Smart Growth America

Smart Growth America is a nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow: one that protects farmland and open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and provides more transportation choices.

In the mid-1990’s advocates for the environment, affordable housing, farmland preservation, transportation reform, and community reinvestment started calling for the formation of a nationwide coalition to coordinate efforts to promote smart growth. The fruit of those efforts, Smart Growth America, debuted in October 2000 and quickly became the focal point for advocacy on an array of issues confronting communities nationwide. With more than 100 partner organizations across the nation, Smart Growth America is working to realize a shared vision of growth that protects the environment while developing the economy, advances social equity, promotes affordable housing and community development and preserves farmland.

We believe that the asphalt-intensive sprawl that dominates our landscape is no one’s idea of the American Dream. By paving over prime farmland and open space; subsidizing new greenfield development on the urban fringe, and promoting disinvestment in downtowns and main streets, sprawl continues to undermine America’s environment, economy and social fabric. Paradoxically, while advertised as providing greater freedom, much of this development has in reality limited our choices. We believe that smart growth provides more – and better – choices for our communities: better choices in where we live, what kind of home we live in, and how we get around.

We’re not the only ones calling for smart growth. Increasingly, citizens across the nation are demanding it — in polls, in the market, and at the ballot box. Americans want fewer hours in traffic and more opportunities to enjoy green space; housing that is both affordable and close to jobs and activities; healthy cities, towns and suburbs; air and water of the highest quality; and a landscape our children can be proud to inherit. Smart growth offers the best chance we have of attaining those goals, and the Smart Growth America coalition is working for nothing less.