What is smart growth?
Smart growth is an approach to community design that connects housing, transportation, and land use to create healthy, prosperous, and resilient neighborhoods.
About us
Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.
Our work
Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.
Explore Our Signature Reports
Impact
Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.
Events
Throughout the year, we host a number of in-person and virtual events covering topics related to public health, social equity, and climate resilience.
About Us
Introducing Smart Growth America
At the heart of the American dream is the simple hope that each of us can live in a neighborhood that's healthy, prosperous, and resilient.
Our work helps make these dreams a reality.
Smart growth looks different from place to place—it’s an overall approach to development that encourages a mix of building types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options, development within existing neighborhoods, and robust community engagement.
Our focus areas—transportation and land use—are deeply connected. How and where we build housing, jobs, and services directly impact how people move through their communities. Sprawling, car-dependent development limits options and strains resources, while smart growth prioritizes building within existing neighborhoods to support affordability, accessibility, and sustainability. By aligning land use, housing, and transportation, we can create vibrant, inclusive places where people can thrive, no matter how they choose to get around.
Transportation and Complete Streets
Americans want a transportation system that gets them where they need to go safely and efficiently. Unfortunately, federal transportation investments have failed to develop a system that can accomplish this one, essential task. No matter how much we spend, traffic, emissions, and pedestrian deaths only seem to increase. It’s time to admit our current strategy isn’t working and reorient our investments around what actually matters to everyday people.
Housing and development
What we build and where we build it are the decisions that shape how we live our lives. Too many of those decisions separate people from their jobs and daily needs. We’re working to rewrite the old rules like zoning codes and update the status quo on housing and economic development to ensure that everyone gets a shot at living in a place that is healthy, prosperous, and resilient.
Explore how Smart Growth America impacts communities.
At Smart Growth America, we work alongside communities of all sizes to create places where people can thrive. Our goals reflect the key areas where we seek to make an impact—advancing smart, equitable, and sustainable development that benefits everyone. Click to learn more about how we are working to bring about measurable change:
How we do it
At the core of our overall approach is empowering communities through direct community support, powerful advocacy, and thought leadership to realize our vision of livable places, healthy people, and shared prosperity.
Direct community support
Smart Growth America’s Technical Assistance programs work alongside and within communities of all sizes and organizations to build support for policies and practices that will lead to healthy, prosperous, and resilient places.
Powerful advocacy
Smart Growth America collaborates with Congress and the administration to ensure federal policies foster economically strong, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable communities nationwide.
Impactful research and reports
Smart Growth America guides leaders in creating inclusive, efficient, and sustainable living environments through thought leadership, sharing cutting-edge insights and innovative strategies.
Resources
Roadblocks to safety: How state preemption puts pedestrians at risk
Building the stack webinar series: Financing smart growth real estate projects
SGA testifies before Vermont State Legislature on analysis of new infrastructure financing program
Stakeholders call for a smarter Opportunity Zone incentive to deliver a variety of housing types in wider range of communities
Meet the 2025 Culture and Community Network
Improving transportation and road safety in Monroe, LA
Opportunity Zones for Impact: Tell Congress to pass reforms to the federal Opportunity Zone tax incentive
Complete Streets progress in Airway Heights, Washington
Downtown Washington D.C. sub-lease opportunity
Four takeaways from the National Brownfields Coalition’s federal policy webinar
Quick builds in Kentucky bring local and state teams together
Red light, green light: What smart growth provisions are passing go in the pending House tax legislation
Four takeaways from our Climate-informed zoning webinar
The National Brownfields Coalition testifies a second time on importance of federal brownfields program
Building forward: Three takeaways from the 2025 Equity Summit
Roadblocks to safety: How state preemption puts pedestrians at risk
Building the stack webinar series: Financing smart growth real estate projects
SGA testifies before Vermont State Legislature on analysis of new infrastructure financing program
Stakeholders call for a smarter Opportunity Zone incentive to deliver a variety of housing types in wider range of communities
Meet the 2025 Culture and Community Network
Improving transportation and road safety in Monroe, LA
Opportunity Zones for Impact: Tell Congress to pass reforms to the federal Opportunity Zone tax incentive
Complete Streets progress in Airway Heights, Washington
Downtown Washington D.C. sub-lease opportunity
Four takeaways from the National Brownfields Coalition’s federal policy webinar
Quick builds in Kentucky bring local and state teams together
Red light, green light: What smart growth provisions are passing go in the pending House tax legislation
Four takeaways from our Climate-informed zoning webinar
The National Brownfields Coalition testifies a second time on importance of federal brownfields program
Building forward: Three takeaways from the 2025 Equity Summit
Roadblocks to safety: How state preemption puts pedestrians at risk
Building the stack webinar series: Financing smart growth real estate projects
SGA testifies before Vermont State Legislature on analysis of new infrastructure financing program
Stakeholders call for a smarter Opportunity Zone incentive to deliver a variety of housing types in wider range of communities
Meet the 2025 Culture and Community Network
News
By Smart Growth America • February 12, 2025
News & Insights
By Smart Growth America • February 12, 2025
News & Insights
Our programs and coalitions
At Smart Growth America, our various programs and coalitions work collaboratively to shape communities where people thrive. Through research, advocacy, and hands-on support, our network of advocates, decision-makers, and field experts work together to advance policies and practices that prioritize safety, equity, and sustainability.
Join the Movement
Support policies and initiatives that promote smart growth, equitable development, and access to affordable housing.
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Livable places. Healthy people. Shared prosperity.
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