Smart Growth Network E-Newsletter

This was the official website for the e-newsletter of Smart Growth until 2013. When their current website was built this site's domain registration was allowed to expire. Recently I discovered that the domain for smartgrowthonline.org was available, so I bought it with the goal of recreating some of its content from archived pages and to point visitors to their new site: www.smartgrowth.org. I definitely didn't want someone else purchasing the domain and re-purposing it for something that had nothing in common with smart growth strategies and guiding principles.

As a progressive maritime attorney I am a strong advocate of the smart growth principles. Whenever I go on business trips or vacation I look around me to see if the community I am in has chosen smart growth strategies. On a trip to the Hawaiian island of Maui, we chose to rent a condo in one of the many resorts on the western coast of this gorgeous tropical island. We did a lot of the "tourist" activities including traveling to the top of the Haleakala Crater to see the sun rise. We also did a lot of driving, visiting various areas of the island. It is impressive what Maui in general, and the various resorts have done to get the most out of their developments and to maximize their investments. I'm one of a group of maritime lawyers in Louisiana with a practice based in New Orleans, vacationing here but looking for a smart way to invest in the future. My partners think that Maui offers many of the attributes we look for in location opportunities. New Orleans and our practice of maritime law is such a far cry from this place, but there may be a future in both for us. They obviously are protecting their beautiful natural environment which draws many tourists to the island while at the same time promoting tourism, preserving the best of their past and creating a bright future for generations to come. So what's the smart growth business move? We're thinking about it.

The Smart Growth Network may have a more updated website, but their message remains the same.

GET BIWEEKLY SMART GROWTH NEWS SUMMARIES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

SGN E-Newsletter

The Smart Growth Network has been providing U.S. and international news summaries of smart growth activity since 1997.

State by State News Headlines will be sent to you biweekly including news summaries from around the country, information on the latest print, web, audio, and visual resources, and smart growth events

About

In 1996, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined with several non-profit and government organizations to form the Smart Growth Network (SGN). The Network was formed in response to increasing community concerns about the need for new ways to grow that boost the economy, protect the environment, and enhance community vitality. The Network's partners include environmental groups, historic preservation organizations, professional organizations, developers, real estate interests; local and state government entities. See a full listing and description of the more than 40 organizations that constitute the Smart Growth Network

MISSION

The SGN works to encourage development that serves the economy, community and the environment. It is a forum for:

Raising public awareness of how growth can improve community quality of life;
Promoting smart growth best practices;
Developing and sharing information, innovative policies, tools and ideas;
Cultivating strategies to address barriers to and advance opportunities for smart growth.

COLLABORATION

Since its inception, the Smart Growth Network has become a forum for bringing together different constituencies to share their diverse ideas and finding opportunities for smart growth. Several collaborations have evolved:

Development of Policy Options for Smart Growth and Affordability
A task force of 15 organizations, representing SGN, housing, and community development organizations, collaborating to demonstrate how smart growth achieves affordable housing goals.

Partners for Smart Growth Conference
An annual conference focused on smart growth policy and implementation, featuring projects and best practices from across the country.

Redevelopment Roundtable
The Urban Land Institute, with the close cooperation of the National Neighborhood Coalition, hosted a forum focused on helping developers and public officials engage communities to create "win-win" redevelopment decisions.

More Background On SmartGrowthOnline.org

SmartGrowthOnline.org represents one of the most influential hubs for information, research, and policy resources dedicated to smart growth—a planning philosophy that promotes sustainable development, walkable communities, environmental stewardship, and economically vibrant urban centers. For years, the Smart Growth Network (SGN) relied on this website as its primary digital home and clearinghouse for documents, case studies, newsletters, toolkits, and collaborative initiatives.

Although newer platforms and redesigned websites have since taken over the network’s ongoing activity, SmartGrowthOnline.org remains historically significant. It preserves the intellectual DNA of the smart-growth movement and continues to be referenced by planners, attorneys, developers, academics, preservationists, and policy makers seeking to understand the origins and principles of the modern smart-growth framework.

This article delivers a comprehensive 1700+ word overview of the website, its ownership, mission, history, content, cultural significance, audiences, and key contributions to sustainable community development.

Ownership and Organizational Context

SmartGrowthOnline.org emerged from a partnership launched in 1996, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined with more than 40 nonprofit and governmental partners to create the Smart Growth Network. The Smart Growth Network (SGN) was conceived as a coalition capable of addressing a pressing national problem: sprawl and its consequences—declining urban vitality, loss of farmland, inefficient infrastructure spending, and environmental degradation.

The website functioned as one of the SGN’s major programmatic tools. It served as the publishing platform for SGN newsletters, educational materials, policy briefs, and collaboration reports.

SmartGrowthOnline.org also notes that the website was a project of NCAT—the National Center for Appropriate Technology—funded by a grant from EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities. This established the website as an official extension of the smart-growth educational mission, not a commercial venture.

Mission and Purpose

The mission of the Smart Growth Network, and by extension SmartGrowthOnline.org, is to promote development patterns that “serve the economy, community, and environment.” The site advanced this mission by:

Raising awareness about the benefits of smart, intentional growth
Promoting best practices across the planning, design, and real-estate sectors
Sharing innovative policy tools, research, and strategies
Encouraging collaboration among diverse stakeholders

In practice, SmartGrowthOnline.org became the central interface where communities, leaders, planners, attorneys, and developers could learn how smart-growth principles might be applied to their own cities and towns.

The Content and Functional Role of SmartGrowthOnline.org

SGN E-Newsletter

One of the most important components of the website was the Smart Growth Network E-Newsletter, an information service active since 1997. It provided:

National and international news summaries
State-by-state smart-growth headlines
New academic and professional resources
Announcements of conferences, events, and releases
Summaries of print, web, audio, and visual materials

This newsletter earned a large, professional readership and helped unify the national conversation within planning, environmental advocacy, and sustainable development.

Educational Resources

SmartGrowthOnline.org hosted a substantial library containing:

Policy documents
Best-practice toolkits
Case studies from cities and regions
Guides for transit-oriented development
Research summaries
Planning templates
Affordable-housing strategies
Environmental-protection frameworks

Its archive became one of the most frequently cited resources in planning education and professional training.

Collaborative Initiatives Highlighted on the Website

Development of Policy Options for Smart Growth and Affordability

A 15-organization collaborative task force demonstrated how smart-growth principles could be aligned with affordable-housing outcomes. This countered the misconception that density and redevelopment must raise housing costs.

Partners for Smart Growth Conference

An annual conference showcasing:

Best practices
Successful redevelopment projects
Model zoning reforms
Infrastructure strategies
Local-government innovation
Community-driven planning successes

SmartGrowthOnline.org served as the central location for conference updates and materials.

Redevelopment Roundtable

This initiative, involving the Urban Land Institute and the National Neighborhood Coalition, focused on developer–community engagement strategies that result in “win-win” redevelopment.

Historical Context: The Rise of Smart Growth

By the late 20th century, American communities were grappling with:

Rapid suburban expansion
High infrastructure costs
Loss of farmland and natural areas
Automobile dependency
Declining city centers

SmartGrowthOnline.org became the intellectual home for the movement that recognized these problems and provided alternative development strategies based on:

Walkability
Mixed land uses
Compact design
Public transit
Environmental protection
Community participation

The website documented the evolution of these ideas from theory to widely adopted practice.

The Ten Smart Growth Principles

The website consistently emphasized the ten foundational principles:

Mixed land uses
Compact building design
Range of housing choices
Walkable neighborhoods
Distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
Preservation of open space and natural areas
Strengthening and revitalizing existing communities
Providing a variety of transportation choices
Predictable, fair, cost-effective development
Encouraging community and stakeholder collaboration

These principles became the national framework for sustainable development.

Examples of Smart Growth Success

Portland, Oregon

A pioneering city known for:

Its early urban growth boundary
Extensive public-transit systems
Walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods
Strong regional planning coordination

Portland became a model for the entire movement.

Arlington, Virginia

Revitalized declining commercial corridors by focusing on:

Transit-oriented development
High-density zoning near Metro stations
Mixed-use redevelopment
Pedestrian-focused design

Its success significantly increased both economic activity and livability.

Davidson, North Carolina

A small town that implemented:

Open-space preservation
Resident-first planning
Mixed-use zoning
Stringent pedestrian infrastructure

Davidson is often cited as a textbook application of smart growth on a small-community scale.

Cultural and Social Significance

Smart growth is not only a development strategy—it's a cultural philosophy that emphasizes:

Community identity
Social equity
Access to housing
Environmental stewardship
Public health
Civic participation

SmartGrowthOnline.org helped promote these values across the country by making them accessible through plain-language resources and success stories.

Audience and Professional Reach

SmartGrowthOnline.org served:

Urban planners
Attorneys (land-use, maritime, environmental, municipal)
Real-estate developers
Preservationists
Local government officials
Transportation experts
Environmental advocates
Nonprofit organizations
Students and academics

The site’s accessible format made it equally useful to seasoned professionals and engaged civic participants.

Popularity and Influence

Although early traffic metrics are not publicly available, the website:

Was widely cited in planning literature
Appeared in academic syllabi
Was frequently used by government planners
Served as one of the longest-running smart-growth information hubs
Supported a national professional community through the SGN newsletter

It became one of the most trusted “first stops” for anyone entering the field.

Press, Media, and Academic Impact

Journalists regularly referenced SmartGrowthOnline.org when covering:

Redevelopment
Housing
Transportation innovation
Environmental protection
Community revitalization

Its resources influenced:

Major newspaper features
Policy reports
University studies
Planning and zoning board presentations

It helped translate smart-growth principles into public understanding.

Domain History and Restoration

After the Smart Growth Network migrated to newer platforms, the SmartGrowthOnline.org domain expired. It was later purchased by an individual committed to:

Preserving SGN’s historical archive
Preventing domain misuse
Restoring archived content
Redirecting visitors to the updated SGN website

This stewardship reflects the deep respect that professionals and advocates still hold for the site.

Critiques and Challenges

Praise

Supporters note that the website:

Helped unify planning and sustainability professionals
Disseminated research widely
Offered practical tools for communities
Encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration

Criticisms

Common critiques of the smart-growth movement (and by association, the website) include:

Potential for gentrification if affordability isn’t safeguarded
Resistance to density in suburban communities
High costs of transit infrastructure
Slow adoption of new zoning policies

Structural Challenges

The site also navigated:

Changing funding structures
Transition to new platforms
The emergence of competing planning sites

Still, its educational value remains substantial.

SmartGrowthOnline.org is a cornerstone of the smart-growth movement’s early digital identity. It served as the central repository of policies, ideas, tools, newsletters, and best practices that continue to shape urban planning, environmental policy, and community development across the United States.

Today, it remains an invaluable historical resource and a testament to the movement’s commitment to sustainable, equitable, community-centered growth. Its influence persists not only through preserved documents but through the thousands of communities, professionals, and students who learned from it and continue applying its principles to today’s challenges.

The Smart Growth Network does not lobby and does not take on individual development decisions.

SmartGrowthOnline.org