Foster Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place
Smart growth encourages communities to craft a vision and set standards for development that respect community values of architectural beauty and distinctiveness, as well as expand choices in housing and transportation. Smart growth seeks to create interesting, unique communities that reflect the values and cultures of the people who reside there, and foster physical environments that support a more cohesive community fabric. Smart growth promotes development that uses natural and man-made boundaries and landmarks to define neighborhoods, towns, and regions. It encourages the construction and preservation of buildings that are assets to a community over time, not only because of the services provided within, but because of the unique contribution they make to the look and feel of a city.
Guided by a vision of how and where to grow, communities are able to identify and utilize opportunities to make new development conform to their standards of distinctiveness and beauty. Smart growth ensures that the value of infill and greenfield development is determined as much by its accessibility (by car or other means) as its physical orientation to, and relationship with, other buildings and open space. By creating high-quality communities with architectural and natural elements that reflect the interests of all residents, there is a greater likelihood that buildings (and therefore entire neighborhoods) will retain their economic vitality and value over time. This means that the infrastructure and natural resources used to create these areas will provide residents with a distinctive and beautiful place that they can call "home" for generations to come.
More information from Smart Growth Network partners:
How to Preserve a Historic Building
www.preservationnation.org/resources/faq/historic-buildings/
What is Placemaking?
www.pps.org/articles/what_is_placemaking/
Information from other sources:
Creative Placemaking
www.nea.gov/pub/CreativePlacemaking-Paper.pdf
Smart Growth Principles
