Smart Growth America

Seattle skyline

What Cities Can Learn From Companies Migrating to Downtown

The Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown report, released on June 18, 2015, provides in-depth analysis of a powerful trend of companies investing in urban downtowns.

June 19, 2015 - Smart Growth America

Water Dripping

What Droughts Say About Planners and Water Officials

When water policy and land use planning operate in separate spheres, it's more difficult to design for efficient resource use. Better communication is needed in the drought-stricken southwest.

May 13, 2015 - Next City

Complete Streets

Report: Complete Streets Deliver More Than Just Good Vibes

Better safety and multimodal ease are not the only benefits offered by complete streets. According to this report, on the average they pay for themselves and then some.

April 24, 2015 - ASLA The Dirt

Austin Complete Street

Celebrating the Best Complete Streets Policies of 2014

The nationwide trend of cities, counties, and regions adopting complete streets policies continued its momentum in 2014. A new report from the National Complete Streets Coalition surveys the field and decides which is the best of the best.

February 10, 2015 - James Brasuell

San Francisco Parking

An Unintended Consequence of Unbundling Parking from Housing

Transportation and affordable housing advocates advocate unbundling parking from housing to provide an incentive to own fewer vehicles while reducing housing costs and increasing supply. But should parcel taxes be applied to parking spaces?

November 17, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Building 'Mixed-Use Industrial' to Spur Economic Development

Ilana Preuss writes for Smart Growth America about the opportunity to integrate small-scale industrial uses into development—what's called mixed-use industrial real estate.

July 10, 2014 - Smart Growth America

Orlando Street

Nation's Most Dangerous City for Pedestrians Becoming Safer

A Smart Growth America report put the spotlight on Orlando and the entire state of Florida as leading the nation in pedestrian deaths per capita. NPR investigate what is being done to lose the infamous title.

June 16, 2014 - NPR

The Demographics of Pedestrian Safety

While pedestrian safety affects all areas, it disproportionately affects cities with large minority populations because they are more likely to walk than whites. Santa Ana, Calif. a majority "minority" city, is taking steps to make walking safer.

June 11, 2014 - Aljazeera America

Defending Atlanta from Anti-Sprawl Malcontents

Robert Bruegmann, professor emeritus of art history, architecture, and urban planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago, defends the recent attacks against Atlanta, especially regarding its sprawling footprint.

May 17, 2014 - Politico

Florida Sprawl

Study: Sprawl is Bad for Public Health

Smart Growth America has released the "Measuring Sprawl 2014" report, which updates the 2002 report "Measuring Sprawl and Its Impact."

April 2, 2014 - Smart Growth America

The Best Complete Streets Programs of 2013

More than 80 communities adopted complete streets policies in 2013, bringing the national total to 610 jurisdictions with such policies. The National Complete Streets Coalition examined the newest programs for the best examples.

February 19, 2014 - Smart Growth America

Indianapolis Street

For a Model Complete Streets Policy, Look to Indianapolis

Smart Growth America has recognized the best of the 130 complete streets policies approved last year across the United States; and the one passed by Indianapolis has received the highest ranking.

April 12, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Appraising the Federal Impact on the Shape of America's Communities

A new report released by Smart Growth America evaluates the federal government's influence on America's real estate sector. With $450 billion in subsidies per year, it's clear "the communities we’ve constructed weren’t built on market demand alone."

January 8, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Election Recap: How Did Smart Growth Fare?

Tom Madrecki has compiled a roundup of how local land use and transportation related measures fared on Tuesday night. From Maine to Marin, voters approved initiatives to invest in transit, parks, redevelopment, and conservation.

November 8, 2012 - Smart Growth America

Lessons on TODs for DOTs

A new report produced by Smart Growth America and the State Smart Transportation Initiative offers recommendations for how state DOTs can innovate to support economic growth and better link land use and transportation decision-making.

September 20, 2012 - Mobilizing the Region

The Force Behind a Push to Reshape DC

Lydia DePillis profiles Washington D.C.'s planning director, Harriet Tregoning, and her efforts to reshape the city along smart growth principles.

March 9, 2012 - Washington City Paper

Smart Growth Weathered Housing Crisis Better Than Sprawl

Abigail Gardner of Smart Growth America takes aim at a recent article based primarily on Wendell Cox's correlation of smart growth policies to the housing market bubble and collapse.

June 23, 2011 - D.C. Streetsblog

LEED-ND Is Go

LEED for Neighborhood Design (LEED-ND) is approved to become a permanent certification program.

October 18, 2009 - New Urban News

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.