ULI ON THE FUTURE: SMART GROWTH: ECONOMY, COMMUNITY, ENVIRONMENT

This document of six individually authored chapters--the sixth in a series of annual studies--looks at various aspects of smart growth, including transportation planning, housing density, state growth policies, regional growth policies, and center city redevelopment strategies. The introductory chapter provides background on the smart growth concept, emphasizing that smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to center cities and older suburbs and in encouraging more town-centered and transit- and pedestrian-oriented new development. The second chapter examines smart transportation, noting that it must recognize and accommodate continued reliance on the automobile while improving the range of alternatives to driving and while managing the intrusion of cars in the urban environment. The third chapter makes a case of higher density housing as a smart growth strategy. The fourth chapter looks at state initiatives to foster smart growth, focusing on 10 states that are prodding and encouraging local governments, as well as regional and state agencies, to create and implement growth management policies more effectively than ever before. The fifth chapter covers regional cooperation as it relates to smart growth. Smart growth for center cities is the topic of the final chapter. Chapter references are included.