Complete Streets policies
Complete Streets are most often achieved by passing binding ordinances, laws, and resolutions, and then putting those into practice. Whatever form they take, all should include the 10 elements of a Complete Streets policy.
Read about the 10 elements of a Complete Streets policyComplete Streets policies
Across the country and on Capitol Hill, Complete Streets policies have been gaining traction as more places realize the benefits of having safe, accessible, and healthy streets in their communities. In total, over 1,700 Complete Streets policies have been passed in the United States, including those adopted by 37 state governments, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. We track these policies in our inventory and policy atlas.
VISUALIZE: Download a PDF of the above gif, showing the year-by-year Complete Streets policy development through 2021 (.pdf)
Learn more about adopting a policy in your communityPolicy atlas
Explore the Policy atlas in full screen here.
DOWNLOAD: Inventory of all Complete Streets policies. (.pdf)(.xlsx) Updated quarterly. Last updated in October 2024.
The Best Complete Streets policies
The Atlas above notes places that have adopted any form of a Complete Streets policy, which range on a spectrum from weak to strong when it comes to their ability to affect transportation planning and design decision. But putting a strong policy into practice requires changes and updates to plans and processes to align them with the high-level direction and goals of the policy.
Where are the strongest policies? Our frequent Best Complete Streets Policies report evaluates and scores policies against our ten elements of an ideal Complete Streets policy. The report includes examples of policies that do particularly well in meeting the “ideal” and lists the top policies based on jurisdiction and type.
Evaluate your Complete Streets policy using our free tool
The National Complete Streets Coalition evaluates and scores Complete Streets policies across the country using our Policy Framework. Now, advocates and policymakers can do the same, using our free and open-source tool to evaluate existing or drafted local, MPO, or state-level Complete Streets policies.
Not all Complete Streets policies are created equally, that’s why we felt it was important to put an easily accessible version of our scoring tool into the hands of advocates and policy-makers, to create improvements where possible in the policies that exist today, and to start strong for those in the process of being drafted.
Have questions? Check out our FAQs. Use the Complete Streets Policy Evaluation Tool
Send us your policy
Send us your policy for inclusion in the Atlas of all Complete Streets policies, as well as potential evaluation for our Best Complete Streets report, by using our form:
Send in your policy here