Title: What is smart growth? | Smart Growth America
Headings: What is smart growth?
What is smart growth?
1. Mix land uses
2. Take advantage of compact design
3. Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
4. Create walkable neighborhoods
5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
7. Direct development towards existing communities
8. Provide a variety of transportation choices
9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
10. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

Content: Local leaders can and should change policy to encourage development within existing neighborhoods. 8. Provide a variety of transportation choices
Providing a variety of transportation choices—high-quality public transportation, safe and convenient biking and walking infrastructure, and well-maintained roads and bridges— helps communities to attract talent, to compete on a global scale, and to improve the day-to-day lives of their residents. To make this happen, elected leaders and transportation agencies must change how they prioritize, select, invest in, build, and measure transportation projects at the local, regional, and nationwide level. 9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
Developers play a crucial role in how towns and cities are built. Many developers who want to build walkable, urban places but are thwarted by restrictive regulations or complicated approval processes. Municipalities interested in encouraging smart growth development can and should examine their regulations and streamline the project permitting and approval process so that development decisions are more timely, cost-effective, and predictable for developers. By creating a supportive environment for development of innovative, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use projects, government can provide smart growth leadership for the private sector. 10.