

This three-part essay discusses the general national planning situation in Britain, specifically dealing with that in force in England. Urban Design Issues, Planning Tools, and Planning Guidelines are discussed in the context of recent British development trends.

Georgia's land use laws, together with innovative planning and fresh approaches to community engagement, provide the tools needed to build strong communities that are sustainable both economically and environmentally. Guiding Growth and Development in Georgia: A Handbook on Planning and Land Use Law and Practices was created by the Livable Communities Coalition for elected officials and interested citizens. This guide is intended to provide an overview of those planning tools and the laws, terms, and concepts essential for using them wisely.

The ''Harvard Vision 2020: A Bridge to Campus Sustainability'' Conference featured three days of discovery and discussion involving prominent keynote addresses, interdisciplinary panels of faculty, staff, students and alumni, corporate and government leaders, workshops, special events and networking opportunities. Resources from this event are now available online.

The Conservation Law Foundation's (CLF's) Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice Program works to ensure that New England's communities are vibrant and healthy places for people of all ages, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status, today and in future generations.

Healthy Community Design: Success Stories from State and Local Leaders profiles the notable efforts of elected and appointed government leaders who are supporting healthy community design across the nation. Some of these efforts stem from a desire to support economic development, others to decrease environmental degradation or improve residents’ quality of life. But all of the policy changes and programming efforts have a positive effect on health because they support community design that provides more opportunities for people to engage in routine physical activity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have posted a streaming video, Healthy Community Design, that discusses the benefits of walkable communities as they relate to health, the environment, and social interaction. Dr. Howard Frumkin, Director of the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR), hosts the video.

In 2006, a collaboration of funders came together to create the Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership, with the shared goal of changing policies and environments to better achieve the vision of healthy people living in healthy places.

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) whose primary goal is to implement healthy eating and active living policy- and environmental-change initiatives that can support healthier communities for children and families across the United States. Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities places special emphasis on reaching children who are at highest risk for obesity on the basis of race/ethnicity, income and/or geographic location.

The U.S. EPA's Healthy School Environment Resources website offers information and links to school environmental health issues.

English Heritage (with EEDA & the HLF) has recently launched the results of research into the regeneration impact of heritage investment in the East of England. Included in the report are 11 case studies showing local success stories.

Higher-Density Development -- Myth and Fact from the Urban Land Institute examines eight widespread misconceptions about higher-density development and dispels them with well-researched facts and examples of quality, compact developments.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has created a webpage that focuses on how historic preservation can help the environment, and is part of the organization's Sustainability Initiative that will demonstrate how older buildings can ''go green.''

Following five regional competitions, 15 Award-winning projects will now compete in the first global Holcim Awards competition for sustainable construction projects. The global phase of the competition showcases the best entries from more than 1500 submissions from 118 countries, and encourages innovative, future-oriented and tangible approaches within the building and construction industry.

Policies designed to deliberately control the spread of urban areas are increasing in popularity throughout the United States. Several states, and many local governments in the west, are adopting urban growth boundaries and other containment measures in their land-use planning laws and legislation. Whatever the primary purpose, it is clear that the precise impacts of containment policies are not well understood. This paper reviews the research on urban containment generally, and also examines the experience of such policies in particular metropolitan areas. It discusses some lessons learned and raises relevant research questions for practitioners as well as policymakers at the state and local level.

The Home Depot is accepting proposals from registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, public schools or tax-exempt public service agencies in the U.S. who are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical health of their community. This program supports community improvement projects that include, but are not limited to: improving energy efficiency and sustainability; landscaping and planting native trees; community facility improvements; and the development and/or improvement of green spaces.

Grants are made in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase or tools or materials.

Only grants submitted through the online application process will be considered for funding. All unsolicited donation requests received via mail, phone or e-mail will be referred to this online grant program. Responses are due December 15, 2009.

The Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, a pilot pilot project led jointly by Reconnecting America's Center for Transit-Oriented Development and the Center for Neighborhood Technology, integrates housing and transportation costs into a single measure, correcting a pervasive information gap. The index will help local and regional planners understand the housing costs and ''location costs'' of building housing and transportation. Potential home buyers and renters, finance agencies, public and private-sector real estate developers, housing lenders, and secondary market actors can use the index to better understand the full cost of the homes they purchase.

The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, developed by Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and its collaborative partners, the Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD), is an innovative tool that measures the true affordability of housing.

The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech publishes Housing Policy Debate (HPD), on online quarterly journal that provides a venue for original housing and urban affairs research on a broad range of domestic and international topics. Subjects include the analysis of real estate and market trends, land use regulations, and metropolitan development patterns.

Shaping Our Future Growth, a local, town-hall-meeting-style discussion on improving quality of life in Houston, Texas, is available for video streaming online. This three-part series was aired by Houston 8 PBS television on their ongoing local issues show, ''Houston Have Your Say.''

The City Parks Forum has begun an initiative to produce a series of briefing papers on ''How Cities Use Parks For ...'' to provide information on how healthy parks are fundamental to many aspects of community prosperity.

The Atlantic Monthly, November 1992. A city that protects its thriving, civil core.

As Central Florida faces the opportunities and challenges associated with the projected doubling of our population from 3.5 million citizens in 2006 to 7.2 million in 2050, the region has been given the opportunity to be the first in Florida to create a shared vision to answer the question, ''How Shall We Grow?''

This resource from the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) offers 19 tips on how to create a vibrant waterfront, drawing on success stories from around the world.

ICMA TV is a web television channel dedicated to covering the events and issues of importance to International City/County Management Association (ICMA) members. The channel is regularly updated with new films, features and coverage on topics which emerge at home and overseas.

Idaho Smart Growth created the Grow Smart Awards program in 2005 to recognize exemplary efforts in planning and development that keep our communities vibrant and our lands healthy.

Idaho Smart Growth announced winners of its 2007 Grow Smart Awards at a ceremony held Novermber 15, 2007.

Now in its fourth year, Idaho Smart Growth's statewide ''Grow Smart'' awards program recognizes the successful use of smart growth principles to encourage vibrant communities and healthy lands through sensible growth. Winners of the 2008 competition are featured on this website.

What are your hopes and dreams for Calgary's future? By answering these four simple questions, Calgarians began the process of shaping their city's future. Launched in January 2005 with the goal of producing a 100-year vision for Calgary based on what today's Calgarians want their city to look like, more than 18,000 Calgarians have added their voices to imagineCALGARY, making this the largest community visioning process of its kind anywhere in the world.

The U.S. EPA Office of Development, Community and Environment (widely known as the ''Smart Growth'' office) is sponsoring a study on ''Implementing Smart Growth Streets'' that is being conducted by ICF International and Ellen Greenberg. Readers of Smart Growth Online are invited to participate in this work by bringing candidate case studies to the attention of the project team.

Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design focuses on how to make communities more bicycle-friendly and walkable.

The Growth Management Leadership Alliance has prepared a resource listing numerous scorecards development by states and cities throughout the U.S. to help determine if a project meets principles of smart growth.

The Sustainability Podcast Series features sustainability initiatives at Indiana University. These online audio resources covering a variety of topics are available for free.

Innovative Communities: Community-Centered Environmental Management from The Brookings Institution looks at nine case studies from the Asia-Pacific region where communities are adopting innovative methods to address complex and unpredictable environmental problems.

The Institute for Comprehensive Community Development was established to advance the field of comprehensive community development and the positive impact it has in urban and rural communities across the country. This is done by:

The Institute is a place where the community development field can take what it learns from practice and use it as a base from which to provide training, to promote research in comprehensive community development, and to investigate the public policies that would best advance this work locally and nationally. The Institute is the locus where practice and theory meet, and where experimentation and innovation – grounded in real-world experience – flourish.

The Institute for Comprehensive Community Development is a venture of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).

The American Planning Association (APA) has released preliminary findings of a nationwide survey to measure how communities can create opportunities for citizens to be more physically active.

Founded in 1914, ICMA is the professional and educational association for more than 8,000 appointed administrators and assistant administrators serving cities, counties, other local governments, and regional entities around the world. ICMA is also the organizational ''home'' for the Smart Growth Network, an independent membership organization that assists its members in identifying strategies and tools to protect the health and welfare of their communities through the integration of environmentally sound decision making and economic growth. ICMA also produces the SGN bimonthly newsletter, Getting Smart!

Introduction to New Urbanism is a PowerPoint presentation from CNU that introduces the key principles of New Urbanism, describes the growth and development challenges around which the movement has rallied, and provides examples of New Urbanism playing a strong role in improving communities.

This presentation has been developed through a collaborative project involving individuals and organizations operating under the guidance of Smart Growth America. Research assistance was provided by the U.S. EPA. The presentation is intended to be used by individuals and organizations committed to helping communities achieve the objectives of Smart Growth. If you have any questions about the use of this presentation, please contact John Bailey (jbailey@transact.org) at Smart Growth America.

Nominations for the 2008 Best Development Awards are now being accepted by 1000 Friends of Iowa. The Best Development Awards program recognizes quality development and redevelopment projects in Iowa and leadership that upholds the mission of 1000 Friends.

The Iowa Green Streets Criteria, published by Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED), promote public health, energy efficiency, water conservation, smart locations, operational savings and sustainable building practices.

This article by Yan Song and Gerrit-Jan Knapp and published in the Spring 2004 Journal of the American Planning Association examines different methods used to measure sprawl, and uses those methods to analyze development patterns in the Portland, Oregon metro area.

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) offers a checklist on its website that provides benchmarks of a Great City.

Nominations are now open for the 2009 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards. This annual competition recognizes individual leaders who are advancing innovative and effective solutions to significant issues in California.

The Joint Center for Sustainable Communities is a collaboration between the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the National Association of Counties (NACo). Its primary mission is to provide a forum for cities and counties to work together to develop long-term policies and programs that will lead to job growth, environmental stewardship, and social equity the three pillars of sustainable communities. The Joint Center helps local elected officials build sustainable communities by promoting community leadership initiatives, providing technical assistance and training, and conducting community policy and educational forums. It works with the SGN to create programs and resources targeted at local elected and environmental officials to encourage, facilitate, and promote their sustainable communities projects

The James River Green Building Council (JRGBC) sponsors the 2009 Green Spaces competition. The 2009 ''Play Space'' challenge is to design a sustainable outdoor play space that will serve as a cultural, environmental, and economic amenity for the surrounding neighborhood as well as a teaching tool to educate children and adults about their environment.

The June 2008 edition of Getting Smart! is now available for all Smart Growth Network members in the Members Section. This issue takes a look at the critical role citizens play in advocating for smart growth, and attempt to answer the question, ''What can I do?''

MetroGreen is a proposed 1,144-mile interconnected system of public and private open spaces, greenways and trails designed to link seven counties in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program offers the Katrina Index: Tracking Variables of Post-Katrina Reconstruction. This publication provides a benchmark for reconstruction progress, indexing nearly 50 economic and social indicators that measure the impact of rebuilding efforts in Orleans Parish, the New Orleans metropolitan area, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Based on interviews with more than 150 individuals who constitute a ''Who's Who'' of the world's leading real estate executives, this hardcover book examines the transformation of America's largest industry--real estate--and identifies the attributes needed by chief executives and other leaders who are guiding their businesses through profound change. This book identifies the leadership strategies of and lessons learned by leading executives who have survived the downs of multifaceted business cycles and profitably taken advantage of ensuing opportunities in recovery.

Published 2009. ISBN: 978-0-87420-101-7. ULI Order Number: K05.

This recently published handbook provides a variety of tools for cities, counties, multi-stakeholder groups, watershed groups, and other interested members of the public to manage or control growth and development for water resource protection.

The book identifies the impacts of land use on water quality, water supplies, and the overall health and functioning of watersheds on which all communities - and all life - depend. It provides extensive tools and resources for local communities to use to achieve ''wet growth'' - land use and development that is sustainable with respect to water. These include a variety of methods, such as low-impact development, water conservation, green infrastructure, smart growth, land conservation, and the restoration, remediation, and re-use of land. They also include a variety of tools, including planning, regulation, incentives and market-based tools, private initiatives, public infrastructure, impact assessment, public participation and multi-stakeholder involvement, and public education and engagement.

Finally, the handbook's appendices include the Center for Watershed Protections Codes & Ordinances Worksheet to help localities to evaluate their local regulations, and examples of ordinances, regulations, and other legal documents from many communities throughout Kentucky and the U.S.

Eastman Kodak, The Conservation Fund, and the National Geographic Society provide small grants to stimulate the planning and design of greenways in communities throughout America with the Kodak American Greenways Awards Program. Read about recipients of the 2005 awards at the resource link below.

Mountain Equipment Coop is accepting applications for its Land Acquisition Grants. The grants are to conserve ecologically and/or recreationally significant resources and range from $10,000 to $100,000.

Evaluation Criteria:

To apply, complete the online application, available at the link below. Applications are due within ten weeks of the September 10 and March 10 deadlines.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is offering free subscriptions to its magazine, Land&People, a full-color, semi-annual, national magazine that documents the lands we love and the people who work to protect them.

The Land Art Generator Initiative is pleased to announce the commencement of the 2010 design competition.

There will be a prize award of $15,000 for the best design of an outdoor public art work that is conceptually engaging while at the same time produces real, useable renewable energy. Participants can choose one of three sites in the UAE upon which to work as detailed in the Design Guidelines.

The Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI), forges a new path in the tradition of land art that merges the natural elements of the sky, wind, sun, land, and water with technology in the creation of contemporary solution-based art in the United Arab Emirates. We invite international artists, designers, engineers, and architects to conceive of large sculptural works that use technology to harness the power of nature.

The long-term goal of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) is to design and construct a series of outdoor art installations that uniquely combine aesthetic intrigue and artistic concept with clean energy generation. The art itself will continuously distribute clean energy into the electrical grid, with the sculptures having the potential to provide power to thousands of homes in the United Arab Emirates.

The jury for the competition is comprised of key figures in architecture, art, urban planning, science, engineering, and sustainable development.

Information on the competition, guidelines, and registration can be found at the link below.

Land Conservation Financing provides a comprehensive overview of successful land conservation programs -- how they were created, how they are funded, and what they’ve accomplished -- along with detailed case studies from across the United States.

Ask the Expert forums at Michigan State University's Land Policy Institute include nine online discussion forums for public dialogue with academic and other experts related to land use, economic development, and sustainability.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission publishes Guidance Documents to help applicants interpret specific indicator practices drawn from Land Trust Standards and Practices.

This report, commissioned by ''Californians and the Land,'' a group of leaders from California's business, government, and environmental sectors, addresses three major issues: How much growth should California expect and why?; How are land use and quality of life issues related to the California economy?; and, What are the principles that must be addressed if Californians are to combine economic growth and a high quality of life now and for future generations?

MPOs in the Atlanta and San Francisco regions used DOT funds to promote smart growth through planning studies and transportation improvement projects. Learn how they are implementing a regional approach to linking transportation and land use planning through nonprofit and public sector agency efforts.

From Traditional to Reformed: A Review of the Land Use Regulations in the Nation's 50 largest Metropolitan Areas is a comprehensive survey of local land use regulations from The Brookings Institution that finds a wide variety of regulatory regimes in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas. They range from exclusionary and restrictive to innovative and accommodating. These produce a variety of effects on metropolitan growth and density, and on the opportunities afforded to the residents that live there.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative has released the nation's first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. A partnership of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the U.S. Botanic Garden, the Initiative's rating system represents four years of work by dozens of the country's leading sustainability experts, scientists and design professionals, as well as public input from hundreds of individuals and dozens of organizations to create this essential missing link in green design.

The rating system works on a 250-point scale, with levels of achievement for obtaining 40, 50, 60 or 80 percent of available points, recognized with one through four stars, respectively. If prerequisites are met, points are awarded through the 51 credits covering areas such as the use of greenfields, brownfields or greyfields; materials; soils and vegetation; construction and maintenance. These credits can apply to projects ranging from corporate campuses, transportation corridors, public parks and single-family residences. The rating system is part of two new reports issued from the Initiative, The Case for Sustainable Landscapes and Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks 2009, both available for download at www.sustainablesites.org.

To test the rating system, the Sustainable Sites Initiative opened a call for pilot projects in conjunction with the release of the rating system. Any type of designed landscape is eligible, so long as the project size is at least 2,000 square feet. The call will remain open until February 15, 2010, and the initiative will work with and oversee the projects during the two-year process. More information about the pilot projects is available at www.sustainablesites.org/pilot.

Lasting Landscapes: Reflections on the Role of Conservation Science in Land Use Planning is a report from The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) that brings together nine of the leading thinkers in the land use planning, conservation biology, and conservation policy professions to explore how the field of conservation planning could be further advanced.

One of the most important issues our communities face today is a staggering increase in the rates of obesity and chronic disease. Active living offers an opportunity for leaders to address this issue and to help improve the health and vitality of our communities. The 22-page Action Strategies Booklet lists more than 25 strategies and tactics local and state governments can use to support active living.

Based in Washington, D.C., Leadership for Healthy Communities is a $10-million national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation designed to support local and state government leaders nationwide in their efforts to reduce childhood obesity through public policies that promote active living, healthy eating and access to healthy foods.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) are pleased to announce the fifth annual County Leadership in Conservation Awards Program to recognize leadership, innovation, and excellence in county land conservation programs. Our award winners will receive a commemorative plaque and national recognition through TPL and NACo's publications, conferences, and websites.

Learning for Sustainability is the first New South Wales three-year environmental education plan. It aims to build the capacity of the whole community to be engaged in making environmental improvements and living sustainably.

This paper is designed to help further the understanding of and contribute to learning from international approaches to smarter growth policies and sustainable development.

The U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Natural Resources Defense Council -- three organizations that represent that nation's leaders among progressive design professionals, builders, planners, developers, and the environmental community -- have come together to develop LEED for Neighborhood Development, a rating system that will integrate the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has prepared this Frequently Asked Questions sheet for their LEED for Neighborhood Development program.

The LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a development's location and design meet accepted high levels of environmentally responsible, sustainable development. LEED for Neighborhood Development is a collaboration among U.S. Green Building Council, the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) invites the public to participate in the first public comment period for the proposed draft of the LEED for Neighborhood Development 2009 Rating System.

LEED for Neighborhood Development -- the pilot rating system launched jointly by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) is off to a promising start. A total of 238 developments have signed up to participate in the pilot program, which will be the first national certification system for sustainable neighborhood design and development.

A preliminary pilot draft of the LEED-ND Rating System under development by the LEED for Neighborhood Developments Core Committee is being made available for comments. The comments made during this period will aid the LEED-ND Core Committee in revising the preliminary pilot draft and producing a draft which will be the LEED-ND Pilot Rating System.

The Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN) has launched a new Hot Topic addressing the issue of Coastal Communities. This new addition to the Hot Topic section will include information on current news, funding and grant opportunities, publications, and links to relevant Web sites.

Palo Alto: Collaborative Economics, April 1998. This paper was written in response to the absence of economy in the discussions about new Urbanism and Livable Communities. Thus this paper aims to interject this concern into the debate, highlighting the economic benefits of livability and smart growth, and defining the place of new urbanism in the new economy.

Linking Transportation and Land Use: A Peer Exchange is a report that presents results from a national Land Use Peer Exchange held from July 12-13, 2005. The purpose of the peer exchange was to facilitate an open exchange of information on experiences, successes, new activities, obstacles, and concerns, and topics that need further research.

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) invested $826MM in equity, loans and grants during 2008 to revitalize disinvested neighborhoods as part of its Building Sustainable Communities work.

The San Francisco Bay Area Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) believes that green affordable housing is a key ingredient for fostering sustainable, resilient communities in ways that protect public health, conserve natural resources, and preserve the environment. The Bay Area LISC uses a multidimensional approach to bring environmentally sound principals into practice among affordable housing owners, managers and regulators, an approach that includes training, development of new tools and templates, peer learning, and financial incentives.

Livability 101: What Makes a Community Livable? is designed by the American Institute of Architects’ Center for Communities by Design to help public officials, and all others actively engaged in this civic dialogue, understand the basic elements of community design and take advantage of existing tools, strategies, and synergies at the policy, planning, and design levels so that their communities can reach their full potential.

The Local Government Division (LGD) of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) is the sponsor of this Livability Innovation Fund grant program for enhancing -- through planning and design -- the livability of New Mexico communities.

From the website: The International Making Cities Livable Council (IMCL) is an interdisciplinary, international network of individuals and cities dedicated to making our cities and communities more livable.

The AARP and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) will present the groups' co-sponsored 2007 Livable Communities Award to two builders, two developers and one remodeler for forward thinking in the field of home and community design. The Livable Communities Award honors builders, developers and remodelers that create attractive, well-designed homes and communities, which are safe, comfortable and accessible for people of all ages and abilities.

The Houston-Galveston Area Council includes on its website a section featuring Livable Communities publications and presentations. These documents, generally available online for free as PDFs and Powerpoints, cover several topic areas and include resources from several local events.

This new publication series being from the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities focuses on the practical aspects of how we create smarter, more livable communities for all. Each and will highlight successful strategies, explore tensions created by competing issues, and generally help spur informed debate on critical topics.

Livable Landscapes: By Chance Or By Choice? explores the changing relationship between people and the land in northern New England. This documentary features stories of average citizens taking a stand against sprawl and making postive choices about their communities' growth and change.

The Livable Communities Awards (LivCom) is the world’s only Awards Competition focussing on Best Practice regarding the management of the local environment. The objective of LivCom is to improve the quality of life of individual citizens through the creation of ‘liveable communities’. Registration deadline for the 2006 LivCom Livable Community Awards Awards is May 31, 2006.

Local Government and Schools is an IQ report from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) that provides local government managers with an understanding of the connections between school facility planning and local government management issues. The report offers strategies for how local governments and schools can bring their respective planning efforts together to take a more community-oriented approach to schools and reach multiple community goals: educational, environmental, economic, social, and fiscal. Eight case studies illustrate how communities across the U.S. have already succeeded in collaborating to create more community-oriented schools.

The LGC is a twenty-year-old nonprofit membership organization that offers education, training, and technical assistance to local areas seeking to implement innovative long-term solutions that further economically and environmentally sustainable land use patterns. The LGC began working on land use and community livability issues in 1991 with the drafting of the Ahwahnee Principles for Resource-Efficient Communities. Through its national initiative, the Center for Livable Communities, the LGC offers assistance on key issues, including compact development, infill development, transit-oriented and mixed-use development, and public participation tools. New in 1999 are guidebooks on residential street design and smart economic development. The LGC also produces slide presentations, workshops, and conferences, and through the Center's hotline (800/290-8202), it offers resources, networking, and referrals

The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has created a webpage focusing on Local Government-School District Collaboration: Sample Documents. This library document is an online appendix to Local Governments and Schools: Working Together for the Community's Future, an ICMA IQ Report published in February 2008.

Local Greenprinting for Growth is now available from the Trust for Public Land. This four-volume, fully revised workbook series is a guide for communities seeking to create a greenprint conservation program.

This local open space planning guide prepared by New York State's Quality Communities Task Force is intended to help interested local governments develop and implement local open space conservation programs.

The Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities area in Minnesota has produced a Local Planning Handbook to guide and support local municipalities in developing and amending their comprehensive plans.

Local Planning: Contemporary Principles and Practice is the all-new edition of the popular book, The Practice of Local Government Planning, which has been the valued resource for preparing for the AICP exam. This new edition helps the reader understand the complexities of planning at the local level, and prepare to make decisions in a challenging environment.

The book:

Local Planning: Contemporary Principles and Practice focuses on emerging issues and future challenges, offering useful, current examples of leading planning practices. The organization and content of the book will help planners and nonplanners who manage the work of planners apply well-reasoned strategic thinking to their planning challenges, and will help students of the profession bridge theory and practice.

Stories, tools and lessons learned from communities thoughout the nation on how to employ planning and development policy to improve quality of life and achieve smart growth goals.

Mayor of London, England Boris Johnson and Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, have launched an innovative scheme to turn 2,012 pieces of land into thriving green spaces to grow food by 2012.

The Location Efficient Mortgage (LEM) is a mortgage that helps people become homeowners in location efficient communities. These are convenient neighborhoods in which residents can walk from their homes to stores, schools, recreation, and public transportation. People who live in location efficient communities have less need to drive, which allows them to save money and improves the environment for everyone.

Louisiana Speaks is the long-term community planning initiative of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. The Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan document lays out a clear plan based on Louisianians' aspirations for the future, and it provides specific actions to get there.

Low Carbon Neighborhoods, High-Quality Living is an initiative from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) that emphasizes how neighborhoods are one of the best remedies for combating climate change.

Lesley University's M.A. in Urban Environmental Leadership gives students an opportunity to study the complete picture of the urban environment and gain a understanding of the human forces that shape it.

August 1, 2007 is the deadline for educational educational session proposals for the 2008 National Main Streets Conference. Share your experiences, raise your visibility among industry professionals and help us explore this year's conference theme, ''Enriching Main Street Through Entrepreneurship and Diversity,'' by submitting your proposal today.

This presentation discusses the kinds of land development regulations found in many communities. It explains how outdated land development regulations may inhibit smart growth and how such regulations can be revised to promote it instead. The presentation and all images contained in it may be used for non-commercial, educational purposes. Available in PowerPoint, PDF, and HTML formats. Presented by the Smart Growth Network Partners.

Making Sense of Place -- Phoenix: The Urban Desert is a one-hour documentary film about urban growth and change in and around Phoenix, Arizona. In only half a century, Phoenix has expanded from a small desert town into the sixth-largest city in the country.

This 170-page book provides an in-depth look at the underlying principles of smart growth, explains how developers and planners have applied them, and how the public and private sectors can collaborate to make smart growth effective.

Making the Case for Housing Choices and Complete Communities: The Next Generation, a report from the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP), examines the region's housing challenges and the growing need for complete, affordable communities -- providing a variety of housing types and price points -- in locations convenient to jobs.

1000 Friends of Minnesota produced this report on growth in Minnesota's Growth Corridor: an area beginning north of Brainerd that runs south through St. Cloud, rings the seven-county Twin Cities region, and continues south through Rochester.

The latest issue of Getting Smart! is now available for all Smart Growth Network members in the Members Section. This edition of Getting Smart! examines the unique role that local government managers play in implementing smart growth.

This series of articles from On Common Ground, The National Association of Realtors® Smart Growth Magazine, attempts to grasp this subject of supply and demand for Smart Growth.

The State of Maryland has created an online ''listening session'' where residents can provide their views and opinions on the future of growth and development in the state. The online survey takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

The Maryland Sustainable Communities Initiative -- a collaboration of agencies in the Governor's Smart Growth Sub-Cabinet -- will provide access to new resources for updating local comprehensive plans. For State Fiscal Year 2009, up to $500,000 will be awarded through the Sustainable Communities Initiative. Funds may be used for revisions to existing plans or for specific elements of plans that are new or need to be updated.

Governor's Office of Smart Growth. This one-stop resource for individuals, communities, builders and environmentalists contains the many programs offered by Maryland State agencies in support of Smart Growth principles and the Maryland Smart Growth Program.

The Massachusetts State Sustainability Planning and Implementation Guide is a comprehensive guidance document written by the State Sustainability Council in collaboration with Program staff.

The Smart Growth Technical Assistance Grant Program, offered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), provides grants of up to $30,000 per community to implement smart growth zoning changes and undertake other activities that will improve local and regional sustainable development practices.

The latest issue of Getting Smart! is now available for all Smart Growth Network members in the Members Section. This edition of Getting Smart! focuses on the aging of America and related challenges and opportunities. Featured articles include ''Get Ahead of the Age Wave with Smart Growth,'' ''The Senior Transportation Challenge: Signs of Hope,'' ''Active Living for Older Adults,'' and more, including articles on age-related living in Atlanta; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Central Virginia.

The Mayors' Institute on City Design is a partnership program of the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Architectural Foundation, and the United States Conference of Mayors. This video provides an overview of the organization, illustrating the benefits of shared knowledge in tackling difficult urban design and liveability issues.

In Measuring the Air Quality and Transportation Impacts of Infill Development the U.S. EPA illustrates how regions can calculate the transportation and air quality benefits of infill, based on standard transportation forecasting models used by metropolitan planning organizations across the country.

Measuring the Economic Value of an Urban Park System from The Trust for Public Land identifies seven attributes of city park systems that provide economic value and can be measured. The report is based on a 2003 TPL Center for City Park Excellence event held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Obesity has reached epidemic levels, and diseases associated with inactivity are also on the rise. What is creating this public health crisis? This report presents the first national study to show a clear association between the type of place people live and their activity levels, weight, and health.

In recognition of America's population surpassing 300 million people in October 2006, the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities offers this presentation given by Ben Starrett at the Environmental Grantmakers Association Retreat on October 8, 2006.

MetroFuture is the Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council's (MAPC) recent initiative to update MetroPlan, the agency's 1990 regional roadmap. This large-scale participatory initiative will develop a vision for the Metro Boston region’s future and a strategy to get there.

To unleash greater local and national prosperity U.S. metropolitan leaders need to be better equipped to deal with today's increasingly dynamic economic, social, and environmental realities. To that end, Brookings has released MetroPolicy: Shaping a New Federal Partnership for a Metropolitan Nation a report that calls for a new federal-state-metro partnership that provides metropolitan actors the support, capacity, tools, and discretion they need to resolve key challenges; grow in more productive, inclusive, and sustainable ways; and, ultimately, to maximize America's overall prosperity.

On the heels of signing into law a $787 billion economic stimulus and recovery package, President Obama has delivered a 10-year budget plan that could fundamentally reshape the nation's priorities. Brookings experts suggest how the budget plan and recovery package might affect the metropolitan drivers of national prosperity, including innovation, human capital, infrastructure and sustainable places.

metros is a quarterly newsletter from the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations includes coverage of current planning topics, legislation, and policy analysis.

Michigan NOW explores Michigan through the stories of the state's people, in their own words, through radio journalism. The website offers archives of past stories and content is available in both streaming audio and text formats.

Produced by the City of Minneapolis, this publication list steps to creating a sustainable Minneapolis.

The Mississippi Renewal Forum's Final Report in summary format is now available online. This report summarizes the 18 individual reports crafted to guide the rebuilding of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Final team reports have been released from The Mississippi Renewal Forum, held October 11-17, 2005. The Renewal Forum was a gathering of design specialists from across the nation to help provide rebuilding visions for communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The Mixed Income Transit-Oriented Development Action Guide is an online tool designed to help local jurisdictions and planners develop strategies to create mixed-income, transit-oriented development (MITOD) around planned transit stations. This interactive site was developed by the Center for Transit Oriented Development in cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Action Guide walks users through three critical data gathering and analysis components of plan development: Existing Conditions Analysis, MITOD Strategies Analysis, and MITOD Opportunities Analysis. These three areas of analysis are composed of questions—to be answered by the planner—that span several subjects: demographics, housing, real estate markets, land capacity, and neighborhood stability. Each question highlights key information that will be used to help local jurisdictions select and direct policy tools to achieve their MITOD goals.

The American Planning Association's (APA's) Research Department has created 11 model Smart Growth Codes for Land Development. The model codes are ordinances and regulations that advance smart growth objectives in towns, cities, and counties. This project goes well beyond promoting the concepts of smart growth and moves into fundamental repair of the regulatory system.

Model State Land Use Legislation for New England discusses the background of growth and sprawl in the New England area, and how municipalities and the state have both separate and combined responsibilities and functions in managing growth.

This publication from the Maryland Department of Planning addresses infill development and includes model zoning codes, examples of existing zoning codes from jurisdictions throughout the country, and a list of minimum requirements that jurisdictions must meet in order to qualify for certain state incentives.

The Montana Smart Growth Coalition has created a quantitative checklist of criteria to determine if a development project is truly smart growth and deserves MSGC's support during permitting and marketing.

Montana's state transportation program represents a major force shaping the state's cities, towns, and countryside as well as a major influence on the state's economy and quality of life. Transportation Choices to Enhance Community Character, Public Safety, Economic Vitality, and Natural Landscapes in Montana the Montana Transportation Choices Study, evaluates the state's program in light of current guidelines, goals, and requirements contained in federal transportation laws, and compares Montana's transportation program to best practices among the states in key policy areas of importance to Montana's citizens.

Moving Communities Forward, a project by the American Institute of Architects and the Center for Transportation Studies, measures the benefits that well-designed transportation projects bring to communities.

The Seattle blog myurbanist provides insight into the city's next steps to encourage placemaking and pedestrian life, with seven principles derived from the author’s examples from Australia, Italy and Malta.

The blog’s author is Chuck Wolfe, Principal of Charles R. Wolfe, Attorney at Law, who practices in Seattle and also teaches at the University of Washington.

The National Association of Counties' (NACo) Center for Sustainable Communities has announced the winners of its 2005 awards program, recognizing innovative counties for creative county led partnerships to develop sustainable communities.

To increase the effectiveness of state and local REALTOR® association efforts in creating livable communities, the National Association of Realtors' (NAR's) Smart Growth Action Grant program is available to support your efforts to implement programs and activities that position REALTORS® as leaders in improving their communities by advancing smart growth.

To increase the effectiveness of state and local REALTOR® association efforts in creating livable communities, NAR’s Smart Growth Action Grant program is available to support your efforts to implement programs and activities that position REALTORS® as leaders in improving their communities by advancing smart growth.

The rational for REALTOR® involvement in local land use issues is compelling: the healthier the community, the more attractive it will be to homebuyers. However, land use issues often require long-term efforts on the behalf of advocates. NAR’s Smart Growth Action Grants are intended to help your association and members initiate and sustain an active role in bringing smart growth development principles to your community.

Education and coalition building are hallmarks of successful smart growth efforts. The grants can be used to further activities to develop a community vision through a community planning workshop or joining a coalition that is working toward a similar community vision. Additionally, grant funds may be used to support green building activities, such as working with state or local officials to develop green building/energy efficiency policies for your community.

Applications are due April 2, 2010.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has established a grant program to help members implement programs and activities that position realtors as leaders in improving their communities by advancing smart growth. NAR will consider applications twice in 2005, first-round applications are due to NAR on June 30th.

For more information please visit the resource link below.

To increase the effectiveness of local association efforts in creating livable communities, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has established a grant program to assist your efforts to implement programs and activities that position REALTORS® as leaders in improving their communities by advancing smart growth.

NACo is a full-service organization that provides legislative, research, technical, and public affairs assistance to its members. Created in 1935 to provide a strong voice for county officials in the nation's capital, NACo continues to ensure that the nation's 3,072 counties are heard and understood in the White House and in Congress. The association acts as a liaison with other levels of government, works to improve public understanding of counties, serves as a national advocate for counties, and provides counties with resources to help them find innovative methods to meet the challenges they face. NACo is working with the SGN on developing information tailored to the needs of both rural and urban county officials to help them address growth, infrastructure needs, and environmental health.

NALGEP is a nonprofit association representing local government officials who are responsible for ensuring environmental compliance and implementing environmental programs. NALGEP's diverse membership includes environmental managers and commissioners, solid waste coordinators, and public works and planning directors. NALGEP has launched the Smart Growth Business Partnership, a project convening corporate leaders and local officials to determine how businesses can support smart growth principles and practices. The project is examining the impacts of sprawl on business and the need for businesses and localities to promote better development practices.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now accepting applications for the sixth annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. This competition is open to public-sector entities that have successfully used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically. Entry deadline is April 3, 2007; winners will be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, DC, in November 2007.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting applications for the seventh annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. This competition is open to public-sector entities that have used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically. Applications are due on April 7, 2008.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will present the 2008 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. on November 19, 2008. The Smart Growth Achievement Award recognizes public-sector entities that have used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the eighth annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. This competition is open to public-sector or private sector applicants that have used the principles of smart growth to create better places.

NNC promotes a neighborhood focus at all levels of government and throughout society by advocating for programs and policies that foster partnerships between neighborhood organizations, private sector institutions, and government agencies. As a partner in the SGN, NNC is active in research and advocacy. It also convenes member organizations to address the role of neighborhood organizations in smart growth and to relate smart growth to the needs of existing lower-income communities.

The American Planning Association (APA) will honor outstanding efforts in planning and planning leadership, including cutting-edge achievements and planning under difficult or adverse circumstances, in the 2009 National Planning Excellence, Leadership and Achievement Awards. APA invites you to participate in the celebration of the best in plans and planning by nominating projects and people you think deserving of such recognition.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking proposals for organizing a national smart growth conference. This conference will be a multi-disciplinary event that focuses on diverse smart growth issues and attracts a diverse audience of practitioners, researchers and policy makers. This conference should be at least a 3 full days and should be convened in January or February 2009.

The U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development has produced National Sustainability Education Standards -- Version 1, a document that begins to define what K-12 students should know and be able to do to be sustainability literate.

Chartered by Congress in 1949, the National Trust has more than 270,000 members and seven regional offices to help communities preserve their heritage and the livability. The trust promotes downtown revitalization as a major alternative to sprawl through its National Main Street Center as well as through public policy advocacy, conferences, and technical assistance. It has published several books describing techniques for minimizing sprawl and promoting smart growth; these include Smart States, Better Communities (a compendium of ideas for smart growth policies at the state level), Better Models for Superstores: Alternatives to Big-Box Sprawl, and How Superstore Sprawl Can Harm Communities (And What Citizens Can Do about It). SGN members can receive these publications at a discounted rate from the trust.

The National for Historic Preservation's work to assist in the recovery of the Gulf Coast continues to expand as it brings new resources, staff, and expertise to the region. This web page provides details on their efforts, including reports from the field, resources for returning homeowners, and legislative action.

The National Wildlife Federation's Smart Growth and Wildlife campaign is working across the US to protect and restore species and habitats threatened by sprawl, by promoting ''smart growth'' alternatives.

NRDC is a nonprofit organization with more than 400,000 members nationwide; its mission is to preserve the environment, protect the public health, and ensure the conservation of wilderness and natural resources. NRDC pursues these goals through research, advocacy, litigation, and public education.

New audio recordings are now available from seven Smart Growth Speaker Series events at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Audio from the April through October 2008 events can be accessed through the Smart Growth Online website 24 hours a day.

1000 Friends of Wisconsin offers their ''New Communities for a New Economy: Land Use Strategies to Excel in the New Digital World'' report on their website. The purpose of this report is twofold. First, it examines land use strategies to attract high-tech workers and industries to Wisconsin communities. Second, it examines planning strategies to ensure new industries do not compromise the integrity of Wisconsin's landscape and quality of life.

National Governors Association, 2001. This report explains how states and communities can encourage New Community Design -- mixed-use, mixed-income, walkable development that is distinctly different from sprawl -- by eliminating institutional barriers in the marketplace.

''Linking Land Use, Transportation, Air Quality and Health in the Atlanta Region'' is the subtitle of New Data for a New Era: A Summary of the SMARTRAQ Findings, a report that summarizes the results of one of the largest, most comprehensive planning studies yet undertaken for a large metropolitan areas.

The February 2003 issue of ''Getting Smart'' is available in the Members Section. Features in this issue include Managing Urban Transportation Systems: The Need for a New Operating Paradigm; Transportation Reform and Social Equity: An Agenda for Smart Growth; and a feature on Enhancing America’s Communities.

Not Yet a Member? Click Here for a list of benefits.

The June 2003 issue of ''Getting Smart'' is available in the Members Section. Features in this issue include Land Use and Substance Abuse in Northern New Mexico; Letter from the Editor; Living in Paradise?; Toolbox: Resources for Smart Growth; Considering Residents’ Needs in Planning for Higher Density Housing; Spotlight On: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Partner Updates.

Land Use and the Changing Patterns of Place is a sweeping diagnosis of land use trends in the West and a prescription for better planning and policy decisions. Authored by 2005-2006 Orton Family Foundation Fellow and University of Colorado-Boulder Professor of Geography, William Travis, this is the first book in a series that explores the complex land use issues underlying many of the nation's most pressing social problems while highlighting new models and visions for vibrant and sustainable communities.

Responding to a growing number of requests from states for assistance in managing growth, three former governors with a long history of promoting smart growth -- Christie Whitman (New Jersey--also former EPA Administrator), Parris Glendening (Maryland) and Angus King (Maine) -- today joined EPA and the National Endowment for the Arts in announcing a new Governors' Institute on Community Design. The Institute is intended to support governors' leadership in good community design and sound planning.

The New Hampshire Transportation Business Plan (TBP) is a 25-year vision that will serve to advance transportation, economic development, land use and environmental goals throughout the state.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has organized an array of state brownfields resources on its website. Any former or current commercial or industrial site, currently vacant or underutilized and on which there has been -- or there is suspected to have been -- a discharge of contamination, qualifies as a brownfield.

New Jersey Future’s Smart Growth Awards honor the town officials, developers, contractors, architects and corporations who have the courage to resist status quo growth patterns and have instead adopted smart growth values and design principles. The deadline for submissions to the 2006 Awards is Friday, January 6, 2006.

New Jersey Future’s Smart Growth Awards honor town officials, developers, contractors, architects and corporate leaders who have the courage to resist status quo growth patterns and instead adopt smart growth values and design principles.

New Jersey Future's Smart Growth Awards honor town officials, developers, contractors, architects and corporate leaders who have the courage to resist status quo growth patterns and instead adopt smart growth values and design principles.

More than 300 guests celebrated New Jersey Future's 7th Annual Smart Growth Awards on June 5, 2008, at the Newark Club in Newark.

More than 300 people attended the 2009 New Jersey Future Smart Growth Awards on June 3, 2009 at the Newark Club, where seven projects were recognized in the 2009 competition.

New Jersey Future's Smart Growth Awards honor plans and developments in all parts of the state that exemplify sound land use practice through the implementation of smart growth principles and the State Development and Redevelopment Plan.

The State of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs has produced a webpage featuring success stories from communities that employ smart growth guidelines.

The New Partners for Smart Growth organizers have issued a Call for Program Ideas for their Fifth Annual Conference, to be held in Denver, Colorado, January 26-28, 2006.

The New Partners for Smart Growth organizers have issued a Call for Program Ideas for their Sixth Annual Conference, to be held in Los Angeles, California, February 8-10, 2007.

More than 220 PowerPoint presentations from the 2007 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference are now available on Smart Growth Online, courtesy of the Local Government Commission (LGC).

More than 230 PowerPoint presentations from the 2008 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference are now available on Smart Growth Online, courtesy of the Local Government Commission (LGC).

More than 230 PowerPoint presentations from the 2009 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference are now available on Smart Growth Online, courtesy of the Local Government Commission (LGC).

The 4th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities conference was held January 27-29, 2005 in Miami Beach, Florida. View the entire program and PowerPoint presentations from select events, or order audio files.

The Economic Profile System (EPS) is a tool for community stewardship. This term describes locally driven initiatives that strive to protect the ecological and cultural values of an area, while meeting a community’s economic and social needs.

Video and presentations from CNU XVI, the Congress for the New Urbanism's April 3-6 event in Austin, Texas, are now available online. Nearly 1500 attendees worked on solutions to climate change, household gasoline dependency, and troubled real estate markets.

Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) has prepared a 13-page bibliography listing of academic articles about new urbanism.

The Fourth edition of New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide is the most comprehensive and up-to-date sourcebook on the ideas and techniques of New Urbanism ever published. Thoroughly revised and substantially expanded by the editors of New Urban News, this brand new book explains how New Urbanism came about, what its principles are, and how it is improving communities in the United States and other countries.

New Urbanism: Comprehensive Report & Best Practices Guide by Robert Steuteville and Phillip Langdon, is the definitive reference for new urban ideas, practices, and projects. This wire-comb bound edition is available directly from the publisher, New Urban News, with a special price for students.

This definitive reference on new urban ideas, practices, and projects from New Urban Publications, Inc. includes updates and new sections as well as more than 400 illustrations and tables, projects, plans, and renderings.

Share the opportunities and challenges of designing and retrofitting communities that make it easier for people to live healthy lives at New Urbanism: Rx for Healthy Places is the theme of CNU's 18th annual Congress in Atlanta, set for May of 2010.

The Congress for New Urbanism's (CNU) K-12 Initiative has produced a bibliography of resources for primary and secondary teachers to introduce students to the concepts of New Urbanism, Smart Growth, and traditional town planning. This provides teachers with curriculum suggestions, teaching modules, videotapes, books, and games that are grade and age appropriate.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program provides municipalities and community-based organizations with assistance to complete area-wide approaches to brownfields redevelopment planning.

The New York State Department of Transportation's (NYSDOT) Smart Planning Program has developed a number of tools to help illustrate the link between transportation and land use planning and to educate communities about Smart Growth.

The 2006 New York State Governor's Quality Communities Awards for Excellence is open for entries.

The New York State Smart Growth website offers a comprehensive list of grant opportunities for New York State.

The New Zealand Urban Design Protocol provides a platform to make New Zealand towns and cities more successful through quality urban design. It is part of the Government's Sustainable Development Programme of Action and Urban Affairs portfolio.

The Niagara Community Design Awards recognize individuals, projects, and programs for the demonstrated vision, leadership, innovation, and overall contribution to building a more pedestrian-focused and economically vibrant Niagara, by design.

The New Jersey Office of Smart Growth offers a website that lists grant information for communities in the Garden State.

Notice of funding availability, open space and preservation initiatives, and award notifications are among the items listed on this online resource.

For more information please visit the resource link below.

No Place to Play, a new report by the Trust for Public Land, finds that two-thirds of children 18 and under in Los Angeles do not live within walking distance of a public park.

Each year the Minnesota Environmental Initiative recognizes five innovative projects that exemplify our focus on collaborative approaches to environmental improvement. Nominations for the 2003 Environmental Initiative Awards are due January 31, 2003.

Created in 1991, the Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Program educates local land use decision makers about the impacts of land use on natural resources.

A special issue of Local Environment, an international refereed journal, is now available online. Articles include ''Smart Growth in a Small Urban Setting the challenges of building an acceptable solution,'' by Henry J. Mayer, Christine M. Danis, and Michael R. Greenberg; ''Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously a comparative analysis of twenty-four US cities,'' by Kent E. Portney; and ''Local Government and the WSSD,'' by Mike Ashley.

Northeast-Midwest Institute is a nonprofit research and educational organization that works to enhance economic competitiveness and environmental quality. The institute's Urban Environment Program addresses the dual challenges of redeveloping the urban core while improving the built and natural environment in metropolitan regions. Research topics include site cleanup, transportation, air and water quality, housing, education, and land conservation. The institute is unique among Washington policy centers because of its close working relationship with the bipartisan NortheastMidwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions. Institute activities with the SGN include a workbook and conference on infill development, research on federal barriers to smart growth and urban livability, and brownfield cleanup and redevelopment policies.

The November 2007 issue of Getting Smart! focuses on how economic development can be integrated with smart growth. The economic development argument is often one of the most powerful arguments advocates can make for smart growth.

The November 2008 edition of Planning, a monthly magazine published by the American Planning Association, is now available. Planning offers news and analyses of events in planning, including suburban, rural, and small town planning; environmental planning; neighborhood revitalization; economic development; social planning; and urban design.

Smarter Cities, a project of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), is a multimedia web initiative that provides a forum for exploring the progress that American cities are making in environmental stewardship and sustainable growth.

The Summer 2006 edition of On Common Ground focuses on the New Urbanism, an urban design movement that aims to reform urban planning and real estate development toward building more human-scaled and walkable communities.

The UK Government and Devolved Administrations has launched their new Strategic Framework, One Future -- Different Paths. This was launched in conjunction with the UK Government's new strategy for sustainable development, Securing the Future.

The Ontario Community Sustainability Report -- 2007 was produced by The Pembina Institute to evaluate whether policies and plans that use the language of sustainability are being translated into tangible progress on the ground.

A study of public attitudes regarding open space in Illinois finds residents of the state view open space as an important aspect of their communities, support acquiring more open space, consider open space a key component of their quality of life, and support protecting open space for wildlife habitat and from urban development.

This study by the Open Space Institute and the Center for Policy Research at the University at Albany finds that local governments in New York’s Capital District are not prepared to handle the heavy toll of sprawl.

Citizens from civic, environmental, business, neighborhood and community groups have joined with the University of Washington to create a 100-year plan for Seattle's open spaces. This collaborative vision reaches from the city limits to the downtown core, creating a comprehensive network of parks, civic spaces, streets, trails, shorelines, and urban forests that will bind neighborhoods to one another, create ecological conduits from the city's ridgelines to its shorelines, and ensure a wealth of green spaces for all citizens to enjoy.

Opolis is a semi-annual, peer-reviewed publication. The journal is broad-based and multidisciplinary, inviting submissions from fields across the social and natural sciences. Likewise, the methods used in articles are equally varied and cover a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Opolis also profiles applied work that address ways of improving metropolitan growth.

Opportunities for Advancing Environmental Justice: An Analysis of U.S. EPA Statutory Authorities from Environmental Law Institute (ELI) looks at environmental justice activities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While there are numerous public institutions whose activities bear directly on issues of environmental justice, EPA has jurisdiction over many of the core issues, especially the prevention and control of industrial pollution, that have given rise to the environmental justice movement.

In recent years interest has grown in Smart Growth as a mechanism for improving environmental quality. In Our Built and Natural Environments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) summarizes technical research on the relationship between the built and natural environments, as well as current understanding of the role of development patterns, urban design, and transportation in improving environmental quality. Our Built and Natural Environments is designed as a technical reference for analysts in state and local governments, academics, and people studying the implications of development on the natural environment.

''Our Town'' is a U.S. EPA-sponsored program affiliate of Purdue University's Department of Engineering Education. This interdisciplinary K-12 education program is designed engage students in the science, economics, and social impacts of brownfields redevelopment in their community.

The Information Technology Division of the American Planning Association has created five awards that will be presented at the 2006 National APA Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The deadline to submit a nomination is January 15, 2006.

The Local Government Commission’s Smart Growth Zoning Codes: A Resource Guide is intended to help local officials improve community livability through code reform.

Many elements of a community's environment affect the health of residents, from air and water quality, to availability of transportation and markets, to walkability and access to parks and recreation opportunities. The Park Equity and Public Health Toolkit from the Trust for Public Land (TPL) is designed to engage and inform community leaders as well as parks and health advocates as they consider the built environment in their communities and its effect on a broad range of issues related to health, social justice, the environment, and quality of life.

The Urban Land Institute's (ULI) California Smart Growth initiative offers this report on how local and regional leaders in the San Francisco Bay area are teaming up with the public and private sectors to make smart growth a reality.

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, in conjunction with the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, has released Partnerships for Smart Growth: University-Community Collaboration for Better Public Spaces. Written under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. EPA, the report profiles 13 university-led collaborations on smart growth initiatives.

Environmental Health & Engineering is hosting Pathways to Campus Sustainability, a series of webinars designed to provide you with the most up-to-date tools and knowledge necessary to manage a successful campus sustainability program.

Pathways to Healthy Living is a two-page brochure produced by the National Park Service to promote its nationwide initiative to encourage healthful outdoor physical activity in National Parks and local communities.

The Vermont Forum on Sprawl has developed, in partnership with the Orton Family Foundation, a sophisticated new online tool that acts as an interactive ''consultant'' to citizens and local planners.

Paved Over: Surface Parking Lots or Opportunities for Tax-Generating, Sustainable Development? is a report from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) that analyzes the value of urban parking lots in economic terms and development potential.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Green City Strategy calls for significant improvements to the city's open spaces as a means to attract new residents and investment. It also addresses the problem of vacant land and promotes a citywide vacant land greening and management system.

The Philadelphia Sustainability Awards are the first-ever awards in the Philadelphia region to recognize those who are leading the way to a more sustainable future. Businesses, non-profits, community organizations, individuals, schools and government agencies in the region submitted nominations early in 2007. More than 50 nominations were received, demonstrating many aspects of sustainability.

The Michigan State University (MSU) Land Policy Program, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's People and Land program, has launched a new initiative, Picture Michigan Tomorrow. The heart of this new initiative is developing new models of Michigan's land use future to raise understanding of what the state will look like in the future.

This site offers examples of how communities throughout the country are trying to achieve smart growth.

Cities and towns across the country are embracing smart growth as a better solution to meet the needs of their growing populations. Picturing Smart Growth from the Natural Resources Defense Council offers images of how 70 U.S. communities could apply smart growth principles that accommodate growth and development while saving open space, revitalizing neighborhoods and helping cool the planet.

Cities and towns across the country are embracing smart growth as a better solution to meet the needs of their growing populations.

See NRDC's visions for how 70 U.S. communities could apply smart growth principles that accommodate growth and development while saving open space, revitalizing neighborhoods and helping cool the planet.

The California Infill Parcel Locator website is a tool for pinpointing potential infill sites throughout the state of California. Such parcels are located in areas that have already been urbanized, but the sites are either completely vacant or have structures assessed at extremely low valuations, relative to the land itself.

New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez announced on December 2 a new initiative, the Place-Based Regional Collaboration Pilot, which strengthens the partnership between New York State and the federal government to advance community revitalization. The Secretary was joined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation in making the announcement at the New Partners for Community Revitalization 2nd Annual Brownfields Forum. The announcement marks a new avenue of state-federal collaboration.

This announcement builds on and expands the Brownfields Smart Growth ''Spotlight Communities'' Initiative, announced last year by Governor David A. Paterson, which is a state-local partnership that capitalizes on commitments from existing state programs and resources to support the implementation of locally generated Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Plans to advance neighborhood revitalization. Brownfield Opportunity Area Plans use an area-wide approach, rather than the traditional site by site approach, to brownfield assessment and redevelopment. BOA enables communities to comprehensively assess existing economic and environmental conditions associated with brownfield blight and impacted areas, identify and prioritize community supported redevelopment opportunities, and to attract public and private investment to implement projects.

The Place-Based Regional Collaboration Pilot expands the partnership by involving three levels of government – local, state, and federal agencies – with community-based organizations. The partnership will enable important dialogue and collaboration with community leaders and will advance feasible projects through commitments of state and federal resources to achieve community revitalization. To launch the pilot, the Department of State and partner state and federal agencies will conduct a series of regional workshops over the next two years involving multiple communities that will focus on advancing feasible projects.

PLACEmaking, published annually in England by RUDI Ltd. (Resource for Urban Design Information) with the Academy of Urbanism, is a guidebook that presents a series of contemporary place-making examples and identifies key issues for designers, planners, and developers alike.

Placemaking in a Down Economy is the topic of this newsletter from Project for Public Spaces (PPS). In the cover story, PPS President Fred Kent discusses how a Placemaking approach to development is emerging as a cost-effective way to revive prosperity in communities across the U.S. and the world, and marks a fresh alternative to the way economic and urban growth have been pursued over recent decades.

This guide provides a starter kit for a community member, city official, planner, or design professional to identify currently available planning tools and to assess their applicability and appropriateness to specific projects or issues, alone or in combination.

PLAN-135: Introduction to Smart Growth is a six-month, self-paced course designed for planners, local officials, developers and citizens interested in learning more about smart growth. William Fulton, regarded as one of the nation's leading commentators on urban planning, metropolitan growth, and economic development, provides a thorough introduction to smart growth planning concepts and offers practical analysis of smart growth plans and practices.

Planners Book Service, part of the American Planning Association's website, is the Internet's best source for books, reports, audio and video tapes, computer software, and curricula on planning and related subjects.

Planning Active Communities from the American Planning Association (APA) looks at how planning processes, development regulations, and community participation can be used to ensure that development patterns facilitate everyday physical activity.

Planning & Environmental Law is a monthly journal that abstracts the 50 most noteworthy federal and state judicial decisions that pertain to planning and environmental law, and offers commentaries on the wide range of legal topics and issues pertinent to planning and environmental management, authored by the nation’s preeminent scholars and practitioners in the field.

Planning and Urban Design Standards is a comprehensive sourcebook on everything from regional plans to streetscapes. Edited by the American Planning Association and including extensive illustrations and concise explanations, this book is a quick reference focused on practical applications.

The American Planning Association and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy offer a series of audio conference programs for training public officials and professionals on planning and development issues. These programs provide a general overview to the topic, provide short case studies of tools and techniques, and offer insight into current trends.

The March 2010 issue of Planning finds a ray of hope in the national economy. Read about economic diversity in Michigan, the supermarket as a neighborhood building block, and an excerpt from a new Planners Press book about the essential elements of sustainable design. Members may read the entire issue online. Everyone is invited to read this month's featured article on Maryland's second generation of smart growth.

Updating his two previous books on growth management in the states, John M. DeGrove examines the history and current systems for planning and smart growth in nine states: Oregon, Florida, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia, Maryland, and Washington.

This paper from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute in British Columbia summarizes key principles and practices for effective planning, particularly land use and transportation planning.

Poorly planned land development is a prime contributor to the loss of America’s natural heritage of animal and plant diversity. But a new report by the Environmental Law Institute finds that simply utilizing existing biodiversity information may help remedy this problem.

The Playbook is a web-based resource that provides strategies, tips, and tools that cities and counties can use to take immediate action on climate change through: Green building, green neighborhoods, and sustainable infrastructure. The Playbook is designed both for communities that are considering making the first steps toward these, as well as for those who want to take existing efforts to a new level.

The Governors' Institute on Community Design offers the online resource Policies that Work: A Governors' Guide to Growth and Development. This free resource lays out a systematic approach to smart growth policymaking at the state level. It is designed to provide governors and their staff and cabinet secretaries with hundreds of ideas about policies, administrative actions, and spending decisions that have actually produced smarter growth in other states -- ideas and outcomes that they may be able to replicate in their own states.

Policy Lessons from the Coastal Brownfield Development of Fields Point, Providence, Rhode Island is a report from the Rhode Island-based Save The Bay Center that explores how regulatory and policy context shapes broad patterns of coastal development and the process of brownfield redevelopment in Rhode Island.

Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty is the first major guidebook on peak oil and global warming for local governments in the United States and Canada. It provides a sober look at how these phenomena are quickly creating new uncertainties and vulnerabilities for cities of all sizes, and explains what local decision-makers can do to address these challenges.

The Poundbury Series, launched in 2007, is a series of seven lectures and tours which are an essential experience for those involved in the planning, design and building of housing developments in the United Kingdom and beyond.

The 4th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities conference was held January 27-29, 2005 in Miami Beach, Florida. View the entire program and more than 60 PowerPoint presentations from select events, or order audio files.

The 2006 New Partners for Smart Growth conference was a national multi-disciplinary event that built on the tremendous success of the first four annual New Partners for Smart Growth conferences, held January 2002 in San Diego, 2003 in New Orleans, 2004 in Portland, and 2005 in Miami.

Conference organizers Penn State and the Local Government Commission (LGC) have made available presentations for most conference sessions as PDF documents in PowerPoint handout format. View presentations from the 2006 New Partners for Smart Growth conference at the resource link below.

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) offers the PPS Greatest Hits of 2008: 10 Trends Shaping the Future of Our Communities. This collection of ten significant trends is redefining the world as we know it, even in a down economy.

Preserving and Promoting Diverse Transit-Oriented Neighborhoods is a report from the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Reconnecting America, and Strategic Economics -- working together as the Center for Transit-Oriented Development. The study reveals the significant diversity -- economically and racially -- currently present in transit-served neighborhoods, and suggests that additional development of mixed-income, mixed-race housing in these areas would respond to growing demand for affordable and livable communities while also providing numerous benefits to cities, regions, and the environment.

Preserving affordable housing near transit means more than simply saving a building -- it means preserving opportunities for low-income families and seniors to access jobs and services. Next to housing, transportation is the second highest household cost for most Americans. Affordable housing located near transit allows families and seniors to live an affordable lifestyle and access employment, education, retail, and community opportunities.

The Illinois Environmental Council has released Priorities for a Healthful Illinois: 2009 Illinois Environmental Briefing Book, a policy agenda to address five critical environmental issues in Illinois that will also help the state rebuild its ailing economy.

Promising Strategies for Creating Healthy Eating and Active Living Environments offers a comprehensive and cross-cutting review of policy, strategy, and program recommendations to realize this vision. Prevention Institute developed this document for the partnership based on over 200 interviews and conversations with diverse stakeholders and constituencies.

This pilot project from the International Energy Agency (IEA) is the first attempt to address the lack of rigorous and transparent approach to defining best practice in city energy efficiency programmes. The project has provided interesting insights into a range of exciting projects being implemented in cities around the world. However, the potential exists for far greater benefit.

Protecting Water Resources with Higher Density Development is a new report from the U.S. EPA designed to help communities better understand the impacts of high- and low-density development on water resources.

''Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings'' is a study commissioned by the American Public Transportation Association that illustrates the savings achieved when public transportation is used in lieu of private automobiles. This independent analysis looks at what public transportation saves -- both for individual households and for the nation as a whole. In addition, it explores a possible future where many more Americans would have the choice to take public transportation.

This new report focuses on how to adapt smart growth strategies to rural communities. Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities, the report examines the challenges rural communities face, including rapid growth at metropolitan edges, declining rural populations, and the loss of working lands. It highlights smart growth strategies that can help guide rural growth while preserving the unique rural character of existing communities.

The report focuses on three central goals: 1) support the rural landscape by creating an economic climate that enhances the viability of working lands and conserves natural lands; 2) help existing places to thrive by taking care of assets and investments such as downtowns, Main Streets, existing infrastructure, and places that the community values; and 3) create great new places by building vibrant, enduring neighborhoods and communities that people, especially young people, don’t want to leave. Featuring case studies from across the country, the report highlights how local governments, states, and non-profits have successfully implemented smart growth strategies to support rural lands, revitalize existing communities, and create great new places for residents and visitors.

To read the full report, visit the link below.

This report contains a set of recommendations to improve the economic and social well-being of California’s communities through better growth patterns.

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) has identified ten qualities that contribute to the success of great streets. Streets account for as much as a third of the land in a city, and historically, they served as public spaces for social and economic exchanges. Great streets incorporate the elements described in the list below.

Cumberland Region Tomorrow (CRT) offers a Quality Growth Tool Box designed to help create quality growth strategies and projects in your community. Working with key regional leaders, local and state partner agencies, and professional consultants, CRT tailored the Tool Box to meet the specific needs of communities in the Cumberland Region of Tennessee.

Rail~Volution has posted on its website more than 130 PowerPoint presentations from its 2005 conference, held in Salt Lake City September 7-10.

Rail~Volution 2005 offered more than 50 workshops addressing nearly every aspect of building livable communities with transit. These workshops featured many thoughtful policy overviews of livability issues, as well as hands-on, specific strategies that can be used and applied in conference attendees’ own communities.

Rail~Volution 2006, held in Chicago, Illinois November 5-8, 2006, offered more than 60 workshops addressing nearly every aspect of building livable communities with transit. These workshops featured many thoughtful policy overviews of livability issues, as well as hands-on, specific strategies that can be used and applied in conference attendees' own communities.

Rail~Volution has grown into the definitive national conference for building livable communities. The thirteenth annual conference will be held October 31-November 3, 2007, in Miami Beach, Florida, where Rail~Volution will again bring together a unique cross section of new and experienced citizen activists, developers, business leaders, planners, local elected officials, academics, transit operators, architects and federal, state and local officials. Conference organizers have issued a call for project presentations and core curriculum topics for the 2007 event.

Rail~Volution 2008, held in San Francisco, California, October 27-30, offered more than 60 on-site and mobile workshops, two plenary sessions, and networking events addressing nearly every aspect of building livable communities with transit. These activities featured many thoughtful policy overviews of livability issues, as well as hands-on, specific strategies that can be used and applied in conference attendees' own communities.

Rail~Volution has issued a call for proposals for its 2009 conference, to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, October 30–November 1, 2009. Rail~Volution 2009 will cover the basics and explore emerging topics, ranging from complete streets to value capture to the green economy to high-speed rail.

How would you rebuild a city block? Where would you start? Where would you end? The Re:Vision Community is here to learn, discuss, share, expound and, ultimately, create a sustainable street that can be the blueprint for cities everywhere.

An important new set of tools to help local elected officials and planners make land-use decisions is available from the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC). The 2040 Regional Framework Plan plan is the culmination of an extensive public-involvement process that included 200 workshops where 4,000 participants expressed their vision of how the region should address growth through the year 2040.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, faces many challenges today: How to gain and retain new jobs in a changing global economy, how to make the most efficient use of limited natural resources, and how to build a prosperous city for all residents in a way that does not damage the possibility of future generations enjoying continued prosperity. Reconnecting Fort Wayne, a report from the Center for Neighborhood Technology, addresses three major areas of focus for Fort Wayne to achieve its goals: transportation, the knowledge economy, and energy.

This report -- prepared in partnership with MassINC, a non-partisan Boston-based think tank -- contends that the future of one of the nation's most advanced state economies depends in part on revitalizing its ''Gateway Cities,'' the Commonwealth's once-humming mill and manufacturing towns.

The aging of the U.S. population and the rising average life span are transforming current perspectives on growing older, retirement, and senior living communities. To ensure that environments meet the changing needs of older adults, a reconception of housing, communities, and neighborhoods is required. Re-creating Neighborhoods for Successful Aging, a 2008 book from Health Professions Press, provides the foundation for confronting this pressing challenge.

This new national report focuses on the status of brownfield sites in 150 American cities. Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by either real or perceived environmental contamination. As a result, brownfields present a major challenge for both small and large cities – primarily due to the lack of funding necessary to redevelop and/or recycle these lands.

Recycling America's Land: A National Report on Brownfields Development is the eighth in a series of reports that documents the impediments to brownfields redevelopment faced by local communities throughout the United States and identifies the opportunities lost when properties remain idle and abandoned. The reports also quantify some of the benefits from brownfields redevelopment efforts across the country, with cities specifically citing their positive results from land recycling and the return of brownfields to productive uses.

''The redevelopment of brownfields is a key component to a sustainable community. Cities across the nation have learned to do more with less, but these difficult economic times have made new developments on brownfields even more challenging. Congress and EPA's Brownfields Program has provided tools, but Mayors need additional assistance with the redevelopment of these properties that will create new jobs and preserve city green space.'' said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, Chair of the Conference's Environmental Committee.

This year's results indicate that 136 cities estimated that they collectively had more than 22,537 brownfield sites, with the average size of a brownfield site being approximately 8.6 acres. Cities also estimated that brownfield properties comprised of 60,417 acres of land, representing potential new jobs and land tax revenue. More than 120 cities estimated that 3,035 sites have been ''mothballed,'' which is defined as sites where the current owner has no intention of redeveloping or selling due to environmental concerns. At mothballed sites, owners would prefer to have the land remain idle and unused rather than turn these sites over for development.

Redefining Urban and Suburban America: Volume 3 from the Brookings Institution Press describes anew the changing shape of metropolitan America and the consequences for policies in areas such as employment, public services, and urban revitalization.

On Thursday, June 9 at 2 p.m. ET, KnowledgePlex and the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities will present a discussion about new strategies for communicating about affordable housing and smart growth.

The Regional Comprehensive Plan (RCP) is a problem-solving guidance document that responds to what the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has learned about the region's challenges through the annual State of the Region report card. Through extensive outreach and input from the RCP Task Force, SCAG's policy committees, subregions, local governments and other key stakeholders, the RCP is a collaborative effort to address our region's challenges and set a path forward.

The Washington Smart Growth Alliance has published Regional Conservation Priorities 2008: A Call to Action, a juried list of programs and projects in the Washington, D.C. are that offer the most promise or of the highest urgency in promoting sustainability in the National Capital Region.

The Regional Equity Atlas, from Portland, Oregon's Coalition for a Livable Future, is an important step toward addressing the challenge of building a more just and equitable society. The information from this online tool will be shared with policy makers, planners, businesses, and the general public, and used by community-based organizations to advocate for changing public policies and redirecting public and private investments to make regional development more equitable.

The Virginia Sustainable Building Network (VSBN) maintains a regional calendar listing green building events, plus a library of green building case studies indexed by region.

This case study by Robert D. Yaro and available on The Brookings Institute's web site discusses how regional planning is an important tool for smart growth.

San Diego’s Regional Comprehensive Plan (RCP) has received the San Diego Chapter of the American Planning Association’s (APA) Comprehensive Planning Award.

To strengthen the voice of regions in Michigan, People and Land (PAL) has launched its Regional Prosperity Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to foster multi-sector and multi-jurisdictional collaboration at the regional level as a means for advancing economic, social, and environmental progress in Michigan.

The Transportation and Land Use Coalition's (TALC's) partnership of more than 90 organizations works to maintain the San Francisco Bay Area's renowned high quality of life, achieve greater social equity, and protect our natural environment.

The Alliance for Regional Stewardship's (ARS's) annual awards recognize the innovative work of regional alliances and organizations that have demonstrated progress in at least one element of ARS's Principles for Regional Stewardship (collaborative governance, innovative economy, livable communities, and social inclusion) and that have achieved tangible results, increased regional capacity, and shown the potential for sustainability.

The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships work to sustain Minnesota's natural resource-based communities and industries by addressing community-identified agriculture, natural resources, and tourism issues. The Program is a cooperative venture between the University of Minnesota and citizen leaders around the state.

The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships Program creates citizen partnerships with the University of Minnesota to foster the development of sustainable systems in agriculture, natural resources and tourism.

This website features information on the latest trend happening in the state of California and nationwide -- regional visioning and development of alternative scenarios for future growth.

How is your region planning to accommodate growth in the next fifty years? Check out the highlights of the regional visioning efforts emerging around California and across the nation.

Removing Market Barriers to Green Development is a report from Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Delta Institute that examines what current market dynamics are inhibiting mass adoption of these practices, and what can and should be done to make green development the convention rather than the exception in the U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging the development of renewable energy by identifying currently and formerly contaminated lands and mining sites that present opportunities for renewable energy development.

The National Assessment of Agricultural Easement Programs, a joint project of American Farmland Trust and the Agricultural Issues Center of the University of California, Davis, has released its first report reviewing the progress and experiences of 46 leading agricultural conservation easement programs in 15 states.

This report from the Ontario College of Family Physicians summarizes pertinent information on the relationship between urban sprawl and health. It serves to identify the key issues that are relevant to the growing number of sprawl-related health problems in Ontario, which is comparable to U.S. situations and is far worse compared to Europe.

On April 8, 2010, HUD published a notification requesting entities interested in applying for the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program to notify HUD of their intent to submit an application. HUD requests that interested organizations call the HUD NOFA Information Center as soon as possible. The NOFA Information Center will ask for your organization name and address, contact name, email, and telephone number. Notification of intent to apply is not a requirement for application, but it helps HUD determine staffing requirements for review and evaluation of applicants. Interested entities are encouraged to begin the grants.gov registration process now as the full five-step process can take two to four weeks to complete.

Applications are expected to be due about June 5, 2010. Eligible applicants will be determined at a later date.

Details about grants.gov registration and how to submit notification of intent are available at the link below.

WASHINGTON – An updated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report shows a continuing shift in development toward urban neighborhoods in the United States, despite a slow a real estate market.

This trend, described in EPA’s 2010 report, Residential Construction Trends in America’s Metropolitan Regions, shows that redevelopment continues in many urban neighborhoods. Taking advantage of opportunities to reuse land and to redevelop underused sites is a key smart growthstrategy. It helps communities protect natural lands from being developed, strengthens the local economy, and puts new homes, stores, and jobs within easy reach of surrounding neighborhoods.

The data show that compared to the early 1990s, the share of construction in urban neighborhoods was up 28 percent in mid-sized metropolitan regions that have promoted redevelopment of underused sites and development around transit, such as Portland, Ore; Denver, Colo.; and Sacramento, Calif. For example, in 2008 Portland issued 38 percent of all the building permits within its region, compared to an average of 9 percent in the early 1990s; Denver accounted for 32 percent, up from 5 percent; and Sacramento accounted for 27 percent, up from 9 percent.

The latest report shows that an even stronger trend toward urban redevelopment in the largest metropolitan regions continued in 2008. New York City accounted for 63 percent of the building permits issued within its region. By comparison, the city averaged about 15 percent of regional building permits during the early 1990s. Similarly, Chicago now accounts for 45 percent of the building permits within its region, up from just 7 percent in the early 1990s.

The original report, issued in February 2009, examined building trends in the 50 largest metropolitan areas from 1990 to 2007. The update incorporates data for 2008, which included several months of national economic downturn.

This report analyzes trends that are reshaping downtowns and inner city suburbs in metropolitan areas throughout the United States. “Parking lots, underutilized commercial properties, and former industrial sites are being replaced with condos, apartments and townhouses… Do such examples add up to a fundamental shift in the geography of residential construction?” The primary goal of this report is to clarify if there has been a shift toward infill redevelopment of established urban areas, and to determine in which regions the shift has been most significant.

To answer these questions, residential building permits for the 50 largest metropolitan areas were examined over an 18 year period (1990-2007) to determine the percentage of residential building permits issued by central cities and core suburban communities compared to suburban and exurban areas. This data shows that in several regions there has been a dramatic increase in the share of new construction in central cities and older suburbs. In 15 regions the central city more than doubled its share of residential construction including New York City (15 percent to 44 percent), Chicago (7 percent to 23 percent), Portland (9 percent to 22 percent), and Atlanta (4 percent to 13 percent).

In addition, the shift of residential construction inward has been particularly dramatic over the last five years. Although the housing market has slowed, the report believes that this shift will continue after the economic downturn ends. The report states that this represents a fundamental change in the real estate market as people seek homes in walkable communities closer to where they work. Demographic changes are also play a role with empty nesters and young professionals moving away from the suburbs to smaller homes in the city. This trend is most prevalent in mid-sized cities that are often thought of as being leaders in smart growth polices (Portland, Sacramento, and Denver) and large diverse cities with strong ties to the global economy (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami).

However, the report cautions that despite the increases in the number of residential permits in established urban areas, a large share of residential construction still takes place on previously undeveloped land on the urban fringe. Urban areas still account for less than half of all new residential units in most areas. The report also states that further research should be done to determine which policies have worked best to attract development into urban areas and discourage green field development.

Residential Construction Trends in America's Metropolitan Regions is a report from the U.S. EPA that examines urban infill projects and seeks to identify if recent emphasis on such development adds up to a fundamental shift in the geography of residential construction.

Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being Through Urban Landscapes is a new collection of 18 articles inspired by the Meristem 2007 Forum, ''Restorative Commons for Community Health'' include interviews, case studies, thought pieces, and interdisciplinary theoretical works that explore the relationship between human health and the urban environment.

This publication is a joint endeavor of Meristem and the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station as they work to strengthen networks of researchers and practitioners to develop new solutions to persistent and emergent challenges to human health, well-being, and potential within the urban environment.

The publication can be viewed or downloaded as a PDF at the link below. Hard copies can be ordered free of charge at www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/order/8810.

The evidence is clear. On the whole, America's central cities are coming back with growing employment and increasing numbers of young people, empty-nesters, and others choosing city life over the suburbs. Unfortunately, not all cities are fully participating in this renaissance. Many cities are lagging behind their peers, especially older industrial communities that are still making the transition from manufacturing-based economies to more knowledge-oriented activities.

How can a coastal community best manage growth and guide development along an expanding highway? Pamlico County, North Carolina, asked the U.S. EPA and the NOAA to help the community produce a stakeholder-based plan for the county's growth. This report presents a vision of equitable development that was informed by the views and comments of Pamlico County citizens.

Re-Thinking Density to Create Stronger, Healthier Communities is the theme of this free PowerPoint presentation from the National Multi Housing Council. These visually engaging PowerPoint presentations shows how density can transform neighborhoods. They also offer compelling research to allay the conventional fears about density. Created by a collaboration between environmentalists and real estate organizations, the presentations are ideal to present at meetings of planning officials, civic groups (e.g., Rotary Club, Lions Club), neighborhood groups and chambers of commerce.

Two versions are available; one for urban audiences, another for suburban audiences. A leave-behind publication, Higher-Density Development: Myth and Fact, is also available through this resource.

This report aims to help state and local leaders meet the modern realities of the affordable housing challenge by looking back at the lessons of the past 70 years of housing policies.

Main Street revitalization is comprehensive, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Revitalizing Main Street: A Practitioner's Guide to Comprehensive Commercial District Revitalization, a new book from the National Trust Main Street Center, discusses all four points of the Main Street approach and explains how the many aspects of revitalization work together.

The Northeast-Midwest Institute features a resource category on Revitalizing Older Cities on its website that includes reports, briefings and events, a focus on energy and brownfields, and more.

RMI Solutions Journal is a tri-annual publication from Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). This new design is now available in digital PDF format and can be downloaded directly from the RMI website.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) produced the fourth edition of the Road Map to Understanding Innovative Technology Options for Brownfields Investigation and Cleanup to assist a broad audience of brownfields stakeholders in identifying and selecting innovative site characterization and cleanup technologies during the redevelopment process.

The purpose of the Rocky Mountain Agricultural Landowners Guide is to provide ranchers and farmers in the seven Rocky Mountain states -- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming -- with information and tools to augment both the productivity and stewardship of their land. The guide gives an overview of the variety of private options and public programs that are available to landowners who want to conserve their land and use innovative and sustainable practices to improve its productivity.

The Mayor's Office of Housing (MOH), the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) and Enterprise have joined forces to invest at least $100 million worth of incentives to build 600 new homes in San Francisco that promote health, conserve energy and natural resources, and provide easy access to jobs, schools and services.

Sustainable Alachua County Inc., a non-profit organization focused on careful community growth, is launching an educational campaign about the county's comprehensive plan.

Founded in 1978, Scenic America is a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the scenic character of communities. It promotes scenic conservation by providing individuals and communities nationwide with technical assistance on scenic byways, place-sensitive road design, transportation policies, sign control, and other scenic conservation issues and by educating Congress and state legislatures on site-specific projects in various states. In addition, it produces a full range of publications on preserving the scenic beauty, open space, and quality of life that contribute to the environment and economy. Its Smart Growth/Scenic Stewardship Initiative seeks to bolster efforts to counter unplanned growth and help protect America's threatened scenic heritage. Scenic America is working with the SGN to help communities take steps to protect their natural beauty and distinctive character as they manage growth.

This powerpoint by Bruce Katz, presented to the Vacant Land Forum, examines the 10 steps to urban land reform. It highlights the steps with innovative case studies and programs from cities and counties that are struggling with vacant land and brownfields.

The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance offers Shared Destinies: A Smart Growth Agenda for Massachusetts. This document lays out action steps to sustainable planning for the Commonwealth, including modernizing the way the state plans for growth, building a balanced transportation system, and ensuring that all residents can afford homes.

Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions: An Agenda for Rebuilding America’s Older Core Cities is a report from PolicyLink demonstrating that, despite significant challenges, older core cities can become economically competitive places where all residents can participate and prosper. Shared Prosperity, Stronger Regions looks closely at five cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, and examines how innovative economic development, land use, transportation, neighborhood revitalization, and housing policies are bringing about significant economic and social revitalization.

Shifting Ground is a public radio series that aims to bring new depth to the reporting of land-use issues. This ongoing series examines the forces that are altering the American landscape, both those forces exerted from above -- such as changes in federal and state law, shifts in demographics, and advances in technology that influence where and how people live -- and those exerted from below -- such as grassroots movements, new models of community planning, and novel forms of zoning.

Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America, from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, reports on the expansion of America's carbon footprint. With a growing population and an expanding economy, America's settlement area is widening, and as it does, Americans are driving more, building more, consuming more energy, and emitting more carbon.

The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards recognize public-private coalitions for taking on the 21st challenge of sustainable development.

The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) invites you to share a story, success, or research on sustainable practices in higher education at the 4th Annual Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference, April 5–7, 2009 at the UMUC Inn & Conference Center, adjacent to the University of Maryland, College Park.

West Coast Environmental Law has developed a Smart Bylaws Guide to assist local governments to implement smart growth strategies through policy and bylaw changes. The Guide brings together the best practices of municipalities across British Columbia, and highlights other innovators in the United States.

This report offers examples of how community development interests and smart growth proponents can work together to achieve their goals. Examples from Chicago, Minneapolis, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Richmond, Virginia are included.

New Jersey's Smart Future Planning Grant program will provide $2,295,000 in FY2006 to municipalities, counties and non-profit agencies to help plan for the future -- a future that balances development and redevelopment with the preservation of open space and environmental resources.

In 1997, Maryland burst into the national spotlight with the passage of its Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation initiative. The initiative gained broad national recognition and praise. Next year, 2007, marks the 10-year anniversary of Maryland's experiment with Smart Growth. Yet the question remains: Has Smart Growth in Maryland changed the development pattern in Maryland?

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) established the Smart Growth Action Grants Program to assist efforts to implement programs and activities that position REALTORS® as leaders in improving their communities by advancing smart growth.

With their public, private and nonprofit sector leadership, smart growth alliances are building a broad-based, regional consensus around growth and development patterns to encourage healthy communities that are economically beneficial and environmentally responsible.

Smart Growth And Climate Change: Regional Development, Infrastructure and Adaptation is a book that systematically brings together two strands of applied research that, to date, have been carried out separately -- ‘smart growth’ research and climate change adaptability research.

''Smart Growth and Land Use Regulations'' is one of 17 PowerPoint presentations from the Local Government Commission's Developing Smart Growth Zoning Codes Workshops, held May 28, 2004 in Oakland, and July 23, 2004 in Chino, California.

Many communities are clamoring for smart growth development that delivers attractive, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods. Unfortunately, current zoning codes and land development regulations present major impediments to making smart growth a reality.

These workshops provided the tools to assist in either fine-tuning or completely revamping a community’s zoning codes and policies to create more livable communities.

''Smart Growth and Land Use Regulations'' includes results from a community image survey that rates desirability of a neighborhoods and building types.

View the full list of presentations online at the resource link below.

The Smart Growth Around America blog is a ''one-stop source for the latest news from Smart Growth America'' that showcases recent and developing smart growth issues from throughout the United States.

This 84-page publication examines how rural areas may use urban and suburban smart growth strategies to combat sprawl.

Northeast-Midwest Institute has released a report, Smart Growth at the Frontier: Strategies and Resources for Rural Communities. The report illustrates promising rural growth strategies that revitalize small towns; link natural resource protection with resort and residential development; maintain farm and forest land; and coordinate regional development.

Printed copies of this report may be purchased by calling 202/544-5200; download the PDF version by clicking the link below.

This report describes the concept of a smart growth audit and provides methods to implement one in your community.

Smart Growth Begins at the Local Level is a video from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) that highlights the responsibilities and successes of local government policies while acknowledging the common concerns which elected officials and citizens encounter (e.g., neighborhood opposition, traffic, loss of open space, increased density, etc.).

The Smart Growth Canada Network provides smart growth learning modules through its e-Learning portal.

Grow Smart Rhode Island offers a Case Studies in Smart Growth series -- projects that illustrate multiple smart growth principles. Showcasing the success of smart growth projects can encourage others to follow the smart growth model.

New Westminster, British Columbia, has developed a Smart Growth Checklist to assist landowners or developers and their consultants to create the most sustainable project possible.

Audiotapes from sessions of the 3rd Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, held January 22-24, 2004, are now available for purchase. More than 50 sessions were recorded from this event. Recordings are available in audiotape and CD format.

The Winter 2005 edition of On Common Ground features a series of articles on how smart growth principles can help create better schools.

Prepared for the City of Chicago's Department of Environment, Smart Growth for Brownfields Redevelopment is a report that presents screening tools to evaluate and identify brownfield sites that can be economically cleaned up and redeveloped as mixed-income residential and/or mixed-use communities using smart growth principles.

Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities, an interagency guide developed in consultation with the national Smart Growth Network, builds on the network's ten smart growth principles to create coastal and waterfront-specific strategies for development.

In Connecticut, the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) partnered with the U.S. EPA to address the challenges and opportunities of growing smarter and building greener. Many of these challenges and opportunities are shared by communities and regions around the country. CRCOG collaborated with EPA’s Smart Growth Program to identify tools and strategies for implementing a state affordable housing program, HOMEConnecticut, to grow smarter, ensure healthy and affordable housing, and support long-term economic competitiveness at the local and regional levels.

The guidelines were developed for communities in Connecticut and around the country striving to get development and future growth that result in stronger neighborhoods, protected open space and watersheds, and healthier and more affordable homes. The guidelines also are applied to site-level conceptual plans for development that are featured in a companion report, Together We Can Grow Better: Smart Growth for a Sustainable Region.

Smart Growth Illustrated, from the U.S. EPA, provides visual examples of smart growth techniques as they have been used in different places. Although every example illustrates several smart growth principles, each was chosen to illustrate one specific principle.

The Smart Growth Implementation Toolkit, produced by the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, is a set of practical tools to help your community grow smarter. It will help you untangle the thicket of policies and procedures that get in the way of smarter growth and sustainable development.

Smart Growth in a Changing World, the latest book from planner and urban designer Jonathan Barnett, documents the United States' hidden crisis and shows how balanced transportation and natural resources preservation can make new urban development sustainable, as well as more efficient and more equitable.

Through partnerships with The Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Urban Technical Assistance Project at Columbia University and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC) developed a strategy to expand the housing and commercial options for central Harlem. Over 200 affordable housing units were built with an additional 200 affordable units planned. These include 25 units of transitional housing for homeless families, 68 rental units reserved for formerly homeless families, and 135 rental units to accommodate low- and moderate-income families. The Abyssinian Neighborhood Project created 15,000 square feet of commercial space for five local businesses, which has helped revitalize the central Harlem business corridors.

When the U.S. Navy announced in 1993 that it would close the Orlando Naval Training Center, the city of Orlando saw an opportunity to build a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood that would make the base property once again part of the community. The city's Base Reuse Commission organized to plan the property's future, engaging citizens in hundreds of meetings over two years to help devise and refine a plan to redevelop the base. At visioning workshops, citizens described what they wanted: a variety of housing types, a vibrant main street, public access to lakes, and linkages with existing neighborhoods.

In communities across the country, aging shopping centers are losing business to larger and newer competitors. As these retail centers, known as ''greyfields,'' cease to be viable as shopping malls, they can often provide opportunities for redevelopment that meet other community needs. One good example can be found in Lakewood, Colorado. Facing the decline of its Villa Italia shopping mall, the city worked with citizens, civic groups, and a local developer to transform the property into Belmar-the real, walkable downtown that this Denver inner suburb had lacked.

The Belmont Dairy is a mixed-use, urban infill project in the Portland, Oregon, neighborhood of Sunnyside. Located approximately 1.5 miles southeast of downtown, Belmont Dairy has expanded housing and retail choices for Sunnyside residents, spurred reinvestment, and created a vibrant anchor for a changing neighborhood.

Bethesda Row, located in the central business district of Bethesda, Maryland, illustrates the revitalization of a suburban downtown area into a mixed-use, walkable shopping and restaurant district. It has become so successful it draws people from the surrounding county and Washington D.C.

A popular town in the Los Angeles region, the city of Pasadena wanted to maintain its unique sense of place and give its residents choices in where they live and how they get around. Through its Central District Specific Plan, adopted in November 2004, the city is encouraging housing in the downtown, near transit, and above stores. Design guidelines ensure that new development fits with community character.

The Community Preservation Initiative (CPI) is a statewide smart growth program that helps municipal officials and community leaders understand the potential effects of growth. It provides tools and technical assistance to encourage informed and balanced growth decisions and emphasizes education, not regulation.

To the residents of Davidson, North Carolina, located just 20 miles from Charlotte, the essence of their small town is great neighbors and great neighborhoods. This small community is setting the standard for creating healthy and vibrant neighborhoods in a historic setting. The high quality of life is attracting development, which the town accommodates partly by revitalizing its existing buildings. Its new neighborhoods incorporate a variety of lot sizes and housing types, including affordable housing, and neighborhood parks within a five-minute walk.

Closure of the Gilbert & Bennett wire mill in 1989 left a 55-acre, contaminated industrial site in Redding's Georgetown section, the primary commercial zone for this town of 8,400 residents. By 2002, the facility that was once a major source of tax revenue had accrued unpaid taxes of over $1 million. To revitalize the area and protect public health, the town partnered with a developer who not only paid the tax lien in full, but also cleaned up the contamination and is redeveloping the site into a mixed-use neighborhood. This partnership has been good for the town and the developer-each benefits from the new homes, businesses, services, and revenue.

The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) worked closely with community members to rebuild a formerly crime-ridden and dilapidated 120-acre hilltop neighborhood into a mixed-use, mixed-income, and environmentally sensitive community.

When Denver's Elitch Gardens amusement park relocated in 1994, it left behind a 27-acre site just five miles from downtown. On this site, the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) helped facilitate the vision, design, financing, and economic development of Highlands' Garden Village, an innovative, compact, mixed-use community that has become a model for development throughout the Denver area.

The state of Vermont promotes compact settlements surrounded by rural countryside. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) supports this goal by funding affordable housing development in existing population centers and by preserving historic resources, farmland, forests, and public access to recreational lands. The agency pursues affordable housing, land conservation, and historic preservation initiatives under a single unique, synergistic program, which balances priorities.

North Natomas is a fast-growing planned community in Sacramento, California’s capital. In 2001, the city approved a master plan, designed according to smart growth principles, for the Natomas Town Center. Anchoring the community is Inderkum High School, a new two-story building on about 40 acres, a departure from California’s typical single-level buildings on 60-acre sites. It will share facilities with Los Rios Community College and a public library, and its athletics programs will use public park land and a community aquatic center.

The Naval Training Center in San Diego trained members of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Reserve for 70 years. When it closed in 1995, the city took advantage of its historic buildings and its prime location on San Diego Bay to redevelop it as Liberty Station, which restores waterfront access to the public for the first time in 80 years, creates new parks, and establishes creative-arts facilities.

Consistently ranked among the top locations in the country to raise a family or establish a business, the Minneapolis-St. Paul region is experiencing rapid population growth. The metropolitan area is showing signs of growth-related stress: increasing traffic congestion, rising housing prices, and dwindling open space. Instead of trying to limit growth, the Minnesota state legislature passed the Livable Communities Act (LCA) in 1995 to provide the Metropolitan Council with a voluntary, incentive-based approach to help communities grow in a way that addresses many of the region’s issues.

In 1994, the Lowry Air Force Base closed, offering Denver and Aurora, the two communities with jurisdiction over the base's property, a chance to use the former military base to create a new neighborhood. From 1991 to 1993, the communities embarked on an intensive planning process with local residents and businesses. The reuse plan was completed even before the base closed, and this early planning contributed to the successful redevelopment.

Faced with increasing numbers of children who had to be bused to distant schools because schools in their neighborhood had no room, Milwaukee Public Schools decided to take action to not only create more neighborhood schools, but also to restore the communities around them. In 1999, the Wisconsin legislature approved the Neighborhood Schools Initiative. It authorized the Milwaukee school district to borrow up to $170 million to build or renovate neighborhood schools.

Columbia Villa was an isolated and distressed 82-acre public housing site. The Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) partnered with public and private stakeholders to redevelop the site and create New Columbia, a neighborhood built to improve economic opportunity, community livability, and environmental quality for both old and new residents.

Arlington’s smart growth planning approach places dense, mixed-use, infill development at five Metro stations—known as the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor—and tapers it down to residential neighborhoods. The result, as of 2004: Over 21 million square feet of office, retail, and commercial space; more than 3,000 hotel rooms; and almost 25,000 residences, creating vibrant “urban villages” where people live, shop, work, and play using transit, pedestrian walkways, bicycles, or cars.

More than 5,000 community members, elected officials, and business leaders shaped the future of the Sacramento region through a series of workshops, regional conferences, web-based dialogue, and surveys. The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) initiated this two-year process—the Sacramento Region Blueprint: Transportation/Land Use Study—to examine current land use and future growth patterns and to plan where and how the region should grow.

The San Juan Pueblo, just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has been inhabited for over 700 years. In 2000, San Juan Pueblo tribal members initiated a community planning process to articulate and implement a long-term vision for the pueblo. At community design meetings, the elders recalled, “There was always an eye on you as a child and everyone felt they could count on their neighbor.”

To give communities incentives to build more housing near rail stations, the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County created a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Incentive Program. It uses transportation funds to spur construction of needed housing and creates environmental benefits by giving people the option of commuting and running errands by rail. This program directly links land use with efficient use of the existing transportation system.

The Southside neighborhood, a 10-acre revitalization project, is one of Greensboro, North Carolina’s first significant mixed-use, infill projects. The city’s Department of Housing and Community Development developed a Traditional Neighborhood District Ordinance to assist Southside’s redevelopment. The revitalization, just one-and-a-half blocks from Greensboro’s historic main street, transformed a blighted area into a thriving, attractive district. The community capitalized on a rich stock of historic buildings and public spaces to restore this downtown neighborhood.

When Denver's Stapleton International Airport closed in 1995, the city saw an opportunity to use the land to create a great new neighborhood. Over six years, starting before the airport even closed, citizens, the business community, and the city and county worked on a development plan that committed to environmental and economic sustainability and social equity. The plan would generate economic development, enhance existing neighborhoods and businesses, protect environmental quality and open space, and offer high-quality, attractive homes to people with a range of incomes. The plan also encourages education, from preschool to ''lifelong learning'' for adults, and balanced transportation options, including walking, bicycling, public transportation, and driving. In 1999, the city selected Forest City Stapleton, Inc. as the master developer, and construction began in 2001.

Re-using former military bases and addressing the lack of decent and affordable military housing are concerns for many cities and the Armed Forces. At the San Diego Naval Training Center, the Department of the Navy addressed these issues with a development that serves as a welcome addition to the nearby Point Loma community.

In recent decades, the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, a coastal community on Cape Cod, has experienced tremendous growth. Hyannis, one of the town's seven villages, saw growth at its edges characterized by low-density residential subdivisions and strip retail, while its downtown was plagued with vacant storefronts and disinvestment. This pattern strained local infrastructure and impacted the town's fragile natural resources and historic character.

The Wellington Neighborhood provides affordable and market-rate housing on a site that was once dredge-mined. The project recycles land, houses working families, and provides free transit to the nearby downtown. It helps the region avoid “mountain sprawl” by creating an attractive, compact neighborhood, a design that has fostered a strong sense of community in a short time.

1000 Friends of Maryland promotes smart growth issues in the state of Maryland through its website, which includes legislative updates, action items, and news from across the state.

The New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning (OEP) has produced a Smart Growth in New Hampshire website that focuses on smart growth efforts throughout the Granite State. This online resource includes a focus on the town of West Petersborough, called a ''prime example of 'smart' community development.''

This discussion paper from the New York State Office of the State Comptroller is intended to help stimulate a vigorous debate on smart growth in New York State by providing a general background and helping to define major issues.

This report reviews recent smart growth practices that could have the greatest impact and potential for success in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Smart Growth in the States, a report by Keith Schneider, Writer-In-Residence at the Michigan Land Use Institute, reports on recent smart growth developments in more than a dozen states. The smart growth package -- environmental protection, transit investments, urban revitalization, curbing sprawl, collaborative planning and land conservation -- is steadily being embedded in new executive orders, legislative policy and new state law across the country.

Smart growth is managing, rather than reacting to growth. Read about it in the May-June issue of the City Flyer. Vancouver City utility customers receive the City Flyer in their utility bills.

A new groundbreaking report called Smart Growth is Smart Business profiles how business leaders are supporting smart growth policies and projects, and puts forth five key smart growth business actions.

The Vermont Business Roundtable, a non-profit coalition of 108 CEOs from the state’s most active private industries, is leading an effort to prevent erosion of the state’s rural character.

The Smart Growth Leadership Institute, the University of Southern California, and the University of Colorado, funded by a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, have selected nine communities to provide implementation assistance.

The Smart Growth Leadership Institute (SGLI) offers profiles of nine communities that participated in its Implementation Assistance Program in 2004. These communities -- stretching from Florida to Alaska -- were selected in 2004 to work with the SGLI team in implementing smart growth policies.

The Smart Growth Leadership Institute is looking for communities that have made a commitment to smart growth but are struggling with implementation.

The U.S. EPA is seeking proposals from eligible organizations to develop and convene a prominent annual summit for key public officials and civic or private sector leaders who are noted pioneers in implementing the principles of smart growth.

SMART GROWTH MARYLAND is a blog written by members of the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP). The blog serves as a great forum for the exchange of ideas and news about Smart Growth, sustainable planning, livable communities, historic and land preservation and the like.

About the bloggers

Andrew Ratner is director of communications and education for the Maryland Department of Planning. During a 24-year career at the Baltimore Sun, he wrote about Smart Growth and blogging, so marrying the two seemed to make a lot of sense.

John Coleman is Public Information Officer for the Maryland Department of Planning. He has been with MDP for more than a decade.

Steve Allan has been with the Maryland Department of Planning for more than 10 years in various capacities, including as policy planner for infill and redevelopment, Smart Growth education and urban design. He now serves as education coordinator for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System and planning commissioners.

The SGN Fact Sheet provides a quick overview of smart growth principles and issue areas, as well as a list of the Smart Growth Network's Partners.

The Smart Growth Network Information Kit is a set of resources that will provide you with a comprehensive introduction to smart growth. To make research easier, the publications are divided by topic area. You will also find presentations and fact sheets to share with others.

The Smart Growth Network offers an online forum for members to discuss issues of interest and share ideas on smart growth efforts.

Smart Growth Newsline, a publication by the Massachusetts Office for Commonwealth Development (OCD), reports on planning and development news from throughout the state and around the U.S.

The Winter 2006 edition of On Common Ground focuses on the far suburbs, the exurban areas beyond the edge of major metropolitan areas, and the smaller non-metropolitan cities.

Smart Growth on the Ground is an innovative program to change the way that development is done in British Columbia, by creating real, built examples of smart growth. This unique program helps BC communities to prepare more sustainable neighbourhood plans -- including land use, transportation, urban design, and building design plans.

In the 2009 book Smart Growth Policies: An Evaluation of Programs and Outcomes, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy collaborated with 18 leading land use researchers and planners to measure and compare outcomes in four states with statewide smart growth programs (Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and Oregon) and four states without such programs (Colorado, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia). The investigation reveals great heterogeneity. No state did well on all smart growth principles or on all measures, although individual states typically succeeded in their top priority policy area.

The purpose of this Smart Growth Primer is to describe what kinds of strategies make up a smart growth approach to urban and near-urban development. At the same time, the Primer is an opportunity to share examples from the many communities in British Columbia that are already successfully using smart growth techniques.

Are smart growth concepts having an effect on planning and development in America? Is low-density sprawl continuing unabated, or has a new approach taken hold? The Summer 2007 edition of On Common Ground offers readers a progress report on smart growth.

Smart growth supports the integration of mixed land uses into communities as a critical component of achieving better places to live. This selection of quotations is drawn from the Smart Growth weekly e-news summaries.

Smart Growth Quotations:
Smart Growth Overview

Smart growth recognizes connections between development and quality of life. It leverages new growth to improve the community.

The features that distinguish smart growth in a community vary from place to place. In general, smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to center cities and older suburbs. New smart growth is more town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses. It also preserves open space and many other environmental amenities.

This selection of quotations is drawn from the Smart Growth weekly e-news summaries.

Smart Growth Readiness Assessment Tool

The Smart Growth Readiness Assessment Tool (SGRAT) is a set of online assessments for scoring how well a community is prepared to develop according to Smart Growth principles. The assessments provide communities with a baseline score, and can be used to measure progress.

Smart Growth Resources for Massachusetts Cities and Towns

This booklet from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts provides a comprehensive listing of financial and technical resources for cities and towns interested in promoting smart growth. The publication is produced by the Office of Commonwealth Development (OCD), which integrates energy, environmental, housing, and transportation policies, programs, and

Smart Growth Schools Fact Sheet

Across the country, school boards have abandoned smaller neighborhood schools in favor of large campuses located on the edge of the community. But many communities are discovering the benefits of using smart growth principles in creating schools that meet the needs of both parents and students.

Smart Growth Scorecards

Various organizations and a number of municipalities have developed scorecards that help communities assess their policies and proposed development projects. In an effort to help share the available resources with citizens, municipal officials, and communities, the Development, Community, and Environment Division at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has collected and organized this set of sample scorecards.

Smart Growth Shareware

Smart Growth America offers Smart Growth Shareware, a free CD-ROM featuring 100 smart growth publications.

Smart Growth Shareware -- v2

Version 2 of the Smart Growth Shareware cd-rom contains all the publications, presentations, and websites of version 1 plus more and is a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the smart growth field or educate others. Topics covered include public health, children and schools, land conservation and water, transportation and more.

Smart Growth Speaker Series Goes National

Through a partnership between the U.S. EPA, the National Building Museum, and Public Radio International's ''Living on Earth,'' many of our Smart Growth Speakers can now be heard on your favorite local public radio station.

Smart Growth Speaker Series: Spring 2009 Recordings Available

Listen to three new Smart Growth Speaker Series events now in the Smart Growth Online audio library. Audio from the February, March, and April 2009 events have been added to the website.

Smart Growth Speaker Series: Three New Recordings Available

Listen to three new Smart Growth Speaker Series events now in the Smart Growth Online audio library. Audio from the November and December 2008 plus January 2009 events have been added to the website.

Smart Growth Strategies for New England

This web site outlines the EPA's Smart Growth Action Plan for New England, as created after the 1999 Smart Growth Strategies for New England conference. The site outlines the key elements of the action plan, and includes a list of accomplishments to date.

Smart Growth Technical Assistance 2008 Request for Applications

The Development, Community and Environment Division in U.S. EPA's Office of Policy Economics and Innovation is seeking applications from states, regions, and communities that want to develop in ways that meet environmental and other goals. EPA will provide technical assistance to successful applicants as described below. The application deadline is May 8, 2008.

Smart Growth Technical Assistance Opportunities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and American Institute of Architects (AIA) have developed technical assistance programs to assist communities in meeting their individual development-related challenges and to help create examples that can serve as models for others.

Smart Growth Technical Assistance Program Summaries

The U.S. EPA is posting summaries of the technical assistance projects conducted under the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program. The reports from each technical assistance visit will be added to this page as they are completed.

Smart Growth Tools

PlaceMatters.com offers a dynamic database website as a resource for communities (their professional planners, public agencies, and concerned citizens) to identify tools and processes for better community design and decision making.

Smart Growth Zoning Codes: A Resource Guide

This guidebook will help planners design a zoning code that encourages the construction of walkable, mixed use neighborhoods and the revitalization of existing places.

Smart Growth: A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs

Smart growth development, based on 10 key principles, benefits the economy, the community, the environment, and public health. This guide provides information on how local governments have planned, designed, and implemented approaches that encourage smart growth in their communities.

The guide is designed to be used by city planners, local energy managers and sustainability directors, local elected officials, regional planning agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and citizen groups. Readers of the guide should come away with an understanding of smart growth principles and how they can be applied in practice, foundations and strategies for smart growth development, expected costs, and potential funding opportunities.

The guide describes the benefits of smart growth (section 2); planning and design approaches to smart growth (section 3); key participants and their roles (section 4); foundations for smart growth program development (section 5); implementation strategies for effective programs (section 6); investment and funding opportunities (section 7); federal, state, and other programs that may be able to help local governments with information or financial and technical assistance (section 8), and finally two case studies of local governments that have successfully implemented smart growth principles in their communities (section 9). Additional examples of successful implementation are provided throughout the guide.

The guide can be downloaded free at the link below.

This Smart Growth guide is one in a series of Local Climate and Energy Strategy Guides produced by EPA. While each guide stands on its own, the entire series contains many interrelated strategies that can be combined to create comprehensive, cost-effective programs that generate multiple benefits. Access the guides at www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/resources/strategy-guides.html.

Smart Growth: A Toolkit for Realtors

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has produced Smart Growth: A Toolkit for Realtors, a six-chapter publication that provides an overview of smart growth and its importance to the real estate community.

Smart Housing Zones

The Smart Housing for Economic Prosperity task force convened by New Jersey Future has crafted ''Smart Housing Zones,'' a voluntary state program designed to overcome a key obstacle: local opposition to residential zoning.

Smart Infill

The Greenbelt Alliance has released Smart Infill, a 72-page guide for civic leaders and local citizens that shows how the Bay Area can achieve more livable communities and more sustainable development by developing underutilized land within existing urban areas. The report presents 12 key strategies to bring about well-planned infill housing and mixed-use development. These recommendations include zoning changes, design guidelines, public participation processes, revised parking requirements, and preparation of ''Specific Plans'' coordinating neighborhood revitalization.

Smart Plans

The Montana Smart Growth Coaltion offers a comprehensive list of Smart Growth Model Plans and Regulations on its web site.

Smart Scorecard for Development Projects

The purpose of a Smart Project Scorecard (SPS) is to assist elected local officials, developers, investors, neighborhood groups and designers make better project-level decisions that achieve the Smart Growth objectives.

Smart, Green and Growing Planning Guide

The Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) created the Smart, Green & Growing Planning Guide in response to the many requests from State and local government officials, smart growth advocates and interested citizens to produce a concise reference to planning and smart growth in Maryland. This guide provides you with a brief introduction to planning in Maryland, emphasizing key planning laws and tools that guide smart, sustainable growth.

SmartCode

This resource has been updated. Please see SmartCode V9.0 at the resource link below.

SmartCode V9.0

The SmartCode is a model transect-based development code available for all scales of planning, from the region to the community to the block and building. The code is intended for local calibration to your town or neighborhood. As a form-based code, the SmartCode keeps towns compact and rural lands open, while reforming the destructive sprawl-producing patterns of separated use zoning.

SMARTe: A Revitalization Decision Support Tool

Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools -- electronic, known to its friends as SMARTe, is a free, web-based decision support system for developing and evaluating future reuse scenarios for potentially contaminated land. SMARTe contains resources and analysis tools for all aspects of the revitalization process including planning, environmental, economic, and social concerns.

Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth in Communities Across America

Natural Resources Defense Council. 2001. Through 35 real-world stories, this book illustrates how people in cities, suburbs, and rural areas have found profitable, community-oriented alternatives to sprawl.

Southwestern Pennsylvania Citizens’ Vision for Smart Growth

Citizens’ Vision is based on expressions of concerned citizens and on past regional planning efforts. It provides policy recommendations on challenges and opportunities for the southwest Pennsylvania region.

Spartenburg Community Indicators Reports

Since 1989, The Spartanburg County Foundation has published indicator publications to effectively raise awareness of the key issues that impact the growth, health and quality of life in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

Sprawl and Politics: The Inside Story of Smart Growth in Maryland

Sprawl and Politics: The Inside Story of Smart Growth in Maryland, a book by John W. Frece, traces the evolution of the Smart Growth program from its substantive underpinnings to the political and public relations strategies needed to assure the program's adoption.

Sprawl and Smart Growth

In Contrast: Smart Growth versus Sprawl uses text and photos to illustrate how alternatives to sprawl help build better communities.

Sprawl Costs

In 1996, a team of experts undertook a multi-year study designed to provide quantitative measures of the costs and benefits of different forms of growth. Sprawl Costs from Island Press presents a concise and readable summary of the results of that study.

Sprawl Primer

1000 Friends of Minnesota has created a Sprawl Primer that includes a variety of fact sheets designed to assist citizen activists in their efforts to stop sprawling development patterns, and to support smart growth.

Sprawl Primer

Sprawl: The New Manifest Destiny

From the August 2004 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives journal, Sprawl: The New Manifest Destiny discusses the current state of sprawl on both national and international levels. This article includes listings of the Top Ten Sprawling U.S. and World Metro Regions, details the effects of sprawl, and discusses how sprawl continues, despite a growing knowledge of its effects.

Spring 2007 Smart Growth Speaker Series Audio Now Available

New audio recordings are now available from two Smart Growth Speaker Series events at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Recording are from the April and May 2007 events; the topics are ''Large-Scale Revitalization in Small Communities'' and ''Smart Growth Strategies for Colleges and Universities.''

Starting Point: Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding

More than 650 citizens, community leaders, architects, planners, engineers, business people, and public officials gathered in New Orleans November 10–12, 2005 for the Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding Conference, the starting point for the planning and the rebuilding of damaged parts of the state that have fallen victim to the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

State Climate Action Best Practices

According to the U.S. EPA's State Best Practices webpage, states have found that a combination of clean energy policies, developed as a coordinated package, is the most effective approach to addressing climate and clean energy challenges. Typically, states have chosen policies to address clean energy areas like energy efficiency (EE), renewable energy (RE), and clean distributed generation (DG). This page presents a menu of 16 clean energy strategies including guidance, policy maps, and other supporting materials.

State of Maryland

Maryland's Growth and Neighborhood Conservation initiative represents the nation's first incentive-based, statewide effort to reverse the costly, inefficient, and often unsightly patterns of development known as ''sprawl.'' The initiative employs the state's $17 billion annual budget as an incentive to encourage growth in areas where the infrastructure already exists or is planned to support growth. Its goals are to strengthen and revitalize older towns and cities, to permanently preserve the state's most beautiful and valuable natural resources, and to save taxpayers the high cost of building new infrastructure required to support sprawl.

State of the Fraser Basin Report

Sustainability Snapshot 4: The Many Faces of Sustainability is the 2009 edition of the State of the Fraser Basin Report, released February 19, 2009. The report flags progress in British Columbia's Fraser River Basin towards social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Strategies for Enhancing the Built Environment to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living

Strategies for Enhancing the Built Environment to Support Healthy Eating and Active Living is the first of a series of policy briefs authored by Prevention Institute for the Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership (Convergence Partnership), and is part of a larger strategy to identify high impact approaches that will promote healthy people and communities.

Strategies to Revitalize Rural Communities