This online document catalogs smart growth initiatives such as compact development, urban revitalization, affordable housing, and open space protection at the local, regional, and state level in the Bay Area, elsewhere in California, and in the rest of the country.
This lavishly illustrated, hardcover awards book profiles 48 top development projects throughout the world. Each project description includes photos, the development story, and project data and is a winner or finalist for the prestigious ULI Awards for Excellence. The annual prize is based on financial viability, the resourceful use of land, design, relevance to contemporary issues, and sensitivity to the community and environment.
The New Jersey Smart Growth Gateway, a project of New Jersey Future, is an online resource to provide the information necessary to begin implementing Smart Growth Strategies in their communities. Included on this website are links to on- and off-site case studies from a variety of organizations.
Are you looking for ideas on how other communities are successfully promoting walkable, neighborhood-based development? The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) offers a Project Database that features dozens of new urbanist developments from throughout the United States and other countries.
Green Communities is a five-year, $550 million initiative to build more than 8,500 environmentally healthy homes for low-income families. Created by the Enterprise Foundation / Enterprise Social Investment Corporation in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Communities will transform the way America thinks about, designs, and builds affordable communities.
Economic development success and smart growth can go hand-in-hand. The International Economic Development Council's (IEDC's) Economic Development and Smart Growth presents eight case studies on communities that incorporated smart growth principles in their development projects and have experienced economic development improvements in the form of increased tax revenue, more jobs, higher income levels, downtown revitalization, business growth, and other indicators of economic success.
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) offers Green Building Case Studies that provide detailed process and performance data on selected Massachusetts green buildings and schools funded by the Renewable Energy Trust.
The Atlantic Monthly, November 1992. A city that protects its thriving, civil core.
The ICLEI Case Studies series is now available online. The Series dates back to the late 1990s and chronicle locally-based projects that support sustainability. Each study documents:
- the local context of the project
- the anatomy of the project
- results
- lessons learned
- the project's replication potential
- budgeting and financial
Implementing Smart Growth Streets
The U.S. EPA Office of Development, Community and Environment (widely known as the ''Smart Growth'' office) is sponsoring a study on ''Implementing Smart Growth Streets'' that is being conducted by ICF International and Ellen Greenberg. Readers of Smart Growth Online are invited to participate in this work by bringing candidate case studies to the attention of the project team.
Neighborhood Women Renaissance Housing: Conversion of an Abandoned Brooklyn Hospital.
New Village Journal, April 1999. Case study of a unique collaboration between architects and the community to design low-income apartments that met the specific needs and aspirations of women tenants and their families.
Profiles of Business Leadership on Smart Growth: New Partnerships Demonstrate the Benefits of Reducing Sprawl.
Washington DC: NALGEP, 1999. The new study sponsored by the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals includes 19 profiles of business and business coalitions that have found ways to grow while respecting and enhancing the communities they call home
Smart Growth Case Studies -- Rhode Island
Grow Smart Rhode Island offers a Case Studies in Smart Growth series -- projects that illustrate multiple smart growth principles. Showcasing the success of smart growth projects can encourage others to follow the smart growth model.
Smart Growth In Action: Abyssinian Neighborhood Project, Harlem Community Revitalization, Manhattan, New York
Through partnerships with The Abyssinian Baptist Church, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Urban Technical Assistance Project at Columbia University and the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC) developed a strategy to expand the housing and commercial options for central Harlem. Over 200 affordable housing units were built with an additional 200 affordable units planned. These include 25 units of transitional housing for homeless families, 68 rental units reserved for formerly homeless families, and 135 rental units to accommodate low- and moderate-income families. The Abyssinian Neighborhood Project created 15,000 square feet of commercial space for five local businesses, which has helped revitalize the central Harlem business corridors.
Smart Growth In Action: Accessory Dwelling Unit Development Program, Santa Cruz, California
Like many communities in northern California, Santa Cruz has seen its housing costs increase dramatically. These rising costs mean the city is struggling to retain teachers, police officers, and service workers. To address these challenges, Santa Cruz created an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Development Program. Accessory units create separate residences by converting all or part of a garage or by building new structures on a homeowner’s property.
Smart Growth In Action: Baldwin Park Naval Base Redevelopment Project, Orlando, Florida
When the U.S. Navy announced in 1993 that it would close the Orlando Naval Training Center, the city of Orlando saw an opportunity to build a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood that would make the base property once again part of the community. The city's Base Reuse Commission organized to plan the property's future, engaging citizens in hundreds of meetings over two years to help devise and refine a plan to redevelop the base. At visioning workshops, citizens described what they wanted: a variety of housing types, a vibrant main street, public access to lakes, and linkages with existing neighborhoods.
Smart Growth In Action: Belmar's Walkable Downtown, Lakewood, Colorado
In communities across the country, aging shopping centers are losing business to larger and newer competitors. As these retail centers, known as ''greyfields,'' cease to be viable as shopping malls, they can often provide opportunities for redevelopment that meet other community needs. One good example can be found in Lakewood, Colorado. Facing the decline of its Villa Italia shopping mall, the city worked with citizens, civic groups, and a local developer to transform the property into Belmar-the real, walkable downtown that this Denver inner suburb had lacked.
Smart Growth In Action: Belmont Dairy, Portland, Oregon
The Belmont Dairy is a mixed-use, urban infill project in the Portland, Oregon, neighborhood of Sunnyside. Located approximately 1.5 miles southeast of downtown, Belmont Dairy has expanded housing and retail choices for Sunnyside residents, spurred reinvestment, and created a vibrant anchor for a changing neighborhood.
Smart Growth In Action: Central District Specific Plan, Pasadena, California
A popular town in the Los Angeles region, the city of Pasadena wanted to maintain its unique sense of place and give its residents choices in where they live and how they get around. Through its Central District Specific Plan, adopted in November 2004, the city is encouraging housing in the downtown, near transit, and above stores. Design guidelines ensure that new development fits with community character.
Smart Growth In Action: Davidson Land Plan & Planning Ordinance, Davidson, North Carolina
To the residents of Davidson, North Carolina, located just 20 miles from Charlotte, the essence of their small town is great neighbors and great neighborhoods. This small community is setting the standard for creating healthy and vibrant neighborhoods in a historic setting. The high quality of life is attracting development, which the town accommodates partly by revitalizing its existing buildings. Its new neighborhoods incorporate a variety of lot sizes and housing types, including affordable housing, and neighborhood parks within a five-minute walk.
Smart Growth In Action: Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill Redevelopment, Redding, Connecticut
Closure of the Gilbert & Bennett wire mill in 1989 left a 55-acre, contaminated industrial site in Redding's Georgetown section, the primary commercial zone for this town of 8,400 residents. By 2002, the facility that was once a major source of tax revenue had accrued unpaid taxes of over $1 million. To revitalize the area and protect public health, the town partnered with a developer who not only paid the tax lien in full, but also cleaned up the contamination and is redeveloping the site into a mixed-use neighborhood. This partnership has been good for the town and the developer-each benefits from the new homes, businesses, services, and revenue.
Smart Growth In Action: High Point Redevelopment, Seattle, Washington
The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) worked closely with community members to rebuild a formerly crime-ridden and dilapidated 120-acre hilltop neighborhood into a mixed-use, mixed-income, and environmentally sensitive community.
Smart Growth In Action: Highlands' Garden Village, Denver, Colorado
When Denver's Elitch Gardens amusement park relocated in 1994, it left behind a 27-acre site just five miles from downtown. On this site, the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) helped facilitate the vision, design, financing, and economic development of Highlands' Garden Village, an innovative, compact, mixed-use community that has become a model for development throughout the Denver area.
Smart Growth In Action: Housing & Conservation Board, State of Vermont
The state of Vermont promotes compact settlements surrounded by rural countryside. The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) supports this goal by funding affordable housing development in existing population centers and by preserving historic resources, farmland, forests, and public access to recreational lands. The agency pursues affordable housing, land conservation, and historic preservation initiatives under a single unique, synergistic program, which balances priorities.
Smart Growth In Action: Housing Enhancement Loan Program, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
The Cuyahoga County Treasurer's Office, under the leadership of County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, created the Housing Enhancement Loan Program (HELP), an innovative program to improve quality of life and keep thousands of families in older Cleveland neighborhoods and inner-ring suburbs. HELP encourages property owners in 33 targeted communities to make improvements to their homes, making these communities more competitive with newer, outlying areas. Under HELP, six participating banks make home-improvement loans directly to property owners at three percentage points below market rate. The Treasurer’s Office then purchases certificates of deposit at those banks for a matching amount, accepting a return of three percentage points below market rate. Homeowners can use the loans for maintenance, remodeling, landscaping, or room additions. All homes valued at up to $250,000 are eligible, as are all multi-family rental properties with more than three units. There are no income restrictions.
Smart Growth In Action: Liberty Station, San Diego, California
The Naval Training Center in San Diego trained members of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Reserve for 70 years. When it closed in 1995, the city took advantage of its historic buildings and its prime location on San Diego Bay to redevelop it as Liberty Station, which restores waterfront access to the public for the first time in 80 years, creates new parks, and establishes creative-arts facilities.
Smart Growth In Action: Livable Communities Program, Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area, Minnesota
Consistently ranked among the top locations in the country to raise a family or establish a business, the Minneapolis-St. Paul region is experiencing rapid population growth. The metropolitan area is showing signs of growth-related stress: increasing traffic congestion, rising housing prices, and dwindling open space. Instead of trying to limit growth, the Minnesota state legislature passed the Livable Communities Act (LCA) in 1995 to provide the Metropolitan Council with a voluntary, incentive-based approach to help communities grow in a way that addresses many of the region’s issues.
Smart Growth In Action: Lowry Neighborhood Project, Denver/Aurora, Colorado
In 1994, the Lowry Air Force Base closed, offering Denver and Aurora, the two communities with jurisdiction over the base's property, a chance to use the former military base to create a new neighborhood. From 1991 to 1993, the communities embarked on an intensive planning process with local residents and businesses. The reuse plan was completed even before the base closed, and this early planning contributed to the successful redevelopment.
Smart Growth In Action: Neighborhood Schools Initiative, Milwaukee Public Schools, Wisconsin
Faced with increasing numbers of children who had to be bused to distant schools because schools in their neighborhood had no room, Milwaukee Public Schools decided to take action to not only create more neighborhood schools, but also to restore the communities around them. In 1999, the Wisconsin legislature approved the Neighborhood Schools Initiative. It authorized the Milwaukee school district to borrow up to $170 million to build or renovate neighborhood schools.
Smart Growth In Action: New Columbia Neighborhood, Portland, Oregon
Columbia Villa was an isolated and distressed 82-acre public housing site. The Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) partnered with public and private stakeholders to redevelop the site and create New Columbia, a neighborhood built to improve economic opportunity, community livability, and environmental quality for both old and new residents.
Smart Growth In Action: Rosslyn-Ballston Metro Corridor, Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington’s smart growth planning approach places dense, mixed-use, infill development at five Metro stations—known as the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor—and tapers it down to residential neighborhoods. The result, as of 2004: Over 21 million square feet of office, retail, and commercial space; more than 3,000 hotel rooms; and almost 25,000 residences, creating vibrant “urban villages” where people live, shop, work, and play using transit, pedestrian walkways, bicycles, or cars.
Smart Growth In Action: Sacramento Transportation/Land Use Study, California
More than 5,000 community members, elected officials, and business leaders shaped the future of the Sacramento region through a series of workshops, regional conferences, web-based dialogue, and surveys. The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) initiated this two-year process—the Sacramento Region Blueprint: Transportation/Land Use Study—to examine current land use and future growth patterns and to plan where and how the region should grow.
Smart Growth In Action: San Juan Pueblo Master Land Use Plan, San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico
The San Juan Pueblo, just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has been inhabited for over 700 years. In 2000, San Juan Pueblo tribal members initiated a community planning process to articulate and implement a long-term vision for the pueblo. At community design meetings, the elders recalled, “There was always an eye on you as a child and everyone felt they could count on their neighbor.”
Smart Growth In Action: San Mateo Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Incentive Program, San Mateo, California
To give communities incentives to build more housing near rail stations, the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County created a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Incentive Program. It uses transportation funds to spur construction of needed housing and creates environmental benefits by giving people the option of commuting and running errands by rail. This program directly links land use with efficient use of the existing transportation system.
Smart Growth In Action: Southside Neighborhood, Greensboro, North Carolina
The Southside neighborhood, a 10-acre revitalization project, is one of Greensboro, North Carolina’s first significant mixed-use, infill projects. The city’s Department of Housing and Community Development developed a Traditional Neighborhood District Ordinance to assist Southside’s redevelopment. The revitalization, just one-and-a-half blocks from Greensboro’s historic main street, transformed a blighted area into a thriving, attractive district. The community capitalized on a rich stock of historic buildings and public spaces to restore this downtown neighborhood.
Smart Growth In Action: Stapleton's Sustainable Development Plan, Denver, Colorado
When Denver's Stapleton International Airport closed in 1995, the city saw an opportunity to use the land to create a great new neighborhood. Over six years, starting before the airport even closed, citizens, the business community, and the city and county worked on a development plan that committed to environmental and economic sustainability and social equity. The plan would generate economic development, enhance existing neighborhoods and businesses, protect environmental quality and open space, and offer high-quality, attractive homes to people with a range of incomes. The plan also encourages education, from preschool to ''lifelong learning'' for adults, and balanced transportation options, including walking, bicycling, public transportation, and driving. In 1999, the city selected Forest City Stapleton, Inc. as the master developer, and construction began in 2001.
Smart Growth In Action: The Village at NTC, Department of the Navy, Southwest Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command San Diego, California
Re-using former military bases and addressing the lack of decent and affordable military housing are concerns for many cities and the Armed Forces. At the San Diego Naval Training Center, the Department of the Navy addressed these issues with a development that serves as a welcome addition to the nearby Point Loma community.
Smart Growth In Action: Village of Hyannis, Barnstable, Massachusetts
In recent decades, the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, a coastal community on Cape Cod, has experienced tremendous growth. Hyannis, one of the town's seven villages, saw growth at its edges characterized by low-density residential subdivisions and strip retail, while its downtown was plagued with vacant storefronts and disinvestment. This pattern strained local infrastructure and impacted the town's fragile natural resources and historic character.
Smart Growth In Action: Wellington Neighborhood, Breckenridge, Colorado
The Wellington Neighborhood provides affordable and market-rate housing on a site that was once dredge-mined. The project recycles land, houses working families, and provides free transit to the nearby downtown. It helps the region avoid “mountain sprawl” by creating an attractive, compact neighborhood, a design that has fostered a strong sense of community in a short time.
Smart Growth In Action:
Third Street Cottages, Langley, Washington
Langley, Washington, is a small town on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound, an hour away from downtown Seattle and Everett by road and ferry. The town is home to about 1,000 people and retains a village character despite being under moderate development pressure.
Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth in Communities Across America
Natural Resources Defense Council. 2001. Through 35 real-world stories, this book illustrates how people in cities, suburbs, and rural areas have found profitable, community-oriented alternatives to sprawl.
The Effects of Inclusionary Zoning on Local Housing Markets
This study by New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy and the Center for Housing Policy in Washington D.C. provides local decision-makers with valuable evidence on the impacts of Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) -- a popular but often-controversial affordable housing policy.
The Smart Growth Tool Kit
ULI has a history of providing best practice case studies for various types of development projects. This tradition continues as ULI seeks to elevate the smart growth dialogue by providing examples of projects that reflect smart growth characteristics.
Toward a Sustainable Evanston
Report Authors David Osborne and Mike Kretsch look at other cities to see how they perceive sustainability, how they've mobilized their citizenry around the idea of sustainability, and what projects they have launched.
ULI Development Case Studies
ULI offers a growing library of best practice case studies for various types of development projects. This tradition continues as ULI seeks to elevate the smart growth dialogue by providing examples of projects that reflect smart growth characteristics.
Urban Redevelopment Case Studies
Economic Development Case Studies from the National Association of REALTORS® examines seven redevelopment projects from across the country that have served as catalytic projects for urban revitalization in their communities.
Virginia's Green Buildings
From ground-breaking homes to high performance schools, case studies of exciting green building projects in our region are now available on the Virginia Sustainable Building Network (VSBN) website.
Virginia's Green Buildings
From ground-breaking homes to high performance schools, case studies of exciting green building projects in Virginia are now available on the Virginia Sustainable Building Network (VSBN) website.
