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.
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.
Focus Areas
Transportation and Complete Streets
Imagine an America where every community - rural or urban - has a transportation system that provides seamless access to jobs, healthcare, education, and opportunities.
Our transportation system fails to get people where they need to go safely and efficiently. We're working to change that.
Safe, connected, and people-first transportation is essential for thriving communities. Yet in too many places, streets are built to prioritize high-speed traffic over the safety and mobility of everyone else—especially people walking, biking, rolling, or taking transit. This has deadly consequences. We're working to change that by reimagining transportation systems that work for all Americans.
Why smart growth is the right strategy for transportation
Smart growth integrates transportation and land use so that people can safely and affordably get where they need to go, regardless of whether they have access to a personal vehicle. When we build communities where jobs, schools, shops, and homes are closer together—and accessible by multiple forms of transportation—we reduce the need for long car trips, lower household transportation costs, and cut emissions.
Complete Streets are a cornerstone of smart growth. They are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, and are key to addressing our national roadway safety crisis, improving health, and expanding access to opportunity—particularly for people in historically disinvested and low-income communities and rural areas.
How we lead
Smart Growth America leads two programs that advance transportation reform across the country:
- The National Complete Streets Coalition is a leading voice for designing safer, more equitable streets. We help communities adopt and implement Complete Streets policies that reflect local goals, provide hands-on technical assistance, and track and analyze progress through tools like the Policy Atlas and our signature report, Dangerous by Design.
- Transportation for America advocates for federal, state, and local transportation policy that puts people first. We work to shift funding toward maintenance and safety, ensure that transportation dollars serve public outcomes—not just vehicle speed—and support local leaders in building more connected, transit-accessible communities.
Our research and reports
New report reveals bike and pedestrian projects create more jobs than those for cars only
Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation
Dangerous by Design 2009
States and the Stimulus: 120 day report
The Best Stimulus for the Money
Maryland Complete Streets Leadership Academy Report
Healing our Highways Report
Best Complete Streets 2023 Webinar
Completing Rural Highways: Challenges and strategies for state agencies
Completing Rural Highways: Maintaining assets in California and North Carolina
Dangerous by Design 2024
Transportation Artists in Residence: A Landscape of an Emerging Field
We can advance electric vehicles and smart growth at the same time
Divided by Design (PDF)
The Best Complete Streets Policies 2023
Complete Streets Demonstration Projects (Washington)
Arts and Transportation Rapid Response 2.0
Complete Streets + COVID-19
Dangerous By Design 2021
The Scenic Route
Transition Recommendations for the Biden Administration
Driving Down Emissions
A Green New Deal for City and Suburban Transportation
The Congestion Con: How more lanes and more money equals more traffic
The State of Transportation and Health Equity
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2018
Building a better state DOT
Dangerous by Design 2019
'Crossroads of America' gets a bus lane
Safety Demonstration Projects: Case studies from Orlando, FL, Lexington, KY, and South Bend, IN
Transcending Oil: Hawaii's Path to a Clean Energy Economy
The Best Complete Streets Initiatives of 2017
Complete Streets for Health Equity: An Evaluation of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2016
Dangerous by Design 2014: State by State
Empty Spaces: Real parking needs at five TODs
Dangerous by Design 2016
Expanding the Economic Recovery to All Americans through Smarter Growth: Recommendations for the Incoming Administration
Changing Complete Streets Policy: A Brief Guidebook
What We Learned from the Stimulus
Zoning for Transportation Choices | Berkeley, CA
Bicycle Parking Standards | Philadelphia, PA
Complete Streets | Indianapolis, IN
Market-priced Parking | Washington, DC | Redwood City, CA
Parking Cash Out | Santa Monica, CA
Pre-tax Commuter Benefit | San Francisco, CA
Best Complete Streets Policies of 2015
Florida: Complete Streets Implementation Plan (M2D2)
"Evaluating Complete Streets Projects: A guide for practitioners" now available
Evaluating Complete Streets Projects: A guide for practitioners
Safer Streets, Stronger Economies
The Innovative DOT, 2015
Dangerous by Design 2014
New tool kit highlights Complete Streets lessons from the southeast that any community can learn from
Repair Priorities 2014: Transportation strategies to improve road conditions and state fiscal outlooks
Announcing the best Complete Streets policies of 2013
Best Complete Streets Policies of 2013
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2014
The Innovative DOT, 2014
Announcing the best Complete Streets policies of 2012
Coming next week: The best Complete Streets policies of 2012
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2012
The Innovative DOT, 2012
Complete Streets Policy Analysis 2011
Dangerous by Design 2011
New report reveals bike and pedestrian projects create more jobs than those for cars only
Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation
Dangerous by Design 2009
States and the Stimulus: 120 day report
The Best Stimulus for the Money
Maryland Complete Streets Leadership Academy Report
Healing our Highways Report
Best Complete Streets 2023 Webinar
Completing Rural Highways: Challenges and strategies for state agencies
Completing Rural Highways: Maintaining assets in California and North Carolina
Dangerous by Design 2024
Transportation Artists in Residence: A Landscape of an Emerging Field
We can advance electric vehicles and smart growth at the same time
Divided by Design (PDF)
The Best Complete Streets Policies 2023
Complete Streets Demonstration Projects (Washington)
Arts and Transportation Rapid Response 2.0
Complete Streets + COVID-19
Dangerous By Design 2021
The Scenic Route
Transition Recommendations for the Biden Administration
Driving Down Emissions
A Green New Deal for City and Suburban Transportation
The Congestion Con: How more lanes and more money equals more traffic
The State of Transportation and Health Equity
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2018
Building a better state DOT
Dangerous by Design 2019
'Crossroads of America' gets a bus lane
Safety Demonstration Projects: Case studies from Orlando, FL, Lexington, KY, and South Bend, IN
Transcending Oil: Hawaii's Path to a Clean Energy Economy
The Best Complete Streets Initiatives of 2017
Complete Streets for Health Equity: An Evaluation of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2016
Dangerous by Design 2014: State by State
Empty Spaces: Real parking needs at five TODs
Dangerous by Design 2016
Expanding the Economic Recovery to All Americans through Smarter Growth: Recommendations for the Incoming Administration
Changing Complete Streets Policy: A Brief Guidebook
What We Learned from the Stimulus
Zoning for Transportation Choices | Berkeley, CA
Bicycle Parking Standards | Philadelphia, PA
Complete Streets | Indianapolis, IN
Market-priced Parking | Washington, DC | Redwood City, CA
Parking Cash Out | Santa Monica, CA
Pre-tax Commuter Benefit | San Francisco, CA
Best Complete Streets Policies of 2015
Florida: Complete Streets Implementation Plan (M2D2)
"Evaluating Complete Streets Projects: A guide for practitioners" now available
Evaluating Complete Streets Projects: A guide for practitioners
Safer Streets, Stronger Economies
The Innovative DOT, 2015
Dangerous by Design 2014
New tool kit highlights Complete Streets lessons from the southeast that any community can learn from
Repair Priorities 2014: Transportation strategies to improve road conditions and state fiscal outlooks
Announcing the best Complete Streets policies of 2013
Best Complete Streets Policies of 2013
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2014
The Innovative DOT, 2014
Announcing the best Complete Streets policies of 2012
Coming next week: The best Complete Streets policies of 2012
The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2012
The Innovative DOT, 2012
Complete Streets Policy Analysis 2011
Dangerous by Design 2011
New report reveals bike and pedestrian projects create more jobs than those for cars only
Recent Lessons from the Stimulus: Transportation Funding and Job Creation
Dangerous by Design 2009
States and the Stimulus: 120 day report
The Best Stimulus for the Money
Our work
By Smart Growth America • February 12, 2025
News & Insights
By Smart Growth America • February 12, 2025
News & Insights
Programs and coalitions
Smart Growth America programs and coalitions advance transportation reform to allow Americans to get where they need to go safely and efficiently.
Transportation for America is an advocacy organization made up of local, regional, and state leaders who envision a transportation system that safely, affordably, and conveniently connects people of all means and abilities to jobs, services, and opportunities through multiple modes of travel.
The State Smart Transportation Initiative is a project of Smart Growth America and the High Road Strategy Center, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. SSTI supports state transportation agencies committed to equity, sustainability, and transparency.
The National Complete Streets Coalition is a non-profit, non-partisan alliance of public interest organizations and transportation professionals committed to the development and implementation of Complete Streets policies and practices.
Get the latest news from our programs and coalitions in your inbox!
Advocacy
Help us shape the future of sustainable communities. Be an advocate for smart growth policies for healthy, prosperous, and resilient neighborhoods. Act now!
Join the Movement
Support policies and initiatives that advance smart growth, make our streets safer for everyone, and expand access to convenient, affordable transportation options.
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