An excerpt from Megan Kimble’s new book, City Limits

In Austin, hundreds of families will lose child care if a preschool is demolished to expand an interstate. In Houston, a young Black woman will lose her brand-new home to a new lane on Interstate 10-just blocks away from where a seventy-four-year-old nurse lost her home in the 1960s when that same highway was built. … Continued

Advancing Racial Equity Land Use and Development

What is the future of walkability in St. Louis?

As part of a technical assistance project to help local decision makers understand the needs for better mobility and craft stronger policies, I recently had the opportunity to visit and explore one of the great cities of the Midwest–St. Louis, Missouri. Like most American cities, St. Louis clearly demonstrates the impacts of design that prioritizes high-speed driving and punishes all other forms of mobility.

Complete Streets Transportation

Connecting community infrastructure projects through technical assistance and capacity building

This post was authored by Madlyn McAuliffe, communications manager for NUMO, with support from Justyn Huckleberry (NUMO) and Harriet Tregoning (NUMO). NUMO is a partner on Smart Growth America’s Community Connectors grant program. When you hear “infrastructure,” most people naturally think of the physical built environment — roads, bridges, buildings. There’s a lot less emphasis … Continued

Technical assistance Transportation

Announcing five new member of the LOCUS Steering Committee

We are excited to announce the addition of five esteemed members to the LOCUS Steering Committee. LOCUS, a program of Smart Growth America, is dedicated to promoting equitable and sustainable development practices across the United States through federal advocacy. With the inclusion of these accomplished professionals—who bring invaluable expertise and passion—we can continue our efforts … Continued

LOCUS

Q&A with the new LOCUS Chair, Alecia Hill

Earlier this month, Alecia Hill was elected to become the next Chair of LOCUS, stepping into the role that Jair Lynch held for eight years. Alecia is a Vice President at FCP and is responsible for expanding the firm’s impact investing initiatives and affordable housing preservation multifamily platform. In this Q&A, I had the opportunity … Continued

LOCUS

Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report

Download the full report (pdf) Traffic fatalities continue to plague communities across the U.S. with an estimated 42,795 people killed in 2022. This trauma is not experienced equally—people walking, people of color, and people in low-income communities are far more likely to be killed. But the most significant danger—especially for people walking, biking, rolling, or … Continued

Complete Streets

Bristol, CT: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

Bristol has made commitments to Complete Streets in the past as a strategy to confront their lack of biking and walking infrastructure. With major state routes running through its borders, the Bristol team was eager to collaborate directly with CTDOT in the program so that they could learn how to make their roads safer for … Continued

Complete Streets

Middletown, CT: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

With the goal of putting their 2023 Complete Streets Initiative Master Plan into action, Middletown joined the Complete Streets Leadership Academy to design and deploy a quick-build project that would improve nighttime visibility for pedestrians. Despite early setbacks, the team from Middletown was able to pivot and successfully implement a quick build that informed future … Continued

Complete Streets

Waterbury, CT: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

Over the years, the City of Waterbury has worked to revitalize its downtown and implement its 2014 Complete Streets Resolution. Participating in the Complete Streets Leadership Academy gave Waterbury the dedicated time to focus on addressing problems related to the safety and accessibility of people walking and biking. Read the full case study in the … Continued

Complete Streets

Chattanooga, TN: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

The City of Chattanooga has taken steps in recent years to address the safety of all road users, but it sought to find a more nimble approach to addressing dangerous street design. Their participation in the Complete Streets Leadership Academy allowed them to deliver a quick-build demonstration project on a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) … Continued

Complete Streets