Sitka, Alaska has struggled with housing affordability and a zoning code which no longer reflects the reality it faces. With help from Smart Growth America, it has identified changes to its zoning code and adopted a comprehensive plan that will help change its course.
Tulsa, Oklahoma worked with Smart Growth America to implement parts of the city’s comprehensive plan and better understand how development decisions made today will impact its budget decades into the future.
Each of the six communities selected to receive assistance on supporting local small-scale manufacturing are very different. Ahead of the assistance that will happen over the next year, get to know each of the communities we’ll be working with a little better.
A workshop and analysis of future development from Smart Growth America helped Chattanooga, TN see how it can best direct its resources to have the greatest benefits for the city and its residents.
After learning about Complete Streets policies in April and exploring first-mile/last-mile connections in June, the teams from our Colorado Consortium Series reconvened in Arvada, CO for one final workshop all about engaging the community.
Thanks to support from the Economic Development Administration, Smart Growth America and Recast City are pleased to provide a second round of small-scale manufacturing technical assistance. Homegrown maker economies are emerging in all corners of the nation and show no signs of slowing. Cities are supporting various businesses that fall under the umbrella of small-scale manufacturing—metalworking, woodworking, screen printing, and brewing to name a few—by crafting supportive policies, reworking their zoning, and initiating workforce training programs.
To help it create a more sustainable community, this inner suburb of Detroit sought a zoning code audit from Smart Growth America and Clarion Associates. The audit focused on stormwater management, green infrastructure, and housing diversity. Since the audit, Royal Oak has made significant progress around its land use and sustainability goals.
Between September 2017 and January 2018, the National Complete Streets Coalition worked with 30 transportation professionals from the Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga regions in Tennessee to identify and overcome common barriers to Complete Streets implementation. In the seven months since then, each region has taken steps to move Complete Streets forward in their communities.
Today, Smart Growth America announced the selection of six communities that will receive technical assistance in using small-scale manufacturing as a strategy to create economic opportunity, boost the prospects of Main Street, and build great places. This assistance is made possible through funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).
Last month, the Complete Streets team returned to Colorado for the second workshop of the Consortium Series. The series brings together three teams from the Cities of Aurora, Arvada, and Westminster along with representatives from regional health and transportation agencies. To help these places make the most of new and upcoming transit amenities in the Denver region, this workshop focused on creating first-mile/last-mile connections through Complete Streets.