Economic Development

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild on the revival of downtown Tucson, AZ

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The Sun Link streetcar line is a catalyst for investment in downtown Tucson. Photo via the City of Tucson.
The Sun Link streetcar line is a catalyst for investment in downtown Tucson. Photo via the City of Tucson.

Downtown Tucson, AZ is undergoing a revival, and smart growth strategies are a major factor behind it according to Mayor Jonathan Rothschild.

Rothschild, a native Tucsonan and a member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, has experienced firsthand the rapid growth of greater Tucson over the past 50 years. “When I was born, there were 50,000 people in this community. Today there are over one million. We’ve grown at a remarkable rate,” says Rothschild.

Local Leaders Council

Mayor Jonathan LaBonté on building a stronger Auburn, ME

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Jonathan LaBonté
Mayor Jonathan LaBonté of Auburn, ME. Image via Facebook.

Mayor Jonathan LaBonté of Auburn, ME is working to help his small city compete economically and grow stronger financially, and he’s using smart growth strategies to achieve both these goals.

Auburn is a city of 23,000 people located 45 minutes north of Portland. LaBonté has served as mayor of the city since 2011, and he’s also a member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, a nonpartisan group of municipal officials who share a passion for building great towns, cities, and communities.

Local Leaders Council

Video: Joe Minicozzi on the fiscal benefits of a revitalized Asheville, NC

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Many communities are coming to realize smart growth provides substantial economic benefits in addition to creating great neighborhoods. Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council recently sat down with Joseph Minicozzi, the principal of Urban3, LLC, a private consulting firm specializing in land value economics, property tax analysis and community design, to discuss how some communities are using smart growth strategies to their economic benefit.

Local Leaders Council

Mayor Ralph Becker on building a prosperous Salt Lake City, UT

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Salt Lake City’s TRAX light rail line, one of Salt Lake City’s many innovative transportation projects. Photo by Matt Johnson via Flickr.

Mayor Ralph Becker, a charter member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, is turning Salt Lake City, UT into one of this nation’s most prosperous urban centers. And he’s doing it by building accessibility, sustainability and livability into many city policies.

Becker’s efforts are evident across Salt Lake City. He has spearheaded one of the most ambitious rail systems in the country, building new light rail, bus rapid transit, streetcar AND commuter rail systems. He’s also made the city accessible for all users by more than doubling the number of bike lanes, launching a bike share program and focusing on walkability and pedestrian safety.

Local Leaders Council

Vice-mayor Hannah McKinney on saving municipal budgets through smarter growth in Kalamazoo, MI

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Hannah McKinney believes that to create strong metropolitan areas in this country we have to focus on creating strong neighborhoods. As Vice Mayor of Kalamazoo, Michigan; she’s working to make that happen in her region.

“That sense of being tied to a physical location is something that, for many people doesn’t exist anymore,” says McKinney, “We need to create neighborhoods that are unique, that are livable.”

An Advisory Board member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, Hannah McKinney has served on the City Commission for 16 years. She has a long history of working to make Kalamazoo a great place to live, work, and visit. In 2003, McKinney co-chaired the Convening our Community project; a community-building initiative focused on creating a smart growth report to guide land use decisions. McKinney worked on the city’s Comprehensive Plan update, Downtown Plan, and the creation of a 2010 Master Plan to guide future growth and development, all while protecting Kalamazoo’s unique character – – and that’s only part of it.

Local Leaders Council

Mayor Bryan Barnett on fostering a liveable Rochester Hills, MI

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Located 25 miles north of Detroit, the city of Rochester Hills, MI may seem like an unlikely place for smart growth to be taking hold. But local residents have taken to smart growth concepts on multiple fronts—from transportation, to preservation of open space to economic development. Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett, a member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, is committed to advancing them even further.

“To me smart growth is a philosophy and it’s a lifestyle,” Barnett says. “It’s not all economic development, it’s not all transportation. It’s about stepping back and looking at how our decisions impact where we want Rochester Hills to be a few years down the road.”

Local Leaders Council

City Councilmember Kristin Palmer on smart growth and resilience in New Orleans, LA

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Kristin Palmer had long been interested in smart growth strategies, but smart growth really became a focal point of her first term on City Council in 2010, as New Orleans still struggled to rebuild five years after Hurricane Katrina.

“When you’re trying to rebuild from nothing, from ground zero, what are the things that make sense when you come back and rebuild? Access to public transportation and economic corridors was really part of that success,” says Palmer. “If you had access to grocery stores and you had a walkable community, and you could get to the resources you needed, those are the communities that rebuilt faster and better.”

Local Leaders Council

Jeff Aken on combining transfer of development rights with infrastructure financing in Washington

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Jeff Aken, former Communities Program Manager with Forterra – Seattle, WA, talks about an innovative program that combines Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) with infrastructure financing to help cities grow in a responsible manner. See more interviews with issue experts here >>

Local Leaders Council
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