The barriers to using urban infill development to achieve smart growth

The smart growth movement of the 1990s has seen many development and planning associations, state and local governments, and the Clinton administration encourage significant infill development to control sprawl and promote revitalization. Will the 123 million projected increase in population in the next 50 years be attracted to infill development or to outlying growth areas? A review of 22 major central cities shows that they captured only 5.2 percent of total new metropolitan housing permits over the decade: 2.2 percent of single‐family pemits and 14.9 percent of multifamily permits. This analysis identifies the practical barriers to urban infill development, including land assembly and infrastructure costs, unwillingness to condemn, municipal social goal and regulatory policies, difficulty of finding developers, complexities of public‐private partnerships, excessive risks, resistance from local residents, and stakeholder conflicts and political constraints. While supporting infill, smart growth advocates should focus primarily on encouraging higher‐density, quality suburban and outlying growth.