Title: APA Policy Guide on Smart Growth
Headings: APA Policy Guide on Smart Growth
APA Policy Guide on Smart Growth
Declarations
A. ECONOMIC BENEFITS
B. AN INCLUSIVE PLANNING STRUCTURE AND PROCESS
C. TRANSPORTATION AND LAND DEVELOPMENT
D. FISCAL EFFICIENCY
E. SOCIAL EQUITY AND COMMUNITY BUILDING
F. FARMLAND PROTECTION AND LAND CONSERVATION
G. HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Definition of Smart Growth
Core principles of Smart Growth include:
Benefits of Smart Growth
Policy Outcomes
A. ECONOMIC BENEFITS:
B. PLANNING STRUCTURE AND PROCESS:
C. TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE:
D. FISCAL EFFICIENCY:
E. SOCIAL EQUITY AND COMMUNITY BUILDING:
F. FARMLAND PROTECTION AND LAND CONSERVATION:
G. PUBLIC HEALTH:
References and Further Reading
A. ECONOMIC BENEFITS:
B. PLANNING STRUCTURE AND PROCESS:
C. TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE:
D. FISCAL EFFICIENCY:
E. SOCIAL EQUITY AND COMMUNITY BUILDING:
F. FARMLAND PROTECTION AND LAND CONSERVATION:
G. PUBLIC HEALTH:
ENDNOTE

Content: The American Planning Association affirms that effective comprehensive planning is the primary means of implementing policies that promote efficient and sustainable development, stimulate redevelopment opportunities, optimize prior infrastructure investments, protect private property rights, and support local choice. The American Planning Association, recognizing there is no universal approach to Smart Growth, supports the coordination of plans, policies, and services across jurisdictions and levels of government to help support and reinforce Smart Growth approaches that fit local, regional, and statewide contexts. The American Planning Association supports planning for Smart Growth that includes the following elements: economic development, energy, hazard mitigation, historic and cultural preservation, housing, infrastructure, land use, natural resources and ecological systems, public educational and other community facilities, public services, public health, resiliency and transportation. The American Planning Association supports legislation that promotes the actions of local government including, but not limited to, zoning and other land use regulations, as well as the provision of infrastructure to be consistent with and to implement the community's adopted comprehensive plan. The American Planning Association supports legislation at the state level that provides incentives for adoption of a clearly defined comprehensive plan and capital improvements plan prior to the imposition of land use regulations and controls at the local and regional level. The American Planning Association supports policies that encourage and create incentives for land redevelopment and urban infill development, along with requirements that growth and development be coordinated and concurrent with the provision of infrastructure capacity and services. The American Planning Association supports regulatory processes that facilitate, encourage, and support Smart Growth while eliminating regulatory barriers that increase the costs of Smart Growth. The American Planning Association supports requiring federal agencies to include the effect of federal actions on development growth and land patterns in their analyses of environmental impacts and to actively support state and local plans for growth management. The American Planning Association supports the coordination and cooperation of local planning efforts within a region to achieve desired outcomes at the regional scale based on shared values, economic and natural assets, and the cultural identity of communities within a region.