Today, Smart Growth America, joined by 36 other organizations and researchers, submitted a letter to the U.S. Census Bureau opposing the Bureau’s plan to limit the geography of data from the block and tract level to the county level. Their proposed change would be devastating to the research SGA and many other groups conduct.
Smart Growth America is seeking an experienced videographer to help us produce 4-8 minute videos from (at least two, as many as three) specific cities telling a tight, simple story about their need to improve street safety, why and how they passed a Complete Streets policy, and the results they are seeing and/or hoping to see as a result.
Even if we hit the most ambitious targets for changing our cars and trucks over to electric vehicles, we will fail to meaningfully reduce emissions from transportation without confronting this simple fact: new roads always produce new driving. This costly feedback loop referred to as “induced demand” is the invisible force short-circuiting the neverending attempts to eliminate congestion by building or expanding roads.
On Wednesday, October 6, Smart Growth America and LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors kicked off Commonwealth Communities: Smart Growth Strategies with Make Way for Walkability.
Today, the Form-Based Codes Institute at Smart Growth America is thrilled to announce the winner of the fifteenth annual Richard H. Driehaus Form-Based Code Award for achievement in the writing and implementation of a stellar form-based zoning code—the City of South Bend Zoning Ordinance for the City of South Bend, Indiana.
Tomorrow continues a month full of zoning-related webinars and releases for the Form-Based Codes Institute with the announcement of the winner of the fifteenth annual Driehaus Form-Based Code Award. An upcoming webinar on October 18th featuring experts from across development and economic research to discuss the Form-Based Institute’s first-of-its-kind report Zoned In: Economic Benefits & Shared Prosperity with Form-Based Codes follows, with the opening class of FBCI’s most popular introductory course, FBC 101: The ABCs of Form-Based Codes making its virtual debut the first week of November. Read on for more.
Smart Growth America seeks a dynamic and passionate individual to support the Thriving Communities Team. The new Program Manager will collaborate with a dynamic team to support the smart growth movement and contribute to advancing our strategic priorities: Racial Equity, Climate, and Public Health.
Beyond the devastating effects on a community, economic disasters can present an opportunity for change by highlighting a risky over-dependence on a single industry sector and motivating local leaders and planners to invest in the long-term resiliency of their community. Our work on the economic development team at Smart Growth America seeks to strengthen local economies through diversification—one of the most effective ways to increase long-term economic resilience.
The results are in: places that adopt form-based zoning codes generally perform better economically than places regulated by more conventional, Euclidean zoning—and there’s evidence that the former can also help foster more equitable development, according to new research released today by the Form- Based Codes Institute at Smart Growth America.
Climate change presents an urgent, existential threat to our communities, and those who are most vulnerable in our society today are disproportionately affected. Smart growth is one of our best strategies for reducing emissions and enhancing preparedness for future climate impacts.