Think you need to look to the west coast or the northeast for Complete Streets best practices? Think again. The southeastern United States gets the spotlight in a new tool kit developed by AARP and the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America.

Communities in the southeastern United States are home to one in five of the nation’s 600+ Complete Streets policies, and transportation agencies, community leaders and residents are actively implementing Complete Streets practices. This new tool kit takes a comprehensive look at those efforts and distills advice and lessons for others in the region. Readers will find success stories from several of these communities, template presentation and media materials, and activities to help make multimodal accommodations become a routine part of project development.

The information and stories in this tool kit are not just great examples for communities in the southeast: they are great examples for any community. Any community can find inspiration for their own Complete Streets efforts from project development processes used in Charlotte, NC, from the detailed implementation reports issued by Lee County, FL, or from the strong connections between community organizations and city departments in Greenville, NC. With this tool kit, communities across the country will be better equipped to create age-friendly communities.