Are you starting off your career with a passion for the built environment, federal policy, and strong writing skills that can be applied to challenges and opportunities in land use, economic development, and transportation? Join the team at Smart Growth America and use your skills to help policymakers and community leaders advance sustainable and equitable … Continued
Smart Growth America (SGA) seeks an exceptional writer, editor, content producer, and strategic communicator with experience in smart growth principles such as land use, planning, transportation, placemaking, or economic development. We deeply believe that improving racial disparities is at the core of a smart growth approach, and the Communications Associate will play a key role … Continued
In partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, Smart Growth America (SGA) created a set of fact sheets that highlight strategies communities can use to help mitigate displacement in the contexts of brownfields redevelopment. SGA conducted interviews with community groups and municipal leaders from across the country to learn … Continued
Smart Growth America’s Transportation and Thriving Communities Team seeks a motivated individual interested in Complete Streets and the connection between transportation and public health. This position will contribute to the Thriving Communities team’s workshops, writing, and resource development and will report to the Director of Thriving Communities. If you possess the desired qualifications, please send … Continued
Inaccessibility in society often means that disabled people simply don’t have the same opportunities as their non-disabled counterparts. Barriers make something as simple as leaving the house difficult, and sometimes impossible; often leaving disabled people cut off from society. Despite being more likely to rely on public transportation, one of the biggest mobility challenges cited … Continued
One of the questions we are routinely asked is, “what exactly goes into an effective and strong Complete Streets policy?” So, we’re walking through the 10 elements within every strong Complete Streets policy, leading up to the long-awaited release of a brand new edition of The Best Complete Streets Policies report which scores all policies across the country.
Every local community, region, and state has a process by which they choose which transportation projects to fund and build. A strong Complete Streets policy changes that process by adding new or updated criteria that give extra weight to projects that advance Complete Streets and improve the network.
How do you know if your Complete Streets policy is working? You measure it. And then you share the results publicly. A strong Complete Streets policy requires tracking performance measures across a range of categories—including implementation and equity—and making someone responsible for doing it.
How and why does a community want to complete its streets? Clear answers to that question—an unmistakable and binding statement of intent—are the vital first element for creating a complete, connected network of streets that considers the needs of all users.
As noted in policy element #3, Complete Streets policies are comprehensive and apply to all streets and in all phases of all projects, but there are certain circumstances where exceptions can—and should—be made. But those exceptions must be narrowly and clearly defined, as well as require public notice prior to approval by a high-level official.