Smart Growth America’s research helps connect local, state and federal policies with their impacts on our economy, our neighborhoods and our environment. Our reports give policymakers, businesses and local groups the tools they need to make the case for smart growth in their communities.
| Building for the 21st Century: American support for sustainable communities March 2011 A poll by Smart Growth America has found that in the midst of a struggling U.S. economy, support for smart growth strategies remains high among Americans across the country and on both sides of the political aisle. |
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| Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation February 2011 “Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation” evaluates how successful states have been in creating jobs with their flexible $26.6 billion of transportation funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). The results, discussed in this report, should guide governors and other leaders in revitalizing America’s transportation system, maximizing job creation from transportation dollars and rebuilding the economy. Click here to read more about and download a full version of Recent Lessons from the Stimulus |
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| Getting Back on Track: Climate Change and State Transportation December 2010 Current transportation policies in almost all 50 states either fail to curb carbon emission rates or, in some cases, actually increase emissions. This contradiction between state policies and broader efforts to reduce carbon emissions means not only that many states are missing opportunities to protect clean air, but it means they are missing economic opportunities, as well. Click here to download Getting Back on Track: Climate Change and State Transportation Policy (PDF) |
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| Analyzing the Stimulus February 2010 In 2009, Congress passed a $787 billion stimulus package with billions for transportation projects. Throughout 2009-10, Smart Growth America examined whether states were effectively addressing the enormous backlogs of road and bridge repairs and inadequate and underfunded public transportation systems. The findings are discussed at length in this series of reports. |
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| Policy Analysis: Source Water Protection 2009-2010 New data is helping us understand how land use and development choices affect the quality of ground and surface water sources, making it clear that well-intentioned policies can be working at cross-purposes. This set of technical assistance reports draw on this new knowledge to suggest opportunities for more effective collaboration between public and private stakeholders and better congruence between various state policies to enhance drinking water source water protection. Click here for more information about Smart Growth America’s source water protection policy analysis |
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| Vacant Properties Research series 2005-2009 The Vacant Properties Campaign, a partnership between Smart Growth America, Local Initiative Support Corporation, The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech and the Genesee Institute, worked to ensure that municipalities would not struggle alone in solving the problems associated with vacant and abandoned properties. This series of in-depth reports analyze existing issues and strategies and propose new techniques for dealing with the unique issues faced by each community. Click here to read Smart Growth America’s vacant property policy analyses. |
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| Choosing Our Community’s Future July 2005 Choosing Our Community’s Future is the rare resource designed specifically for regular citizens who want to make a positive contribution to shaping the growth and development of their neighborhoods, towns and regions. The guidebook will help readers make rational, compelling arguments against poorly conceived plans, but more importantly, it will help them paint a vision of what they do want. |
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| Endangered by Sprawl 2005 The rapid conversion of once-natural areas and farmland into subdivisions, shopping centers, roads and parking lots has become a leading threat to America’s native plants and animals. Endangered by Sprawl integrates widely accepted measures of development density and projections of population growth with a new analysis of the comprehensive data on rare and endangered species that is compiled by the NatureServe network of state natural heritage programs. |
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| Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl August 2003 This report presents the first national study to show a clear association between the type of place people live and their activity levels, weight and health. |
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| Measuring Sprawl and its Impact 2002 In this first-of-its-kind study, the product of three years of research, the authors define, measure and evaluate metropolitan sprawl and its impacts and create an impact based on four factors: residential density, neighborhood mix of uses, strength of activity centers and downtowns, and accessibility of the street network. |
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| Paving Our Way to Water Shortages August 2002 This new study by American Rivers, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Smart Growth America investigated what happens to water supplies when we replace our natural areas with roads, parking lots and buildings. |
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