Healing our Highways Report

In January 2024, Smart Growth America (SGA) launched the Healing Our Highways program with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kresge Foundation. Aimed at generating creative ideas and activities that build knowledge, connections, and power within communities most harmed by transportation systems and vulnerable to climate change, the program provided funding … Continued

Arts and Culture Technical assistance

Healing our Highways report: Artists & cultural workers are essential to repairing our infrastructure and healing our communities

The knowledge of artists and culture workers and their deep community ties are essential in efforts to repair the harms inflicted by our infrastructure system upon marginalized communities. Our Healing Our Highways program illustrated what strategic steps toward holistic healing can look like.

Arts and Culture Technical assistance

Reinvesting in Florida: Fighting floods with community-based solutions

As part of our Climate & Land Use Technical Assistance Program, Smart Growth America partnered with a local Florida-based organization, Incubate Neighborhood Center (INC), to raise awareness about the impacts that intensifying storms and flooding have on housing affordability, infrastructure, and economic development in their community. Focused on the Fort Pierce area in St. Lucie … Continued

Climate Change Technical assistance

The Case for Climate-Informed Zoning: A Study of Fiscal Impact in Norfolk, VA

As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify, zoning presents a key tool to direct development to protect communities from climate events. Norfolk, Virginia, a city at severe risk from sea level rise due to climate change, is among the first cities in the US to use climate adaptation as a core consideration for … Continued

Climate Change Land Use and Development Zoning

In the Wake of Operational Uncertainty, Nuclear Host Communities are Planning for a Resilient Future

  At the 2022 Nuclear Communities Economic Resilience Conference, host communities from nine nuclear plants in the Midwest-the region that hosts more than half of the nation’s nuclear fleet-gathered to share experiences, best practices, and plan for the future. The Nuclear Communities Team– a technical assistance group led by Smart Growth America in collaboration with … Continued

Economic development Technical assistance

Transcending Oil: Hawaii’s Path to a Clean Energy Economy

An ocean apart from the US mainland’s electric supply, Hawaii has embarked on an ambitious effort to wean itself off imported fossil fuels with a mandate to reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2045. Elemental Excelerator commissioned Rhodium Group, in partnership with Smart Growth America, to conduct an independent analysis of Hawaii’s clean energy transition. This is not a plan; rather, this report presents a quantitative assessment of accomplishments to date and describes the future potential of clean energy deployment in Hawaii’s electric power sector and on-road transportation.

Transportation

Building Resilient States: Profiles in Action Webinar

Communities shouldn’t wait for a flood or a hurricane to see how land use choices will affect their ability to remain resilient in the face of disaster. Many states and municipalities are already thinking strategically about how land use, transportation, and infrastructure decisions can help them prepare for and mitigate the impact of disasters. Building … Continued

Economic development Resilience

Register now for “Greening the Streetscape: Complete Streets & Stormwater Management”

The National Complete Streets Coalition is excited to continue our monthly webinar series, designed to help professionals from a variety of disciplines put Complete Streets principles into action. Implementation & Equity 201: The Path Forward to Complete Streets is exploring a new issue each month related to creating safer, healthier, more equitable streets.

Our next webinar will be Greening the Streetscape: Complete Streets & Stormwater Management, taking place on Monday, July 10th from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT. Co-host NACTO will join the Coalition in answering questions such as: How can transportation projects be designed to benefit the environment, promote public health, and manage stormwater, all while creating vibrant, attractive, walkable places? And what innovative strategies are cities around the country using to make their streets safer and more resilient?

Complete Streets

“Building Resilient States: Profiles in Action” webinar recording now available

Communities shouldn’t wait for a flood or a hurricane to see how land use choices will affect their ability to remain resilient in the face of disaster.

Many states and municipalities are already thinking strategically about how land use, transportation, and infrastructure decisions can help them prepare for and mitigate the impact of disasters. Building Resilient States: Profiles in Action, published by the Governors’ Institute on Community Design earlier this month, highlights local, regional, and statewide efforts to build more resilient communities from the ground up.

Resilience