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Our impact

Smart Growth America's stories of impact highlight the transformative effects of smart growth initiatives on communities across the country, showcasing how efforts have led to more livable, equitable, and sustainable urban environments.

IMPACT

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As global temperatures rise, we must change how we approach planning and building transportation infrastructure. Typhoon Halong displaced over a thousand Alaskans last fall, a devastating piece of a much bigger picture of how climate change is affecting the northernmost state. What happens in Alaska poses questions for us all to consider as we adapt our transportation approaches to our changing climate.
Over a thousand Alaskans across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta were displaced by storm remnants from Typhoon Halong in <a href="https://www.kyuk.org/public-safety/2025-11-15/what-we-know-about-recovery-a-month-after-ex-typhoon-halong">October 2025</a>. Some communities were nearly entirely evacuated to Anchorage, Bethel, and nearby villages. The storm caused severe damage to homes, businesses, and essential infrastructure, on top of the existing threats climate change brings to these coastal tundra areas. People lost their homes, the places they grew up, and even their histories, such as the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-storm-battered-western-alaska-scattering-thousands-of-indigenous-artifacts-across-the-sand-180987606/">Yup’ik artifacts</a> in Quinhagak that washed to sea. Many communities now face the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/12/15/nx-s1-5596136/alaska-storm-native-climate-change">impossible choice</a> between returning and rebuilding their village or relocating it entirely. There is no easy answer here.
Smart Growth America visited Bethel, Anchorage, and three other Alaskan cities in 2024, helping local residents, tribal councils, and the state envision a transportation system that works for everyone, regardless of the size of their community or how they travel. Complete Streets, the approach to building and maintaining safe streets for people of all ages and abilities, can be applied to communities of all sizes and climates, even in the coldest parts of the country. We were met with amazing kindness and hospitality across Alaska, including from the Association of Village Council Presidents staff, who showed us around the villages between Bethel and Napakiak. Everyone we worked with brought great creativity in imagining how to improve mobility and access in their communities. What we saw was not just an extraordinarily wide range of transportation needs, from snow machines and the <a href="https://www.kyuk.org/public-safety/2025-02-06/reestablished-kuskokwim-ice-road-brings-lots-of-traffic-to-lower-river">Kuskokwim Ice Road</a> in the winter to pedestrian boardwalks and four-wheelers in the summer, but the urgent need to future-proof how we move for the changing climate.
Most of Alaska is <a href="https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=ecosystems.permafrost">permafrost</a>, soil that is frozen year-round a few inches to a few feet below the surface. As global temperatures rise, the permafrost is <a href="https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/permafrost-thaw-warming-world-arctic-institute-permafrost-series-fall-winter-2020/">thawing</a>, causing structural instability for all sorts of infrastructure, enormous disruption to existing cultures and habitats, and the release of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/permafrost-climate-change-research-alberta-9.7025747">yet unknown</a> amounts of additional carbon. We saw <a href="https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/research/assets/pdf/erdc-crrel-tr-14-1.pdf">thermosyphons</a> along Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway in Bethel, which reduce the damage from the thawing permafrost by using the cold air temperature to keep the ground frozen and stable. Though effective, this technology and other strategies to fight permafrost thaw cannot entirely prevent the soil from shifting. How can infrastructure be maintained when the ground is buckling underneath us?
During our conversations with Bethel leaders, the Association of Village Council Presidents, and the state, the need for improved data and tracking technology emerged as one of the Y-K Delta’s urgent safety priorities. Data on transportation safety, particularly pedestrian fatality data, need <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/how-pedestrian-crash-data-needs-to-change/">improvement</a> across the U.S. The impacts of <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/data-suggest-a-decrease-in-roadway-deaths-but-big-questions-remain/">federal cuts</a> to both agency budgets and staff on the reliability of pedestrian data are yet to be seen. In Bethel, we heard a clear need for sonar for offshore search-and-rescue, crash, and fall data from villages and trails, and for all of this information to be incorporated into the state database for use in funding decisions. As storm severity increases and as weather is increasingly unpredictable, how can we prioritize data to paint a full and accurate picture of these impacts?
Bethel is the regional hub for the Y-K Delta. The airport serves large flights to Anchorage and numerous small connections to villages across the Delta. If someone from a village in the region needs to travel to the Lower 48 or go to the hospital, they’ll travel to Bethel. In an emergency, or during an evacuation like the one conducted after the devastation of the typhoon remnants, people must go to Bethel. Our work directly faced the question of what it looks like to design roads for people in crisis—if you’re at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Regional Hospital for a family emergency, the last thing you want to worry about is how to safely navigate the roads. Now imagine that crisis scaled up: what would it look like for our transportation system to support our own climate refugees?
We are <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/1.5-goal-threshold-research">on track to exceed</a> the 1.5 degrees C warming limit that countries around the world agreed to in the Paris Climate Agreement to help avoid the worst impacts of climate change. We cannot give up on the work to curb our emissions, even as we know the impacts of these extreme weather events are going to continue to get worse. Planning for a changing climate is <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/housing-for-havens-report/">what we do</a>—and what we must do urgently—with Alaska showing us what the future has in store.
We can’t keep designing our roads for the past, re-using car-centric tools <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/resources/driving-down-emissions/">we know don’t work</a>. Complete Streets and community-centered transportation planning are key to designing our built environment for the changing climate. Smart Growth America will continue working with communities of all sizes and geographies to face these difficult questions and to find the answers together.
Learn more about support for Alaskan communities from the <a href="https://www.avcp.org/western-alaska-disaster-relief-resources-for-evacuees/">Association of Village Council Presidents</a> and the <a href="https://alaskacf.org/western-alaska-relief">Alaska Community Foundation</a>.

Transportation for a changing climate: Questions from Alaska

We love supporting quick-build demonstration projects, but it’s not every day we get to install one ourselves! With the guidance of <a href="https://www.betterblock.org/">Better Block</a>, the SGA team and this year’s Community Connectors participants got to try our hands at rolling out the tape, pouring the paint, and getting our hands dirty while reimagining a street in Little Rock, AR.
This iteration of <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-center/three-communities-selected-to-learn-about-and-design-quick-build-demonstration-projects/&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1770917191778600&amp;usg=AOvVaw1qWCK1CAOG2bSKTdIm_IUm">Community Connectors</a> is supporting three teams to repair dangerous and divisive arterial roads with quick-build demonstration projects. One of the many low-cost strategies teams can use to improve safety and make a street more reflective of the surrounding community is to install asphalt art. This beautiful and fun approach to traffic calming has many well-documented benefits, but if you haven’t tried painting a road before, you may not know where to start. To gain some hands-on experience and make progress towards their own demonstration project designs, five members of each Community Connectors team joined us for a two-day workshop hosted by Little Rock, one of this year’s teams.
<figure id="attachment_109723" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-109723" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image4.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-109723" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image4-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image4-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image4.jpg 1999w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-109723" class="wp-caption-text">Photo Courtesy of Better Block</figcaption></figure>
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Dreamland Ballroom on West 9th Street is a historic performance venue, graced by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Today, the Ballroom stands out as one of the few remaining buildings on W 9th St that has withstood the area’s devastation from urban renewal and the construction of I-630 through the heart of this historic Black Main Street. Little Rock’s Community Connectors team’s project is focused on this district, with the Ballroom at one end of the corridor and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at the other. The Little Rock team and the owners of the Ballroom graciously hosted the Akron, OH, and Historic East Towson, MD, teams for the two-day workshop in January, providing a perfect venue for our activities.
<a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-109720" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image1-1024x683.png" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image1-1024x683.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image1-300x200.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image1-768x512.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image1.png 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Before any of our flights landed in Little Rock, the Better Block team designed a short-term mural for our cohort to install on the portion of West 9th Street right outside Dreamland Ballroom. We had two goals for this mural: to serve as part of the Little Rock project overall and to build some new skills and confidence in the Community Connectors cohort as they design their own longer-term demonstration projects.
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Motifs from the Ballroom stage were used as the design for the geometric mural, bringing the history of the building to everyone who passed by the street. Better Block sorted out permitting with the city (a relatively easy process, as Public Works often permits murals), procured the necessary materials, and coordinated the road closure for the time it would take to install the mural. When the temperature unexpectedly dropped the day of the workshop, the team knew paint would take longer than normal to dry. They quickly reached out to the city to extend the road closure for an extra day to give the paint time to set. With the additional 24 hours secured, Better Block was confident the mural would be ready in time, even with the cold weather. The ease of this process showed the city’s familiarity with permitting murals, provided a good model for city staff from other teams attending the workshop, and demonstrated the creativity required of those leading a mural.
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While SGA, Stantec, and the Community Connectors program participants conducted a walk audit of the W 9th St corridor, Better Block taped the outlines for most of the mural, leaving the last few details for the group to practice. One group of participants even got to set up the complicated crosswalk design—which was a lot more detailed than the rest of the mural—and the results were fantastic.
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Typically, volunteers would be tasked only with painting after the design was fully outlined. At this workshop, installing the tape and observing how Better Block organized all of the logistics of installation built enormous confidence in these three teams, perhaps encouraging them to more readily add similar components to their own demonstration projects. Teaching the process, not the outcome, is central to our approach with Community Connectors, and the workshop is the best example of our ethos in action.
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It took us the remainder of the afternoon to paint the street. Many hands make light work, and time flies when you’re having fun—all that is true. More than anything, getting to use our hands and make a change to the street together was such a fun, unique experience. For people whose work focuses on the built environment, most of our days are still spent at a desk. Getting to do something immediately and tangibly rewarding was invigorating and really made this workshop memorable for everyone.
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he next morning, the paint was completely dry. Between practicing collecting data with traffic counts and a radar gun, and before digging into project design work, we finished the mural with the most fun step of all: peeling up the tape. The carefully-placed outlines came up with a satisfying ssssshhhhhhhkkkkkkk and revealed a beautiful, well-defined geometric design. With the pop-up mural officially complete, a quick game of tape-ball soccer commenced, and our accomplishments set the tone for the rest of the workshop. In addition to gaining new experience conducting a walk audit and a solid draft of their demonstration project designs, we all went home from the Community Connectors workshop with new skills we’re ready to put to use…and a bit of paint on our shoes.
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Quick builds in action: Testing safer streets with Community Connectors in Little Rock, AR

Walk audits can reveal what traffic data alone often misses about how dangerous roadways shape people’s everyday lives. By creating space for residents to share their experiences in real time, walk audits help ground conversations about safety in what people actually encounter on the street. Along Eugene’s Highway 99 and River Road corridors, this approach brought community voices to the forefront.
A city’s streets should serve the people who live there, helping them safely reach essential destinations using the transportation options that work best for their lives. <a href="https://www.best-oregon.org/">Better Eugene–Springfield Transportation (BEST)</a> is a local non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for transportation choices, safe streets, and walkable neighborhoods. With the support of AARP and Smart Growth America team members Mehr Mukhtar, Chris Rall, and Dustin Robertson, BEST convened a community workshop to better understand current conditions and elevate community perspectives along two key Eugene corridors, Highway 99 and River Road.
Too often, planning processes begin with predefined solutions, leaving limited space for ideas shaped by the lived experiences of the people who use streets every day. Walk audits offer an opportunity to flip that script by creating space for learning, listening, and shared understanding. Approaches that center community voices, especially when City staff and decision-makers are present to witness conditions and hear directly from residents, help ground conversations about transportation improvements in real-world experience.
<figure id="attachment_109551" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-109551" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Walk-audit-along-Highway-99.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-109551" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Walk-audit-along-Highway-99-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Walk-audit-along-Highway-99-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Walk-audit-along-Highway-99-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Walk-audit-along-Highway-99-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Walk-audit-along-Highway-99-1536x1153.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Walk-audit-along-Highway-99.png 1999w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-109551" class="wp-caption-text">Walk audit along Highway 99</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Experiencing the corridors firsthand</h2>
The workshop brought together residents, advocates, local organizations, City of Eugene staff, and elected officials to experience Highway 99 and River Road firsthand and hear directly from the people who use these streets every day. A central component of the workshop was a series of <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/how-walk-audits-help-create-a-safer-built-environment/">walk audits</a> along Highway 99 and River Road, which took place at the outset of each session. On a characteristically rainy Oregon day, participants experienced the corridors together, often having to shout to be heard over vehicles speeding past. As pedestrians, we felt uncomfortable; the environment was noisy, and we were exposed to the rush of traffic. During the audit, one participant noticed a group of high school students huddled under a bus shelter to shield themselves from the rain. This observation sparked a discussion amongst city staff and neighborhood residents about the need for infrastructure that provides covering and seating for people waiting for transit.
These shared experiences helped ground the conversation in reality. Residents walked the corridors alongside City of Eugene staff, who play a key role in planning and implementing street improvements. Seeing street conditions firsthand shifted the conversation from abstract ideas to specific, tangible challenges for people walking, biking, or taking transit.
<figure id="attachment_109550" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-109550" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-right-listens-during-the-Highway-99-workshop.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-109550" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-right-listens-during-the-Highway-99-workshop-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-right-listens-during-the-Highway-99-workshop-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-right-listens-during-the-Highway-99-workshop-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-right-listens-during-the-Highway-99-workshop-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-right-listens-during-the-Highway-99-workshop-1536x1153.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-right-listens-during-the-Highway-99-workshop.png 1999w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-109550" class="wp-caption-text">Mayor Kaarin Knudson (right) listens during the Highway 99 workshop</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Who was in the room, and why it mattered</h2>
An important aspect of the workshop was the participation of elected officials and local leaders. City council members and Mayor Kaarin Knudson were invited to take part not as speakers, but as participants alongside community members. They walked the corridors, joined small-group discussions, and listened directly to residents’ experiences.
This approach helped reinforce the workshop’s community-driven nature. By experiencing the same conditions and hearing the same conversations, decision-makers who can shape policies and funding were able to gain a deeper understanding of community concerns and priorities.
<h2>Community voices shaping the conversation</h2>
Following the walk audits, community town halls created space for reflection, dialogue, and collaborative brainstorming. Parents arrived with children in tow, seniors rolled in with their bicycles, and neighbors from across the community filled the room. The conversations were candid and often personal, shaped by concern and a shared desire to make the corridors safer. Participants talked through what they had just seen: unsafe crossings, speeding traffic, and inadequate placemaking, and shared how those conditions affect everyday trips. Importantly, this was not a process of reacting to predetermined recommendations for what improvements should be made along the corridors. Instead, community members helped define the issues and elevate priorities based on their experiences.
<figure id="attachment_109549" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-109549" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BEST-director-Rob-Zako-addresses-River-Road-town-hall-participants.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-109549" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BEST-director-Rob-Zako-addresses-River-Road-town-hall-participants-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BEST-director-Rob-Zako-addresses-River-Road-town-hall-participants-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BEST-director-Rob-Zako-addresses-River-Road-town-hall-participants-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BEST-director-Rob-Zako-addresses-River-Road-town-hall-participants-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BEST-director-Rob-Zako-addresses-River-Road-town-hall-participants-1536x1153.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BEST-director-Rob-Zako-addresses-River-Road-town-hall-participants.png 1999w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-109549" class="wp-caption-text">BEST director Rob Zako addresses River Road town hall participants</figcaption></figure>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
Workshops like this one are not an endpoint, but a foundation. The insights gathered along Highway 99 and River Road provide valuable context for future planning and policy conversations in Eugene. Continuing to build on this work will require sustained community engagement and ongoing collaboration among partners.
Organizations like BEST, along with their community partners and the City of Eugene, are well-positioned to continue this work of advancing safer streets, building on a strong ecosystem of partnerships and a shared understanding of community priorities.

On the ground in Eugene: Community-driven insights for better streets

Harrisonburg, Virginia was selected for a previous round of the Community Connectors program where 15 communities received capacity building subgrants and wraparound technical assistance to develop and advance ambitious projects to restore the damage of past infrastructure decisions. One of Harrisonburg’s final projects (a temporary demonstration project) helped inspire this year’s specific focus on divisive or dangerous roadways.
The city-led Harrisonburg team came in with a project proposal to reimagine or rework Mason Street, a four-lane arterial just north of downtown originally built during the larger project of “urban renewal” in the 1960s in the historically Black Northeast Neighborhood. As part of those “renewal” activities, black-owned businesses were seized, more than a hundred homes were taken and families displaced, and the city’s housing authority was created to implement these damaging plans. Many properties were seized to add a new street within this small city’s street grid, but instead of a modest city street, it was built to the typical 1960s standards of the time with five wide lanes and a clear focus on moving vehicles quickly right through the middle of the heart of the city. The result is a physical and emotional scar that to this day that separates the historic fabric of downtown and the Northeast neighborhood.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-106780" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-1-1024x811.png" alt="" width="1024" height="811" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-1-1024x811.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-1-300x238.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-1-768x608.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-1.png 1126w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
The city’s team included two Black-led community-based organizations in the neighborhood. Building trust between the neighborhood writ large and the city was a core priority for this team. So when it became clear early on that the neighborhood hadn’t been fully engaged in the city’s original aspirations to remake Mason Street, the city took a step back to prioritize the needs and desires of the neighborhood first and use the program to advance a small-area planning process for the entire NE neighborhood. 12-18 months into the two-year program, SGA staff suggested that a logical step toward reimagining Mason Street could be our Complete Streets Leadership Academy and a temporary project to test designs, gather feedback, and further engage the NE neighborhood. The team invited additional residents and city staff to participate in a CSLA cohort, which culminated with the team designing and implementing a month-long temporary demonstration project on Mason Street to test out their ideas and engage the broader community with them as well. 
Mason Street is four lanes divided by a median with occasional turn lanes. The final temporary project design closed the southbound side of the median and converted the northbound side into two-way travel, eliminated three traffic lights in favor of two-way stops and two new temporary roundabouts, and created new crosswalks, among other improvements. Data collection is still ongoing throughout July but initial observations showed no major impact on traffic, with travel times that appeared shorter for travel along the entire four-block corridor.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-106779" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-2-1024x767.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="767" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-2-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-2-768x575.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-2-1536x1150.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/harrisonburg-2.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Here are some key contributors to the success of their project—which also point to what we want to emulate with the teams in this next round of the Community Connectors program.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The team included numerous city departments (Public Works, Planning and Community Development, the City Manager’s office, Communications) but also demonstrated a real commitment to participation by having the deputy city manager serve as the project lead, with the full backing of the city manager. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The core team included an elected city council member who also runs a black history nonprofit based in the NE neighborhood, and a NE neighborhood association leader.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The core team met weekly for the duration of the Community Connectors program (and CSLA), alternating between in-person and virtual meetings. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">We often say that “projects move at the speed of trust,” and when it became clear that trust levels were low and the overall initial project idea developed by the city didn’t have community buy-in, the city paused, took a step back, altered the course of their project to develop a project together that everyone supported.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The core Community Connectors team was expanded for the Complete Streets Leadership Academy. The team brought in several NE neighborhood residents, more city staff, a member of the local bike advocacy coalition, and a pastor and resident in NE. The DPW director also participated in every session, which was crucial as the head of the department responsible for implementing the final demonstration project. And the team allowed a portion of their grant to be used to compensate the residents and CBO members for their time.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Mason Street wasn’t just a dangerous street in need of changes. It was also intrinsically connected to the city’s painful history of using transportation to intentionally segregate, divide, and displace people. We are hopeful to find other streets with a similar history for this round of projects.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The city controls all of the streets within their borders, even the two main state routes. This made changes easy to coordinate within just one level of government. </li>
</ul>
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Reconnecting Harrisonburg, VA

What began as a pilot project on a busy corridor in Boca Raton has grown into a citywide commitment to Complete Streets, led by community advocates and championed by Vice Mayor Fran Nachlas. With a strong policy framework, visible early wins, and a focus on data, Boca Raton is showing what it looks like when a city decides to design their streets for people first.
<h3>Background</h3>
Located on Florida’s southeast coast, Boca Raton is home to around 100,000 residents and is known for its sunny beaches and palm-lined streets. As Boca Raton grew over the decades, wide arterials, sprawling development, and narrow sidewalks were the norm. The end result is streets prioritized for vehicles, with little accommodation for non-drivers, increasing safety concerns for all road users.
This design has taken a toll. <a href="https://hdp-us-prod-app-kh-spp-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/8317/2979/7327/24-10-24_public_kickoff_meeting_presentation.pdf">Boca Raton’s rate of serious injury and fatal crashes</a> are 13 percent higher than the state average and 53 percent higher than Palm Beach County’s. More than 87 percent of the most severe crashes happened on fast-moving arterial roads. In 2021, pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for <a href="https://www.makeroadssafe.org/boca-raton-road-safety-overview/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">14 percent of all traffic fatalities.</a> These numbers told a story—roads in Boca Raton aren’t safe, especially for those outside of cars.
The community wanted to change that narrative. In 2020, city staff and elected officials started exploring Complete Streets to help them prioritize safe, convenient transportation for all people, regardless of how they get around. After years of planning and surveys, the city council unanimously <a href="https://www.myboca.us/2435/Complete-Streets#:~:text=Complete%20Streets%20is%20a%20universal,of%20all%20ages%20and%20abilities.">adopted a Complete Streets policy</a> in November 2023, establishing a commitment to road design that puts safety first. 
<h3>A leader in action</h3>
This effort was championed in part by Vice-Mayor Fran Nachlas, long-time Boca Raton resident and recent Smart Growth America Complete Streets Champion Institute participant. As a nurse and athlete, Nachlas is especially committed to making life safer and healthier for members of her community, and has been a critical advocate for safer streets. Vice Mayor Nachlas works to inspire Complete Streets change locally as a Transportation Planning Agency Representative on the Boca Raton City Council and on a county level as a member of the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency’s (TPA) board. 
Nachas appreciates the need to experience streets the way residents of Boca Raton do. Nachlas recently biked the entire 84-mile city bike map network to deepen her understanding of the safety issues Boca Raton is facing and bring light to gaps, barriers, and opportunities for improvement. Similar to walk audits, these bike rides gave Nachlas firsthand experience that not only deepened her appreciation for the  lived experience of her community, but inspired ways to make a change. 
<h3>The Champions Institute</h3>
Through her role on city council, Nachlas spearheaded the development of Boca Raton’s 2023 Complete Streets policy. Since then, Boca Raton has received a number of grants can be used to implement safe and Complete Streets. Nachlas seized the opportunity to further advance her efforts towards building a safer, healthier community for Boca Raton residents, landing her a spot in the most recent <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-center/meet-the-2025-champions-institute-cohort/">Smart Growth America Champions Institute</a>, a program that supports elected officials who want to adopt and implement Complete Streets.
Through the program, she has planned a project that will focus on engaging community members. The project will feature a citywide event with the goal of providing education while gathering community perspectives. Specifically, the event will aim to increase public awareness of bike and scooter rules, identify potential locations for quick-build safety projects, and begin building a coalition that includes city staff, Florida Department of Transportation officials, bike advocates, schools, and neighborhood groups. She also collaborated with her colleagues on the TPA to pass a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/active-people-healthy-nation/php/about/index.html">CDC Active People, Healthy Nation Proclamation</a>, signifying a strong commitment to promoting health and connectivity by creating communities where people can safely and easily walk, bike, and use other forms of active transportation.
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“As an elected official, resident, parent, and grandparent, I know I must advocate for the design and building of streets that prioritize people, are safe, and support the Complete Streets ideology. I'm honored to play a vital role in supporting these goals, identifying the local needs of our community, and advancing policies to build activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations in my city.” Vice Mayor Fran Nachlas | Boca Raton, FL
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In April 2025, Vice Mayor Nachlas announced that she would be running for Mayor of Boca Raton in their upcoming 2026 election. Nachlas has said that if elected, she wants to use creative yet practical strategies like Complete Streets to bring her community visible, tangible benefits. 
<h3>A positive path forward</h3>
Boca Raton’s Complete Streets policy provides a foundation that will allow the city to continue fostering improved community engagement, increased project implementation, and opportunities to address outdated practices to further increase access to walking, biking, and other forms of active transportation. Their Complete Streets policy also includes specific language that requires assessment and evaluation of potential walking, biking, and transit improvements every time a road is resurfaced, reconstructed, or newly built. To strengthen their ability to implement Complete Streets, staff are working on a bicycle and pedestrian master plan and a new scoring tool to help them prioritize what projects are needed and where—with special consideration for historically underserved neighborhoods that have been most impacted by the unsafe infrastructure.
Boca Raton has already seen tangible change inspired by the vision established in the US-1 project proposal and the Complete Streets policy. The city has installed 1,400 new lighting fixtures in and around downtown, added a new crosswalk to El Rio Trail, as well as pedestrian crossings to Palmetto Park. These projects are small steps, but they are evidence of the bigger picture: Boca Raton is prioritizing the creation of spaces that serve everyone.
Like many communities, Boca Raton still faces challenges. Staff capacity, funding constraints, and the need to balance redevelopment priorities will all shape the city’s ability to implement its Complete Streets vision. But with a strong policy in place and local leadership exemplified by Vice-Mayor Nachlas, Boca Raton has an opportunity to become a safer, healthier place for all.

Designing streets for people in Boca Raton, Florida

Airway Heights, WA is a city shaped by fast-moving traffic and car-centric design—but it's also one of many communities pushing back against streets that prioritize speed over safety. With recent pedestrian fatalities underscoring the stakes, the city is taking steps to make its roads safer for everyone who uses them.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-87820 size-large aligncenter" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/airway-cover-1024x735.jpg" alt=" width=" height="735" />
<h4>Background</h4>
<figure id="attachment_87821" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-87821" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-87821" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/airway-1-300x224.png" alt="Photos from the Airway Heights quick-build project" width="300" height="304" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-87821" class="wp-caption-text">Photos from the Airway Heights quick-build project</figcaption></figure>
Airway Heights, WA—a young city just west of Spokane and bisected by U.S. Route 2—has long been shaped by car-centric infrastructure. With high-speed traffic, freight movement, and one of the region’s largest racetracks, the city’s design has historically prioritized speed over safety. But that’s beginning to change. In recent years, community leaders and residents have been working to make the city safer and more accessible for all. The urgency is clear: between July and December 2024 alone, three pedestrians were killed on Route 2, highlighting just how dangerous the current design can be.
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<h4>Getting started</h4>
Over the past five years, Airway Heights has made significant progress in creating family-friendly routes so that all members of the community can reach everyday destinations. In 2019 the city participated in Smart Growth America’s Washington <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/tag/complete-streets-leadership-academy/">Complete Streets Leadership Academy,</a> which allowed them to explore changes to their community through a <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-safety-demonstration-project-airway-heights-wa/">quick-build project.</a> Their goal was to slow traffic and encourage non-motorized travel in the area, and they succeeded. The response to the project, which included the use of artwork to create space for pedestrians and the addition of plants to a high-traffic area, was overwhelmingly positive. Over the course of a week, traffic slowed around the project site and over 100 families walked and biked into the demonstration project area in just one day.
<h4>Implementing proposed changes</h4>
Airway Heights took the momentum from this temporary project to inform permanent changes. The city is working to address the dangers presented by U.S. 2 through collaboration with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) on improvements to a segment of the highway to make it safer for those walking, biking, and rolling.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-87818 alignleft" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/airway-3-300x200.jpg" alt=" width=" height="554" />
They are also currently working to <a href="https://cawh.org/6th-avenue-extension-and-redesign-project/">redesign 6th avenue</a> by integrating several Complete Streets elements like adding sidewalks, a shared use path, and transit stops. Airway Heights has several other Complete Streets projects planned, and are pursuing resources to fill any remaining gaps in funding so they can create a safe, efficient network for all road users.
Thanks to recent progress at the state level, Airway Heights is better positioned to work with WSDOT on implementing Complete Streets and building safer, healthier communities. In 2022, the Washington State Legislature passed the <a href="https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5974-S.SL.pdf?q=20220427105402">Move Ahead Washington</a> package, which included a Complete Streets requirement directing WSDOT to “improve the safety, mobility, and accessibility of state highways” by embedding Complete Streets principles into projects costing over $500,000.
Airway Heights has also made policy progress at the local level to move Complete Streets work forward. In November 2024, Airway Heights <a href="https://www.codepublishing.com/WA/AirwayHeights/html/AirwayHeights14/AirwayHeights1410.html">updated their Complete Streets policy</a> to support their current momentum and continue to make changes that address the needs of all community members. They are currently working to update their <a href="https://www.cawhcompplan.com/policy">Comprehensive Plan</a> to specifically prioritize development of an efficient multi-modal transportation network.
<h4>Key takeaways</h4>
A critical component of Airway Heights’ continued progress has been the collaborative approach they have taken. They engaged the community from the beginning, starting with their quick-build project. This allowed them to make sure the project reflected the wants and needs of the community. Starting with a temporary, low-budget project allowed the city to see how community members were engaging with the new facilities and gather data and lessons learned to inform a permanent solution. By updating its Complete Streets policy and Comprehensive Plan—and with efforts from state legislation—Airway Heights is building a stronger foundation for long-term success.
We look forward to seeing the results of what is currently in the works in Airway Heights, and what they will accomplish in the future!
This publication was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-PW-24-0080). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. These efforts are part of the CDC’s <a class="c-link" href="https://www.cdc.gov/active-people-healthy-nation/php/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.cdc.gov/active-people-healthy-nation/php/about/index.html" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Active People, Healthy NationSM</a> Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.

Complete Streets progress in Airway Heights, Washington

Over the past three years, Smart Growth America (SGA) has worked with the City of Monroe, Louisiana to improve connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists in a previously underinvested downtown neighborhood. Monroe’s participation in SGA’s Champions Institute in 2022 led to ongoing engagements, including in-person technical assistance, access to in-person convenings, grant support, and advice on street design. As a result, Monroe has improved its street network and successfully applied for federal funding to further these efforts.
Like many other American cities, Monroe's streets have been designed to move vehicles at high speeds. This makes travel difficult for people walking, biking, or rolling, and creates dangerous conditions for all road users, including drivers. This is especially true in certain neighborhoods that lack important amenities like sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit shelters, such as the South 2nd Street corridor in Monroe, LA. This corridor includes a wide street with two separated lanes of traffic in each direction, with few crosswalks, no bikelanes, and narrow, poorly maintained sidewalks. The city decided to improve safety and connectivity along the corridor for the residents in the area (over 90 percent are African American).
<blockquote>
“Many people don’t have cars, some of them don’t have money to get on the bus. They ought to be able to walk to get where they need to go without being hurt or harmed.”-Jeanette, Monroe resident and walk audit participant
<figure id="attachment_103596" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-103596" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-103596 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-1-1024x768.png" alt="Mayor Ellis joins stakeholders on a walk audit." width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-1-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-1-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-1-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-1-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-1.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-103596" class="wp-caption-text">Mayor Ellis joins stakeholders on a walk audit.</figcaption></figure></blockquote>
<h4>First steps to improve road safety</h4>
Smart Growth America’s engagement with the City of Monroe began in 2022 when Mayor Friday Ellis participated in <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/the-champions-institute-is-back-with-its-third-cohort-of-local-leaders/">SGA’s Champions Institute.</a> Over the course of nine months, he joined other local elected officials from across the country for expert-led virtual sessions about best practices on how to make his city safer, healthier, and more connected. During the program, he <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/the-third-champions-institute-comes-to-a-close/">developed initial ideas and plans</a> for improvements to the South 2nd Street corridor. City staff worked with SGA to <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/best-complete-streets-monroe-louisiana/">quantify some of the benefits</a> that could be realized for the community if changes were implemented. Following Mayor Ellis’ participation in the Champions Institute, SGA team members travelled to Monroe in November 2023 to lead a two-day, in-person workshop about road safety, with a focus on the South 2nd Street corridor. The workshop involved presentations from Smart Growth America staff on Complete Streets and related topics, conversations with city leadership and other key stakeholders including city staff and community members, as well as a <a href="https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/getting-around/aarp-walk-audit-tool-kit/?cmp=RDRCT-482bcc3c-20211209">walk audit</a> of the corridor to see firsthand some of the challenges that would be addressed with the proposed changes. Mayor Ellis and the SGA team used this as an opportunity to advance some of the original plans discussed during the Champions Institute, and to engage the community about the mayor’s vision for the future of Monroe.
In addition to receiving direct, individualized support, Mayor Ellis became engaged with a peer network of local elected officials and other decision makers interested in advancing safer, healthier, and more resilient communities. In 2024, Mayor Friday Ellis attended <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/a-community-of-collaboration-the-2024-champions-alumni-convening/">SGA’s Champions Alumni Convening</a> in Washington, DC There he shared his perspectives and experiences participating in the program with other former Champions. Monroe leadership remains in touch regularly with SGA for continued support and technical assistance around the various topics originally identified by Mayor Ellis in the Champions Institute.
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<figure id="attachment_87802" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-87802" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-87802 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monroe-3-1024x682.png" alt="Mayor Ellis shares an update at the Champions Alumni Convening. " width="1024" height="682" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-87802" class="wp-caption-text">Mayor Ellis shares an update at the Champions Alumni Convening.</figcaption></figure>
<h4>Implementing proposed changes</h4>
Monroe leadership has embraced changes identified throughout the program and dedicated significant effort and resources into making positive improvements to better connect residents with safer, more connected options to the city. For example, the city implemented some of the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/what-are-complete-streets/">Complete Streets principles</a> into a restriping project along North 6th Street. Rather than re-striping the road as it had previously been (with two lanes of traffic and a parking lane), they successfully pilot tested dedicated, protected space for walking and biking. SG
<figure id="attachment_103598" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-103598" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monre-2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-103598" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monre-2-300x225.png" alt="Community members discuss different options for improving the South 2nd Street corridor.
" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monre-2-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monre-2-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monre-2-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monre-2-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/monre-2.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-103598" class="wp-caption-text">Community members discuss different options for improving the South 2nd Street corridor.</figcaption></figure>
A advised the city on potential design choices and encouraged them to think how the city could make these improvements permanent.
To further its efforts, the city has been actively pursuing funds to support ongoing infrastructure changes. In 2024, the city was awarded a $90,000 grant from the <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/thriving-communities">Department of Transportation's Thriving Communities Program</a>. The city will use this funding to install vibrant murals on Main Street's "Art Alley" as well as the South 2nd Street corridor to improve the appearances of these corridors in order to encourage more walking, biking, and rolling. The city is currently pursuing other funds to make even more improvements to their community that support physical activity, mobility, and increased social connection among residents.
Going forward, SGA will continue its partnership with Monroe. The city has taken bold steps towards its community safety and health goals and is a model on how small towns can think creatively and work across sectors to improve safety for all residents. As the city receives more funding and implements its projects and plans, we expect to see additional significant benefits that continue increasing connectivity and safety within Monroe.
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This publication was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-PW-24-0080). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. These efforts are part of the CDC’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/active-people-healthy-nation/php/about/index.html">Active People, Healthy NationSM</a> Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.

Improving transportation and road safety in Monroe, LA

As part of the Complete Streets Leadership Academy in Kentucky, Smart Growth America traveled to Winchester, KY to host an in-person workshop, bringing together local teams from Winchester, Morehead, and Bowling Green and partners from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). Participants learned more about implementing quick-build demonstration projects, conducted a walk audit of Winchester’s project site, and supported each other’s work by providing ideas and feedback. The teams are now ready to finalize their designs and implement their quick builds to improve safety conditions in their communities.
SGA’s <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academy</a> partners state departments of transportation with local jurisdictions to design, install, and measure the impact of <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalition/quick-build-demonstration-projects/">quick-build demonstration projects</a> on state-owned roads. Across the U.S., state-owned roads are some of the most dangerous for people walking and biking, which requires a deep partnership between the state and local teams to improve the safety conditions. This program brings those key partners together to test innovative methods and provide near-term safety improvements. By working with other partners like health departments, schools, and planning agencies, these temporary projects can improve connectivity, build local engagement, and support cross-sector collaboration.
The workshop brought Academy participants—from the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/2025-complete-streets-leadership-academy-launches-in-kentucky-this-spring/">Kentucky</a> cities of Bowling Green, Morehead, and Winchester—together in person to learn about each other’s projects, get to know each other, and use these new partnerships to help each other overcome challenges in their projects. The teams had already attended a series of virtual trainings hosted by SGA that set a foundation for Complete Streets, quick builds, data collection, engagement, and related topics for their projects. This foundation gave participants a shared starting point to understand the active transportation challenges in each other’s communities.
<a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ky-CSLA-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-103571 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ky-CSLA-1-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ky-CSLA-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ky-CSLA-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ky-CSLA-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ky-CSLA-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Ky-CSLA-1.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Highlights of the workshop included project presentations from each team, a walk audit of the Winchester project site, and collaborative project design sessions. Each team presented their project site, local safety and access challenges, and the goals of their quick build to the whole group. Through questions and discussion, the teams learned from each other, including how to frame their projects within the context of a larger active transportation plan and strategies to measure how many people currently walk on the project sites.
The walk audit of Winchester’s Boone Ave/KY-627 corridor allowed Winchester city staff, residents, school officials, KYTC, and other regional partners to discuss specific issues on the site together. Challenges the team observed included trucks using the road as a cut-through, drivers speeding, and confusing crossings at intersections. The Morehead and Bowling Green teams used this walk audit to compare Winchester’s challenges to their own, such as the issue with trucks cutting through, and to offer shared strategies, including different approaches to sidewalk maintenance to keep walking paths navigable.
<a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/KY-CSLA-2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-103572" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/KY-CSLA-2-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/KY-CSLA-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/KY-CSLA-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/KY-CSLA-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/KY-CSLA-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/KY-CSLA-2.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
The second day of the workshop was dedicated to project design, where each team built on their knowledge of their site’s challenges and came up with a proposed quick-build project to achieve their goals, drawing ideas on aerial maps. Participants then offered feedback to each other’s proposals, asking questions and making suggestions to strengthen each project. With ongoing support from SGA and Urbe Studios as technical experts, the teams are now ready to turn their drawings into concept designs, gather the necessary materials, and install their projects.
Once the projects are in place early this summer, the teams will engage the community to learn how people feel about the new street design and measure the safety impacts of the projects. SGA will conclude with recommendations for how KYTC can bring this quick-build process elsewhere to advance safety, access, and Complete Streets across the state. The relationships across cities and with the state that have been built and strengthened by this program will help Kentucky continue this work going forward.
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“This is another step toward making Kentucky’s transportation system safe and comfortable for all users.” -Keith Lovan, KYTC State Bicycle and Ped Coordinator
</blockquote>
This publication was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-PW-24-0080). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. These efforts are part of the CDC’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/active-people-healthy-nation/php/about/index.html">Active People, Healthy NationSM</a> Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.

Quick builds in Kentucky bring local and state teams together

Through a partnership with AARP Vermont and as part of AARP’s <a href="https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/">Livable Communities Technical Assistance Program</a>, SGA <a href="https://states.aarp.org/vermont/how-community-housing-infrastructure-program-chip-supports-capital-stacks-for-much-needed-housing">evaluated</a> the proposed Community Housing Infrastructure (CHIP) program for its potential impact on housing development. The CHIP program offers a new approach to fund infrastructure for housing at the project scale —a common and challenging funding gap to make housing in established communities.. The program presents particular potential to encourage housing in well-connected locations with good access to resources, civic facilities and economic activity.
On Wednesday, May 7, SGA testified before the Vermont House of Representatives’ House Committee on Ways and Means on how Vermont’s proposed Community Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) supports capital stacks for much-needed housing in the state.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="House Ways and Means 2025-05-07 10:45AM" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cV0RtPr0fdE?start=1428&feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
We presented our recent <a href="https://states.aarp.org/vermont/how-community-housing-infrastructure-program-chip-supports-capital-stacks-for-much-needed-housing">evaluation</a>, which revealed that at least 24,000 additional homes are needed in Vermont by 2029. As the 10th most expensive state, half of all Vermont renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and a quarter spend more than 50 percent. Further, construction and land costs are high, while regulatory challenges that can delay projects and inflate costs. Given the high demand for housing and challenges with financing, and the more acute challenges with infrastructure costs in rural and small communities, Vermont is looking to strategies that offset the infrastructure costs to make projects feasible, particularly those with an affordable housing component that limits rental income.
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“We find that when you plan for aging in place - and supporting communities to have ample housing close to services, transportation and community facilities - it’s beneficial for everyone in the community.” - Katharine Burgess, Vice President for Land Use &amp; Development
</blockquote>
Our analysis was based on two types of housing scenarios: a 60-unit mixed-income building in a dense area, and a smaller 4-unit adaptive reuse project. In both cases, we found that CHIP funding would fill key financial gaps, reduce risk for investors, and make it more likely the projects move forward. Without it, these developments could stall or fail—especially when delivering affordable to low and moderate income units and accessible units. Additionally, lenders and investors would likely view the project as less risky with public infrastructure support. By boosting feasibility early, the program helps deliver the right housing in the right places, supporting Vermont’s smart growth goals.
As part of his testimony, our Director of Research Michael Rodriquez shared that "this incentive program is based on a TIF (tax increment financing) style structure that gives a positive boost to an uncertain project with slim returns on investment. Think of how many units were on the edge but were not built...this program, this boost could have made the difference."
SGA previously worked directly with Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Development on <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/designation-2050-vermont-state-designation-program-evaluation-and-reform/">Designation 2050</a>, an assessment of Vermont’s state-level designation program, which informed Act 181 that made changes to the state’s land use and housing development laws and simplified the Designation Program to better provide development incentives.
The AARP Livable Communities program provides capacity to help AARP state offices guide policies and projects to support communities to be vibrant and accessible for people of all ages. Addressing housing needs is a vital goal for the Livable Communities Program, including supporting the delivery of homes appropriate for multi-generational living, aging in place and meeting accessibility needs. We look forward to continuing working together to support smart growth in Vermont.

SGA testifies before Vermont State Legislature on analysis of new infrastructure financing program

In 2024, Smart Growth America brought the Complete Streets Leadership Academy to Maryland. This program uses quick-build demonstration projects to bring state transportation departments and local jurisdictions together to improve mobility on state-owned roads and build partnerships for future work. The Town of Bel Air, the City of Hagerstown, and Howard County worked with Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and its State Highway Administration (SHA) to design and install these temporary projects in their communities.
With pedestrian fatalities disproportionally occurring on <a href="https://t4america.org/data-hub/state/maryland/">state routes,</a> the Complete Streets Leadership Academy (CSLA) is a program designed to help address the nationwide pedestrian safety crisis. Through the Academy, local teams work with their state DOT to design and install quick-build demonstration projects. These temporary installations provide near-term safety improvements, an opportunity to test new designs and materials, and a way to build relationships between the state DOT and local jurisdictions. Communities also experience benefits from these projects such as increased physical activity, economic opportunity, and readiness in the face of ever-emerging challenges. Lessons learned from this process can be used to help a state institutionalize this process, turning quick-build demonstration projects and relationship-building into a regular part of furthering safety operations.
From May to August, MDOT, SHA, the Town of Bel Air, the City of Hagerstown, and Howard County attended a series of workshops on Complete Streets and quick-build demonstration projects. The teams used this learning to each design and install a quick-build demonstration project by the end of the summer: Bel Air reduced confusion at an intersection on Main Street, Hagerstown slowed vehicle speeds entering its historic downtown, and Howard County built a multi-use path on a highway with lots of people walking but no sidewalk. The process of the local teams and the state working to design, install, and measure the impact of these projects revealed insights as to what enabled these projects to happen, how they could have been improved, and how MDOT should approach future quick-build demonstration projects.
[button type="info" block="true" size="lg" link="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maryland-Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_SGA.pdf"]Read the full report [/button]
<h3>Key takeaways</h3>
1. Develop guidance and processes to install more quick-build demonstration projects by standardizing the responsibilities across parties, identifying categories of eligible locations or safety challenges, and expediting review for typical materials and designs.
2. Include community members throughout the process in future quick builds, from site selection to data collection, using these temporary projects to build lasting relationships.
3. Continue to build support through trainings for local jurisdictions, SHA districts, and MDOT staff on Complete Streets and quick builds, including peer learning opportunities as more local jurisdictions work on quick-build projects.
<h3>Case studies</h3>
<h4>Town of Bel Air</h4>
Bel Air made a confusing intersection easier for people walking, biking, and driving to navigate with a quick-build demonstration project by closing a turn and slowing traffic. This project helped strengthen relationships between town staff, SHA district engineers, and MDOT, which will help to implement future improvements. With more planning funds on the way, the community’s positive feedback on this project helped affirm the town’s commitment to improving safety through design. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maryland-Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_SGA.pdf#page=11">Read the case study here &gt;&gt;</a>
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<h4>City of Hagerstown</h4>
Hagerstown reduced the speeds of vehicles on the state highway at the entrance to the historic downtown using a quick-build demonstration project. With a lot of people biking the corridor and crossing the highway mid-block, the city and SHA were able to slow down cars and improve the existing crosswalks to make the area safer for people walking and biking. Though not all safety issues were able to be addressed by the quick build, the benefits were clear to people who live near the highway. The project helped broaden the conversation of how to improve pedestrian safety in the area and the team is eager to continue this work. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maryland-Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_SGA.pdf#page=16">Read the case study here &gt;&gt;</a>
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<h4>Howard County</h4>
Howard County met the need for a safe place to walk and bike along U.S. Highway 1 by repurposing the outermost lane as a temporary multi-use path. Through in-person outreach, fast-paced collaboration, and a strong background in Complete Streets, the team was able to implement a large-scale quick-build demonstration project. The successes and lessons learned in this project will be used as the upcoming MDOT Pedestrian Safety Action Plan identifies future permanent improvements to the site. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maryland-Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_SGA.pdf#page=22">Read the case study here &gt;&gt;</a>
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New report: Maryland Complete Streets Leadership Academy

To support Tulsa’s efforts to preserve and expand its housing supply across a range of housing types, Smart Growth America—in collaboration with Housing Forward and The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation—conducted a combination of quantitative and qualitative data analysis to assess the structural and systemic factors contributing to the current housing gap. Our recommendations, grounded in smart growth principles, aim to help Tulsa meet its housing goals and support a more prosperous, resilient future.
Tulsa, Oklahoma is currently facing a housing shortage, and analysts in the state indicate that the state would need to build 4,000 homes immediately and 12,900 homes over 10 years in order to meet growth and housing needs. This is exacerbated by not just the lack of homes but also the type of housing units available in the city. In the past ten years, the majority of building permits issued were for single-family residences in a city where ⅓ of Tulsans are cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing.
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Tulsa-Executive-Summary.pdf"] To learn more about this analysis, check out our executive summary. [/button]
To better understand the barriers that prevent Tulsa from building more housing, we evaluated the zoning code, interviewed dozens of city, county, and local officials and community members, and carefully witnessed and reviewed the city’s permitting process. Our findings focus on three main areas that can help alleviate Tulsa’s housing shortage:
1. Removing various regulatory barriers in the zoning code toward enabling more housing types in more places. 
2. Streamlining portions of the development process to make permitting more predictable and reliable for developers. 
3. Incorporating public input through the process.
Critically, we find that the city should ensure to have long-term place-based housing goals that align infrastructure investments towards specific parts of the community in support of future growth. The place-based housing strategy is informed by the SGA team’s economic land use study. Based on our economic land use analysis, more density would not only resolve the housing demand issue but also result in cost savings ranging from approximately $80 million to over $200 million. The only hurdle is the current bureaucratic regulations, such as zoning and overall social views on density/diverse housing typologies in a designated area.
We summarize our findings into six major areas of improvement:
1. Simplify and align the existing zoning code to the comprehensive plan (Planittulsa). 
2. Eliminate unnecessary regulatory barriers and expedite discretionary review. 
3. Streamline the permitting process and ensure procedural consistency for faster and more predictable results. 
4. Foster strong partnerships and communication among stakeholders (developers, city departments, and community members). 
5. Develop a structured, city-managed community engagement framework with clear objectives and dedicated staff. 
6. Implement targeted place-based housing strategies to steer public infrastructure investment and incentives to specific geographic areas.
Our recommendations for the City of Tulsa go beyond building more housing. By adopting smart growth principles—emphasizing community input and needs as well as focusing on zoning and permitting revisions—the city can effectively construct various housing typologies that have historically been blocked to create more prosperous communities.
See our recommendations in the full <a href="https://www.housingforwardok.org/smart-growth-report">report</a>.

New analysis: Breaking down barriers to housing in Tulsa

This case study highlights work from those who participated in our Healing our Highways program, an initiative that aims to inspire creative ideas and activities to  build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Atlanta, Georgia has dealt firsthand with the harms perpetuated by the U.S. highway system. Fractured by numerous stretches of highway and interchanges, Atlanta has been shaped by decades of systemic racism and car-centric culture. A team of artists is working with their community to reimagine their spaces without cars. 
<h2>Background</h2>
<figure id="attachment_98051" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-98051" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Atlanta_Hapeville-Depot-Museum_Jordan-Young_03.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-98051" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Atlanta_Hapeville-Depot-Museum_Jordan-Young_03-1024x683.jpg" alt="People of all ages and backgrounds gather around a table set with different types of art supplies." width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Atlanta_Hapeville-Depot-Museum_Jordan-Young_03-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Atlanta_Hapeville-Depot-Museum_Jordan-Young_03-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Atlanta_Hapeville-Depot-Museum_Jordan-Young_03-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Atlanta_Hapeville-Depot-Museum_Jordan-Young_03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Atlanta_Hapeville-Depot-Museum_Jordan-Young_03.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-98051" class="wp-caption-text">The Atlanta team hosted a workshop at the Hapeville Depot Museum where they encouraged participants of all ages to envision what their community would look like if space was used for people instead of cars. 
Photo by Jordan Young.</figcaption></figure>
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It’s no surprise that much of Atlanta’s space is dedicated to parking and driving automobiles. The Atlanta team wanted to create a way for community members to imagine what it would look like if space in the city was used for people instead of cars. Equipped with the knowledge their city is the <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.acluga.org/en/issues/speech-and-privacy">most heavily surveilled in the country</a> and that the city-owned camera feeds are publicly accessible, the team decided to use this data to create a web-based application that allows the user to “erase” a highway or road and fill the now-blank canvas with amenities more suited for a thriving public space. In addition to creating the app, the Atlanta team held events where participants of all ages expressed their vision for how community spaces can be used through various artistic mediums.
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-98832 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/atl-1-1-1024x682.jpg" alt="A group of children engaging in activities under adult supervision." width="300" height="682" />
The Atlanta team learned a great deal from the experts from Smart Growth America and Demo Lab South during the Healing Our Highways program, especially about the power structures that advocates must navigate while pursuing changes. They also found the education on infrastructure-related data and how to leverage data for advocacy very useful. While they previously understood that Atlanta is a very dangerous metro area for pedestrians, having clear data better equipped them to advocate for spaces that prioritize people. They hope to package the resources they created as part of the Healing Our Highways program so that other communities can use them for their own advocacy.
<blockquote>
"Community activism and art should overlap more, and so having someone in the middle who can speak the language of either and help translate is very helpful, especially for an artist like me, who usually works alone, suddenly coming in and working with the community." -Eddie Farr, Multi-Media Artist
</blockquote>

Atlanta, Georgia: Using arts and technology to visualize the public space allocated to car infrastructure and reimagine it for community

This case study highlights work from those who participated in our Healing our Highways program, an initiative that aims to inspire creative ideas and activities to  build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Tampa Heights, one of Tampa's oldest neighborhoods, has deep generational roots, including a strong Black community. However, gentrification and development threaten its cultural identity. The consulting firm <a href="https://www.consciouscommunityconnectors.com/">Conscious Community Connectors</a>—a group dedicated to facilitating connections within and between communities—focused on working with residents to preserve a historic Black church at risk of demolition.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Tampa Heights CommUNITY" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4VuR5nMLDEA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Background</h3>
Home to approximately 16,000 people, Tampa Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods located in the west-central city of Tampa, Florida. Its roots go back to the 1880s when it was established as Tampa’s first suburb. Over the years, strong generational roots took hold, including those of Black families in Tampa Heights. However, gentrification efforts carried out without the involvement of community voices have pushed out many who had established Tampa Heights, and continue to threaten pillars of the community’s strong cultural identity.
The residents of the historic Tampa Heights neighborhood have been advocating for decades for their right to a healthy and connected community. The Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association sought to leverage the Healing Our Highways program to support the resident-driven community preservation effort already in progress. Specifically, the Tampa Heights used the funds and support of the Healing Our Highways program for their efforts to preserve a historic Black church that is in danger of being demolished when its ownership transfers to the Florida Department of Transportation in fewer than 10 years. They have made significant progress by hosting community events at the church in order to demonstrate the importance of the space and generate community support for the placekeeping effort.
<h3>Taking Action</h3>
<figure id="attachment_98043" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-98043" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Tampa-Heights_CommUNITY_Big-Brooks-Visuals_01-e1737732045347.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-98043 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Tampa-Heights_CommUNITY_Big-Brooks-Visuals_01-e1737732045347-300x185.png" alt="A group of people wearing colorful clothing dance together, some with their arms raised above their heads" width="300" height="185" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Tampa-Heights_CommUNITY_Big-Brooks-Visuals_01-e1737732045347-300x185.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Tampa-Heights_CommUNITY_Big-Brooks-Visuals_01-e1737732045347-768x472.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Tampa-Heights_CommUNITY_Big-Brooks-Visuals_01-e1737732045347.png 904w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-98043" class="wp-caption-text">Photo by Big Brooks Visuals.</figcaption></figure>
For the Tampa Heights team, Healing Our Highways funding was especially critical to their ability to have a meaningful impact in their community. In addition to paying for supplies, spaces, and photography to document their accomplishments, funding allowed them to establish a powerful precedent of paying local creatives to contribute to the events and projects. Investing in local talent proved to be an extremely valuable part of the project as it strengthened relationships, uplifted the community’s culture, and created a sense of ownership for community members participating in the projects. Their participation in the Healing Our Highways also allowed the Tampa Heights team to have a successful project to refer to when applying for similar programs and funding in the future to show what their team can accomplish when given these types of opportunities and resources.
<blockquote>
 “The core goal of our project was community. And it sounds so simple. But it really is the act of bringing people together to share their stories, to bond, to heal, and just creating those spaces for people to to come together. And it’s also about claiming spaces. I think it's especially important with Tampa Heights changing so much, and experiencing a lot of development. We've had a lot of families that have had to move out of the neighborhood. So, having a place where you can always come back to that’s like home, that’s a safe space. Claiming that space, the history and the legacies that are within that space, we want to build upon that.” -Naya Young, Co-Founder, Conscious Community Connectors 

</blockquote>

Tampa Heights, Florida: Arts and culture as celebration and resistance against displacement in an historic African-American suburb

This case study highlights work from those who participated in our Healing our Highways program, an initiative that aims to inspire creative ideas and activities to  build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Boyle Heights, a vibrant Latino neighborhood, was shaped by redlining and the East LA Interchange. While the interchange spurred business growth, it also displaced many residents. A team of artists in Los Angeles worked with their community to define what resilience means to them, and how they can build off of that idea to create a better place to live.  
<h2>Background</h2>
<figure id="attachment_98048" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-98048" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/boyle-.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-98048" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/boyle--300x225.jpg" alt="A large white wall display map covered in photos and writing illustrating the ideas of Boyle Heights residents" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/boyle--300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/boyle--1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/boyle--768x576.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/boyle--1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/boyle-.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-98048" class="wp-caption-text">The Boyle Heights team worked with community members to create a community map that highlights the ways in which they feel their community is resilient. Photo courtesy of Boyle Heights Art Conservatory.</figcaption></figure>Located in Los Angeles, Boyle Heights is a culturally rich neighborhood with a large Latino population. Boyle Heights was deeply impacted by redlining and the construction of the enormous East LA Interchange. While the Interchange did bring an influx of new business, it also forced out many residents. In addition, this type of infrastructure brought in massive amounts of traffic congestion and as a result, heavy pollution. These infrastructure decisions, made with little to no input from community members, have created an environment that presents few mobility options and many health impacts for residents.
The Boyle Heights team wanted to use the support of the Healing Our Highways program to continue the work they had already begun. Based on the idea that community input leads to infrastructure that addresses community needs, the Boyle Heights team led “co-design” workshops. These gatherings invited participants to think deeply about their built environment, create a vision of change based on their needs and experiences, and identify what resilience looks like in Boyle Heights.
<h2>Taking action</h2>
<figure id="attachment_98047" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-98047" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boyle-Heights_BHAC_01-scaled-1.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-98047" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boyle-Heights_BHAC_01-scaled-1-1024x683.jpeg" alt="A person looks through the lens of a camera, focusing on a pedestrian crossing sign which has been altered and has the pedestrian image crossed out with a red “no” symbol and other markings." width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boyle-Heights_BHAC_01-scaled-1-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boyle-Heights_BHAC_01-scaled-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boyle-Heights_BHAC_01-scaled-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boyle-Heights_BHAC_01-scaled-1-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Boyle-Heights_BHAC_01-scaled-1-2048x1366.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-98047" class="wp-caption-text">Members of the Boyle Heights community participated in a photo walk as part of the Healing Our Highways program, allowing them to document their environment and gain new perspectives. Photo courtesy of Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory.</figcaption></figure>
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In addition to the insights gained from the workshops, the Healing Our Highways program allowed the Boyle Heights team to continue to shape their co-design model in order to increase its effectiveness. The experience also helped them gain insights from their fellow cohort members who had expertise in a range of different disciplines such as historic preservation, oral history, and story mapping. They hope to continue this type of work in Boyle Heights and use feedback from community members to advocate for infrastructure that better serves residents. Additionally, the team hopes that others may be inspired to use this model to gather community input and advocate for the changes they want to see in their communities.
<blockquote>
"One of the main goals for us was to understand and explore how the community shows resilience already through everyday practices that are not super visible, but have already been there throughout the years.” -Lakshmy Narayana, Transportation Planner &amp; Activist
</blockquote>

Boyle Heights, California: Centering the creative autonomy of the community to define “resilience” for itself

This case study highlights work from those who participated in our Healing our Highways program, an initiative that aims to inspire creative ideas and activities to  build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Buford Highway is a dangerous seven-lane corridor lacking pedestrian safety features, resulting in numerous fatalities. The Buford Highway People’s Hub are tackling these inequities through the Healing Our Highways project. They combined youth education with a photowalk to empower the community to document life along the corridor.
<h2>Background</h2>
Atlanta and its surrounding communities have been deeply impacted by decades of infrastructure decisions based in racism, and Doraville is no exception. Located northeast of Atlanta, Doraville’s population of nearly 11,000 is diverse, largely made up of immigrant families from across the globe, and has a rich cultural fabric as a result. The community is situated along Buford Highway, a corridor that is home to the highest concentration of foreign-born residents in the country. Despite being heavily trafficked by pedestrians, Buford Highway’s seven lanes are extremely dangerous. With few sidewalks and no median, Buford Highway has been the epicenter of an alarming number of pedestrian fatalities.
The Buford Highway People’s Hub sought to address the inequities experienced by those living along the corridor, bringing community members together to learn and capture life along Buford Highway through photography. Their Healing Our Highways project consisted of two main parts: youth education in collaboration with Escuelitas, an established bilingual education program, and a photowalk that drew from the work of local artist Victoria Garcia to allow community members to document their community with their unique perspectives.
<h2>Taking Action</h2>
<figure id="attachment_98044" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-98044" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dora-2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-98044" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dora-2-1024x686.jpg" alt="Two people walking on a narrow sidewalk with one person pointing toward the wide, multi-lane road filled with cars." width="1024" height="686" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dora-2-1024x686.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dora-2-300x201.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dora-2-768x515.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dora-2-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/dora-2.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-98044" class="wp-caption-text">Photo from Captura ATL's first photo walk on September 28th, 2024. Members of Captura ATL, a photography club dedicated to empowering Latine and Indigenous photographers, walked through parts of the cities of Doraville, Chamblee, and Brookhaven to experience what it was like to move through the area without access to a car. Photo by Edwin Mireles.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_98046" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-98046" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0422-0085-scaled-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-98046" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0422-0085-scaled-1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0422-0085-scaled-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0422-0085-scaled-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0422-0085-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0422-0085-scaled-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0422-0085-scaled-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-98046" class="wp-caption-text">The Doraville team worked with the Global South Youth Liberation Conference, where participants learned about a range of topics at the intersection of art and activism. Photo by Vianey Cecilio.</figcaption></figure>While the Buford Highway People’s Hub has already been working to highlight the inequities faced by communities along the corridor, the education provided through the Healing Our Highways program about leveraging data, climate, and transportation equipped the team with knowledge and framing that allowed them to more effectively connect the issues faced by their community as infrastructure-related. The team also found the connections they forged with other like-minded artists extremely valuable.
<blockquote>
“We had a group of between 12 and 15 people, and I had shared with them the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/">Dangerous by Design</a> report. Those who are familiar with Buford Highway totally understood. So I think people felt very motivated, which I was excited about." -Victoria Garcia, Photographer &amp; Organizer
</blockquote>
The funding and support provided by the Healing Our Highways program allowed the Buford Highway Peoples Hub to continue its ongoing work and to build more community interest in connecting with their shared spaces through art and mutual learning.

Doraville, Georgia: Cultural organizing for awareness and solidarity around mobility justice among Latinx youth and artists

As part of our <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/meet-the-ta-cohort-addressing-climate-change/">Climate &amp; Land Use Technical Assistance Program</a>, we worked with Florida-based community organization, Incubate Neighborhood Center (INC), to raise awareness about the ways that climate change is impacting their community’s infrastructure, insurance rates, and economic opportunity. In this video, business owners, government officials, and regional resilience partners talk about how flooding is impacting everyday life and how they envision both the state and federal governments addressing these issues to create healthier, more prosperous, and more resilient communities.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qldCqsmGelA?si=wngfqYJ_fsddJI9M" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
In St. Lucie County, Florida, located on the state’s Atlantic coast and crisscrossed by several canals and waterways, flooding is a perennial concern. The region, however, is o<a href="https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/the-fastest-growing-places-in-the-us">ne of the fastest-growing places in the entire country.</a> The speed of this development, combined with the increased threat of storms and flooding due to climate change, means that local leaders must manage the many stressors on both their infrastructure and the economy.
Residents of St. Lucie County experience a myriad of social and economic disparities. Fort Pierce, where INC is based, is a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40/">Justice40 Community</a>, meaning that its history with environmental injustices makes it a place of priority for federal investments in more equitable infrastructure. Climate change, unfortunately, tends to <a href="https://givingcompass.org/article/hurricanes-disproportionately-impact-communities-of-color">amplify these historic inequities</a>, disproportionately affecting communities that have been disinvested in and that have the least capacity to respond and recover.
For Fort Pierce residents, investments in infrastructure that can mitigate the impacts of climate change are an important part of ensuring that marginalized communities in the region are receiving the benefits of St. Lucie County’s rapid growth. Hear directly from community members on the importance of these topics in our video, “Building for Florida’s tomorrow: Bridging climate resilience with economic opportunity”.

A path forward in Florida: Resilience to flooding and economic growth

Taking advantage of federal funding opportunities is critical for communities that want to create safe, connected environments. Versailles, Kentucky sought to do just that when they submitted a successful application for the USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.
<figure id="attachment_86356" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-86356" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-86356 size-full" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/J.-Stephen-Conn_Flickr_Downtown-Versailles.png" alt="A street in downtown Versailles is lined by historic brick buildings, flower pots, and street lamps" width="1200" height="628" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-86356" class="wp-caption-text"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/dbLrf1">(Flickr, J. Stephen Conn)</a></figcaption></figure>
Rural communities have unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to roadway safety. Despite this, federal funding programs aimed at supporting safer walking, biking, and rolling may feel inaccessible to them. Smart Growth America (SGA) and AARP sought to address this through the <a href="https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/livable-in-action/rural-lab.html">AARP Rural Lab Technical Assistance (TA) Program</a> to support rural communities in applying for <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/SS4A">USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grants.</a>[efn_note]The $1 billion of funding available through the USDOT Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant program was a result of <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/supercharge-your-communitys-safety-demonstration-projects-with-safe-streets-for-all/">a mistake made by Congress</a>—but it created an incredible opportunity for communities to get their hands on resources for safety projects, <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/six-things-to-know-about-applying-for-the-next-round-of-safe-streets-for-all-funding/">including quick builds.</a>[/efn_note]
The TA program facilitated group and individual learning through virtual sessions and one-on-one coaching to develop applications for 2024 SS4A funding. So far, one participating community—Versailles, Kentucky—has already been awarded a $108,400 Planning and Demonstration Grant for <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalition/quick-build-demonstration-projects/#:~:text=Quick%2Dbuild%20demonstration%20projects%20are,encourage%20more%20walking%20and%20biking.">four quick-build demonstration projects.</a>
Versailles is a city located in central Kentucky with a population of around 10,000. Even before they participated in this technical assistance, Versailles made efforts to implement community improvements and address road safety. Their volunteer driver program <a href="https://www.wchd.com/outreach/copy-of-agency-for-substance-abuse-po">Woodford Wheels,</a> funded by a Federal Transit Administration grant to support free rides, was an important step in creating a community where people feel connected to goods, services, and one another regardless of whether or not they drive. This program, which was originally launched as a temporary effort, became permanent and ignited excitement and energy for improving transportation and connectivity in Versailles.
Through their own dedication combined with support from SGA, Versailles was able to obtain funding for the projects proposed in their SS4A application. Versailles Council Member Laura Dake and Mary Beth Robson, Engineer for Versailles Midway Woodford County Planning Commission, dedicated their time and expertise to ensure they wrote a strong SS4A application, which sought funding for four quick-build demonstration projects to inform updates to the Regional Safety Action Plan.
These temporary installations funded through SS4A will be used to measure the impacts of restricting left turns to and from high-crash areas and busy intersections, creating temporary sidewalks, and using digital speed awareness signs. The lessons learned from these projects will be used to make recommendations for long-term changes to these hotspots and similar locations across Woodford County.
Communities all over the U.S. can benefit from opportunities to access support in navigating the often complex world of federal funding, so that they can take advantage of funding that they might not otherwise be able to pursue. USDOT should thoughtfully consider the challenges and limitations communities are facing so that their resources can reach every community where leaders are working for safer streets.
We’re excited to see what Versailles will learn from their SS4A-funded quick-build demonstration projects.

Success stories: Versailles, Kentucky receives Safe Streets for All funding

As part of our <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/meet-the-ta-cohort-addressing-climate-change/">Climate &amp; Land Use Technical Assistance Program,</a> Smart Growth America partnered with a local Florida-based organization, Incubate Neighborhood Center (INC), to raise awareness about the impacts that intensifying storms and flooding have on housing affordability, infrastructure, and economic development in their community. Focused on the Fort Pierce area in St. Lucie County, SGA and INC interviewed community residents, business owners, government officials, and regional resilience partners to learn from their experiences with flooding, what policies are in place to help, and how people can better prepare and advocate for equitable and climate resilient infrastructure that mitigates the impacts of flooding.
[button type="info" block="true" size="lg" link="<a href="https://youtu.be/S03q6MSllIk">https://youtu.be/S03q6MSllIk</a>"] Learn more about building resilience against flooding in Ft. Pierce in our new video![/button]
<h3>Climate and Land Use TA in Fort Pierce, FL</h3>
Fort Pierce is located in the Treasure Coast region of St. Lucie County in southeast Florida. “The Sunrise City,” as it’s known, was the home of the Highwaymen artists and writer Zora Neale Hurston. As a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40/">Justice40 Community</a>, its history of inequitable outcomes makes it a priority area for federal investments in environmental infrastructure, including flood mitigation projects. Crossed by Moore’s Creek, Taylor Creek, the Belcher Canal, and other waterways emptying into its coast along the Indian River Lagoon, much of Ft. Pierce is also prone to flooding. Flood Factor finds over a third of properties in the city to be flood-vulnerable, earning Ft. Pierce a <a href="https://firststreet.org/city/fort-pierce-fl/1224300_fsid/flood">Moderate Flood Risk rating.</a>
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Over the past year, SGA has partnered with<a href="https://incbiz.org/home"> Incubate Neighborhood Center</a> (INC), a community-based organization seeking to address systematic and institutionalized forms of racism and intentional disinvestment in Ft. Pierce as part of our <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/meet-the-ta-cohort-addressing-climate-change/">Climate and Land Use Technical Assistance Program</a>. Together, we worked with residents and leaders to raise awareness of local flooding issues, how it’s affecting land use and economic growth, and how it can be better addressed.
The resulting video, “Flooding in Ft. Pierce: Building resilience in Florida,” highlights how flooding has and continues to impact Ft. Pierce and the wider St. Lucie County community. Community residents, city and county staff, business owners, advocates, and regional resilience partners alike all face the effects of storms and flooding, and although individual action can be taken, the need for more policy that funds flood and storm-resilient infrastructure is clear. Federal, state, and local initiatives that support flood mitigation efforts must prioritize and elevate community experiences, particularly in low-lying areas and areas that have experienced systemic disinvestment.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Flooding in Ft. Pierce: Building resilience in Florida" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S03q6MSllIk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>The history of storms &amp; flooding in Florida</h3>
When Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1992 as only the third storm to make landfall in the U.S. as a <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php#:~:text=h%20or%20higher-,Catastrophic%20damage%20will%20occur%3A,-A%20high%20percentage">Category 5</a>, it ended Florida’s <a href="https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/columns/2022/08/13/hurricane-andrew-made-floridians-take-hurricanes-seriously-again/10275260002/">42-year streak</a> without a direct hit. In 2004, after Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne all impacted Florida, the state earned the nickname “<a href="https://www.noaa.gov/stories/4-hurricanes-in-6-weeks-it-happened-to-one-state-in-2004">the Plywood State</a>.” More recently, Hurricanes Irma (2017), Michael (2018), Ian (2022), and Idalia (2023) have all made landfall in the state as major hurricanes (Category 3 and above). Hurricanes of all categories can produce deadly storm surge, rain-induced floods, and tornadoes. And flooding can occur unrelated to any hurricane or tropical storm, like in 2023, when 25 inches of rain was dropped in one day on Fort Lauderdale, which is just 90 miles south of Fort Pierce, causing <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/national/202304">over a billion dollars</a> in damages. Just 14 months later, much of South Florida was again <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/us/south-florida-flood-rain-storms.html">underwater</a>.
[alert type="info"] How does flooding happen? A flood is any event where water covers normally uncovered land, but there are several <a href="https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/floods/types/">different causes and types of flooding</a>. Coastal flooding, where high tides combine with heavy rain and winds blowing more water onshore to inundate lower-lying coastal areas, and river flooding, where heavy rain causes waterways to rise above their banks and inundate surrounding areas, are typically more well-known. However, other types of flooding can be just as dangerous. Storm surge, which is when the wind and waves associated with tropical storms and hurricanes move water toward coastal areas, is sometimes the most dangerous part of storms, as was seen in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina. Inland flooding occurs when precipitation accumulates over an extended period or falls intensely in a short period of time. And flash floods, which can occur inland away from bodies of water or waterways, can occur so quickly that they can affect communities before they’re able to prepare.
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/how-smart-growth-can-combat-flooding-in-vulnerable-communities/"] Learn more about how to mitigate floods with smart growth[/button] 
[/alert]
The impacts of frequent floods in Florida are severe for all, but especially for low-lying neighborhoods and neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment in flood-resistant infrastructure. Over 300,000 people and $100 billion in real estate in the state are in areas that would be underwater with 3 feet of flooding. Between 1980 and 2024, Florida experienced 36 tropical cyclones or flood events that caused more than a <a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/state-summary/FL">billion dollars in damages</a>; 13 of these occurred in the past five 5 years (2019-2023) and collectively caused 314 deaths and $232.7 billion in losses. The impacts of flooding can go beyond inundation, too; rising water, especially where septic tanks are common, can <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2024/septic-tanks-rising-waters-environment-health/">carry raw sewage</a>, potentially exposing people to disease.
St. Lucie County’s <a href="https://www.stlucieco.gov/departments-and-services/oxbow-eco-center/resilient-st-lucie-county">ongoing resilience planning efforts</a> are one such area where community members can make their voices heard. As the initiative moves forward, residents can and should provide feedback on every step of the process wherever possible to guide the direction of the work St. Lucie County and the City of Fort Pierce are doing to enhance resilience to flooding.
[button type="info" block="true" size="lg" link="<a href="https://youtu.be/S03q6MSllIk">https://youtu.be/S03q6MSllIk</a>"] Learn more about building resilience against flooding in Ft. Pierce in our new video![/button]
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Reinvesting in Florida: Fighting floods with community-based solutions

Smart Growth America (SGA), through its Complete Streets Leadership Academy, worked with Maryland’s Department of Transportation (MDOT) and State Highway Administration (SHA) to pilot quick-build demonstration projects on state-owned routes in Bel Air, Hagerstown, and Howard County. These three communities were asked to plan, design, and install quick-build projects at specific locations to improve safety and accessibility for people walking and biking.
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After a successful <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">2023 Complete Streets Leadership Academy</a> featuring Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee, Smart Growth America has brought similar safety demonstration programming to the state of Maryland. The Maryland Complete Streets Leadership Academy builds on SGA’s experience working with state DOTs and local jurisdictions to install quick-build demonstration projects on state-owned routes. Howard County's Complete Streets policy was ranked number one in our <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/best-complete-streets/">2023 Best Complete Streets Policy Report</a>, and the Academy was a great opportunity to build the momentum for continued safety improvements for all road users on Maryland's streets. SGA, MDOT, SHA, and Stantec came together this summer to support a team of engineers, planners, and safety experts to create and implement safety projects in Bel Air, Hagerstown, and Howard County.
[alert type="info"] Quick-build demonstration projects are temporary installations to test roadway configurations that can improve safety and access for everyone, particularly people walking, biking, and rolling. These short-term measures can provide immediate improvements while also testing design strategies to determine the most effective long-term improvements. They are also a great opportunity to engage community members in the process of making streets safer for everyone by collaborating on design and incorporating feedback into future permanent installations. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalition/quick-build-demonstration-projects/">Learn more about quick builds! &gt;&gt;</a>[/alert]
A common barrier to quick-build projects is being able to get permission to install safety projects on a road not owned by the local jurisdiction. But state-owned routes are among the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/">most dangerous roadways</a> for people walking, biking, and rolling, making them ideal candidates for quick-build projects. Close collaboration between state DOTs and local jurisdictions from the beginning provides an opportunity to identify and then develop strategies to mitigate barriers to collaboration. SGA has seen much success with projects from former its Complete Streets Leadership Academy, such as with this <a href="https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/dot/documents/dpolicy/quick-build---complete-streets-june-2024.pdf">new guidance from CTDOT.</a>
Recently, SGA led a walk audit at the quick-build demonstration project that was recently installed in North Laurel, Howard County. The project replaced the rightmost lane on US 1 with a multi-use path for people to walk and bike, marked by flex posts and paint to delineate the new use of the space. People walking this route previously had to use the grass or the shoulder, as there is no sidewalk, and people biking had to hug the curb or brave the speeding vehicular traffic. Despite the unsafe conditions, people depend on this route to get to and from their work. With this project in place, there is room for people outside of cars to get where they need along US 1. At the walk audit, CSLA participants all felt the tangible improvements made by this project, shared the lessons learned in installation, and discussed how future long-term changes could improve upon this demonstration project.
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In addition to the immediate safety benefits to people in these three communities, the Maryland CSLA program is being conducted with long-term change in mind. Bel Air, Hagerstown, and Howard County were chosen in part because they are each located in a different SHA District. By running this pilot in three different districts, MDOT can take lessons learned from the Academy to develop a permanent program for quick-build projects in all Districts across the state. This work is part of Maryland’s larger state-wide <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/tso/pages/Index.aspx?PageId=207">Model Complete Streets Initiative</a>. Learn more from the <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://mdot-csla-resources-maryland.hub.arcgis.com/">Maryland Complete Streets Leadership Academy Hub</a> and stay tuned for a larger report from SGA once the communities have installed the quick-build demonstrations and engage the community about the proposed changes
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&nbsp;

Making Maryland Safer: Protecting all road users with Complete Streets

Innovative research from Smart Growth America and the Lincoln Institute reveals the potential for public lands to transform the financial health of urban municipalities. Using Richmond, Virginia, as a case study, the findings outline a clear plan for developing public lands to harness their potential for the greater good.
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<div style="background-color: #f7f3f3; width: 250px; padding: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px; float: right; text-align: left;"><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lincoln-Munincipal-Finance-Summary_8.7.24.pdf"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-78038 size-full" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lincoln-Institute-Cover.png" alt="click here on report cover to read the report PDF" width="1258" height="838" /></a> 
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lincoln-Munincipal-Finance-Summary_8.7.24.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read our two-page summary</a></div>
Public lands in urban areas can make up substantial parts of a city and hold significant economic value. In a new paper, SGA Director of Research Michael Rodriguez demonstrates how developing these public parcels could greatly benefit municipalities. By using a variety of methods, including an inventory of public assets, statistical analysis, and advanced machine learning techniques, the analysis of Richmond, Virginia, reveals that a surprising portion of land is undeveloped and underutilized.
The research demonstrates the untapped fiscal potential of urban public lands. In Richmond, the analysis finds that developing these lands could raise property values by approximately $530 million, increase tax revenue by $6 million annually, and have additional positive effects on nearby private properties.
Overall, the report highlights the importance of public lands in city planning and provides valuable insights for policymakers on how public assets can be leveraged to harness the potential of public assets for the greater good, revitalize cities, and improve fiscal stability. It suggests that careful and strategic development of these lands can bring in much-needed revenue while ensuring sustainable and fair use of urban spaces.
This study is especially useful for cities facing financial challenges and demonstrates how public lands can be a key resource for urban renewal and economic growth.
[button type="info" block="true" size="lg" link="https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/working-papers/advancing-connection-between-public-lands-and-municipal-finance/"]You can read the full working paper here [/button]

New paper: Unlocking the potential of public lands in Richmond, Virginia

In this year’s <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/">Dangerous by Design</a> report, Florida was ranked as the second most deadly state for people walking. From 2018-2022, Florida saw an average of 3,705 deaths on their roadways, with a fatality rate of 3.43 (well above the national average of 2.26). Additionally, we found that eight of the twenty most deadliest metro areas for pedestrians are in Florida.
The state of Florida continues to see an increase in pedestrian fatalities year after year. Our new video, “Walking in one of the deadliest states in America,” features residents, advocates, and experts who speak to how cities like Orlando are trending in the wrong direction when it comes to prioritizing pedestrian safety. The people in this video are just some of the countless individuals who have been impacted by traffic violence. State and local leaders need to do more to create and implement policies that protect all road users.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Walking in one of the deadliest states in America" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4tJotk_oHu0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
[alert type="info"] Florida streets are dangerous by design, but there are interventions that state leaders can implement to change that. Staff at the city of Orlando are working to address the ongoing issue of traffic violence in their area. Learn more about the steps they've taken and how they hope to continue to make progress in Orlando<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/champion-spotlight-orlando-florida/"> in this case study &gt;&gt;</a> [/alert]

New video: Walking in one of the deadliest states in America

Kalamazoo, Michigan, is dealing with a problem seen in a number of cities across the US: a state highway running through the downtown as a “couplet,” two parallel one-way streets. These two wide and fast state-owned routes cut through a downtown neighborhood full of parks, restaurants, and museums near Western Michigan University. Six lanes with no visual friction from oncoming traffic encouraged high speeds–a dangerous situation for people who hope to enjoy downtown on foot. Kalamazoo is taking big steps to reverse past car-centric decisions and improve safety for everyone by regaining ownership over state routes and converting them back to two-way streets.
[alert type="info"]As part of the Dangerous by Design Technical Assistance program, participant Nolan Bergstrom from the City of Kalamazoo, authored a case study on Kalamazoo's most dangerous road, West Michigan Avenue.  Nolan also published a storymap on the history of Kalamazoo's transportation networks.
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="/knowledge-hub/news/champion-spotlight-kalamazoo-mi/"] Read the case study [/button] 
[/alert]
<h3>How is Downtown Kalamazoo moving in the right direction?</h3>
<ul>
<li>Jurisdictional transfer: In 2019, Kalamazoo <a href="https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2019/01/kalamazoo-accepts-control-of-state-trunklines-spanning-city.html">regained ownership</a> of state routes through the city, including sections of Stadium Drive, Westnedge Avenue, Park Street, Michikal Street, Michigan Avenue, and Kalamazoo Avenue. The agreement puts the city in charge of the maintenance and design of these routes, which will no longer function as state highways. This means Kalamazoo can now implement the street improvements previously proposed for downtown without the approval of Michigan DOT (MDOT). For residents, this means that they have a more direct connection to the changes being made, with opportunities to have their concerns addressed by their local government, which was not happening from the state.</li>
<li>Street design projects: The jurisdictional transfer was enabled by the city’s long-term strategic plan, <a href="https://www.imaginekalamazoo.com/#gsc.tab=0">Imagine Kalamazoo 2025</a>. The vision of this plan includes a conversion of the downtown grid back into two-way streets and slowing traffic, which the city is able to implement with control of its roads. The Street Network Design Project, completed in 2020, affirmed that the community wants the downtown road network to be redesigned to slow vehicular speeds and improve connectivity for people walking and biking in the neighborhood. In addition to the two-way conversion, the plan includes reducing the number of vehicle lanes, adding pedestrian crossings, and installing bike facilities.</li>
<li>Community engagement: The planning process for the strategic plan and related safety improvements involved extensive community engagement through workshops, surveys, walk audits, and other forms of outreach and participation. With every new streetscape project, the city conducts more <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57582dcbf85082d2ca1fb7f0/t/631a7133aed7e72a623c5997/1662677300524/PPP%2BBook.pdf">public participation</a> to confirm the community’s desire to continue with Imagine Kalamazoo and to conduct more detailed planning for the work to be done.</li>
</ul>
<h4>What’s next for these improvement projects?</h4>
Construction for these safety improvement projects is underway, starting with Kalamazoo Avenue and Michikal Street. Surface treatments have already been installed to reduce lanes, narrow lane widths, and provide bike facilities on Westnedge Avenue, Park Street, and Michigan Avenue. <a href="https://www.kalamazoocity.org/Community/Projects/2023/Planning/Traffic-Calming-Safe-Streets-for-All">Pilot projects</a> funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All program are being implemented in 2024.
<a href="https://www.kalamazoocity.org/Community/Projects/2024/HSIP-Vulnerable-Road-User-Safety-Projects">Highway Safety Improvement Program</a> funds from MDOT and <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/reconnecting-communities-pilot-project-for-kalamazoo-and-michigan-avenues/">Reconnecting Communities Pilot</a> funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will support these ongoing efforts for Downtown Kalamazoo. While the funds are much needed to support change, the IIJA money is received through MDOT. This results in ongoing negotiations on design and other issues between the city and state DOT even though the facilities are under city control.
Thank you to Nolan Bergstrom, Dennis Randolph, and Christina Anderson for their contributions to this case study.

DOT Coordination Case Study: Kalamazoo and Michigan

The most dangerous road in Seattle, Washington, is State Route 99, Aurora Avenue N. 19 people were killed while walking on Aurora Ave N between 2008 and 2022, on just 7.6 miles of road. 14 of these deaths occurred between 2018 and 2022, which is 15% of all pedestrian fatalities in Seattle during that time. The downtown portion of Rte 99 was recently buried–the highway that used to cut through the downtown now tunnels underneath it. However, when the highway resurfaces in the Queen Ann and Westlake neighborhoods, a mixed-use area just north of Downtown, people walking still have to navigate wide lanes, inadequate pedestrian facilities, and high speeds to cross the street or access the bus routes. Though Aurora Ave N is owned by the state DOT, the city is responsible for day-to-day maintenance and operations, so the city and state have worked together closely for years on improving this corridor. There are many ongoing plans and campaigns to improve the safety of the road through design, and it will take continued collaboration and strong partnership between the city, the state, and local stakeholders to make these plans a reality.
[alert type="info"]As part of the Dangerous by Design Technical Assistance program, participant Natalie Lubsen from Seattle, authored a case study on Seattle's most dangerous road, State Route 99.
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/champion-spotlight-seattle-wa/"] Read the case study [/button] 
[/alert]
<h3>How is Aurora Ave moving in the right direction?</h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Long-term visioning: The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and King County Metro are currently in the third phase of a multi-year <a href="https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/current-projects/aurora-ave-project">Aurora Ave Project</a>, planning for safety improvements to the corridor. This study breaks Aurora Ave into five segments and includes community engagement through surveys and design workshops to incorporate local needs into the proposed design. Part of this work is funded by a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Pedestrian and Bicycle Program grant, and WSDOT is a key partner in the planning process. WSDOT owns the route, but Seattle is responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and operations, so this project is only one part of a long-term partnership between the city and the state.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Local advocacy: <a href="https://www.got99problems.org/about-us">Aurora Reimagined Coalition</a> is a partnership of neighbors, advocates, businesses, and public agencies that works extensively to envision a people-centric future for Aurora Ave. The coalition provides invaluable lived experience to incorporate into the city-led planning processes, conducts supplemental community surveys, and pushes for designs that meet the needs of <a href="https://www.got99problems.org/blog/year-3-of-the-aurora-ave-redesign">all users on the entire corridor</a>. For example, when SDOT released new design ideas for a community survey, the Coalition encouraged residents to <a href="https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/03/23/op-ed-heres-how-we-can-fix-aurora-avenue-from-people-who-might-know-how/">ask for more</a>, requesting designs that prioritize active transportation and transit.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Short-term safety improvements: SDOT is not waiting for the long-term planning to address immediately known safety concerns. SDOT is implementing some shorter-term strategies, including No Turn on Red signs and <a href="https://highways.dot.gov/media/11841#:~:text=An%20LPI%20gives%20pedestrians%20a,%2D%20or%20right%2D%20turning%20vehicles.">pedestrian leading interval</a> signals at all signalized intersections, and these strategies will inform WSDOT’s improvements to similar roads across the state. The <a href="https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/blog/2022/02/08/move-ahead-washington/">2022 Move Ahead Washington</a> transportation funding package includes a set aside for a demonstration project on Aurora Ave, but the funds have <a href="https://www.theurbanist.org/2023/05/03/state-transportation-budget-passes-over-aurora-avenue-safety-project/">not been released</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h4>What’s needed to continue improving?</h4>
There is a long way to go before the entire corridor is reconstructed. As Aurora Reimagined Coalition, Transportation Choices Coalition, and many others are aware, it will take long-term collaboration, engagement, and funding to complete and implement these plans. A project of this size needs to continue through many elections and rounds of funding, which requires ongoing pressure from residents and advocates for safety to be prioritized on Rte 99.
Thank you to Natalie Lubsen and Dongho Chang for their contributions to this case study.

DOT Coordination Case Study: Seattle and Washington

Co-authored by<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/about-us/our-staff/joseph-mendonca/"> Joseph Mendonca</a>
Together with the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), Smart Growth America has been raising awareness about the compounding effects of climate change, including the interactions between extreme heat, the built environment, pre-existing health conditions, and social inequalities in Atlanta, Georgia. In southwest Atlanta, PSE and SGA interviewed residents, activists, and climate policy leaders to learn from their experiences with the dangers of extreme heat and to hear about their communities’ needs for policy and advocacy strategies that create safer and more accessible infrastructure.
In 2023, Atlanta experienced the <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/its-official-atlanta-had-its-second-hottest-year-on-record-in-2023/WMEUZ6XVA5DONBRGENUANP2IPM/">second-hottest year</a> in near a century. With the heat index routinely straying into triple digits over the summer, school activities <a href="https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/08/14/atlanta-public-schools-moves-all-outdoor-activities-indoors-extreme-heat/">were forced inside</a>, Zoo Atlanta <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/heatwave-forces-zoo-atlanta-close-early-animal-welfare/85-20681f87-b013-4927-8576-59e09e38a59d">closed early</a> to maintain animal welfare, households <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/atlantans-feel-pinch-of-extreme-heat-rate-hikes-in-their-power-bills/OLNP2NZ4HBAJBKDRMSGG73LYWY/">struggled with high power bills</a>, and <a href="https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/07/27/temps-rise-firefighters-deal-with-different-kind-heat/">firefighters</a>, <a href="https://www.wabe.org/construction-workers-cope-with-dangerous-heat-as-temperatures-rise/">construction workers,</a> and other outdoor workers strove to protect themselves from heat-related illnesses. These extreme heat events, and others like them, are becoming increasingly common and worsening systemic inequities. In Atlanta, there is a clear need for policies and programs that equitably address this threat, including <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/how-to-beat-the-heat-a-built-environment-approach/">smart growth initiatives</a> that redress the legacies of redlining and other racist land use policies.
[alert type="info"]
What is extreme heat? 
An extreme heat event, <a href="https://community.fema.gov/ProtectiveActions/s/article/Extreme-Heat-What">as defined by FEMA,</a> is a period in which temperatures are “excessively hot” compared to the norm for that region and time of year. The body normally cools itself down through sweating, releasing its excess heat into the surrounding air as sweat evaporates. But when temperatures exceed the body’s ability to cool itself, or if the air is humid enough to prevent sweat from evaporating fast enough, normal body processes and organ functioning can be affected. This <a href="https://www.weather.gov/ffc/heat2">manifests as heat-related illnesses</a>, like heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which, if not addressed immediately, can be fatal. Those most vulnerable to heat-related illnesses (the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing conditions) and those most exposed to outdoor conditions (outdoor workers, pedestrians and bicyclists, the unhoused, and those without consistent access to AC) are especially impacted.
The National Weather Service uses the heat index (which considers both temperature and humidity) to issue alerts when outside conditions can be harmful to human health. Depending on location, alert procedures begin at around 105°-110°F, although heat-related illnesses can even occur before that.
[/alert]
To help inform policy and advocacy efforts in Atlanta, Smart Growth America partnered with the <a href="https://psequity.org/">Partnership for Southern Equity</a> (PSE) to learn from community members, advocates, policy leaders, and researchers about their experiences with extreme heat and how they want to see it addressed. Supported by the Kresge Foundation’s <a href="https://kresge.org/initiative/climate-change-health-and-equity-cche/">Climate Change, Health, and Equity (</a>CCHE) initiative, the project is part of a larger collaboration that aims to advance racial equity and mitigate the effects of climate change in Atlanta. In 2022, PSE and SGA produced <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/growing-a-clean-economy-a-collaborative-climate-change-health-equity-project-by-sga-and-the-partnership-for-southern-equity/">a report and factsheets</a> on strategies to achieve energy equity, to develop a less carbon-intensive economy, and to train a growing green workforce. Over the past year, PSE formed a Community Advisory Board (CAB) with members drawn from southwest Atlanta to hear directly from residents on their top-of-mind climate- and health-related issues affecting their everyday life. Hearing that extreme heat and energy burdens were key concerns, we continued our work with a narrative-based approach, compiling testimonies from residents on their lived experiences with extreme heat to raise awareness on how communities can better prepare for and stay safe during extreme heat events.
The video, “ATL Rising: Building resilience in the face of extreme heat,” is centered on these resident testimonies and on strategies for policies and infrastructure that are more prepared for the challenges extreme heat brings.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="ATL Rising: Building resilience in the face of extreme heat" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_zbK-7YLGhY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The video highlights how extreme heat is causing an energy burden and illnesses like heat exhaustion and difficulty breathing when Atlanta community members are overexposed to high temperatures, and how Atlanta is representative of larger systemic issues, including racist land use policies, chronic disinvestment, and environmental injustices. To address extreme heat, advocates and policy makers must have a clear understanding of these impacts and must learn from community members about their needs and wants for a safe, prosperous, and healthy Atlanta.
<blockquote>
“Recently and historically, people are leaving their homes at unsafe temperatures.” — Chandra Farley, Chief Sustainability Officer, Atlanta Office of Sustainability
</blockquote>
For households in Atlanta that are already experiencing the effects of extreme heat, there are steps they can take right now to help mitigate the effects they have on both their health and their financial situation. From taking advantage of programs to support their home’s energy efficiency to knowing how to identify and help those struggling with heat-related illnesses, community members can also play a role in making their community more resilient to heat.
<h3>Partner Initiatives</h3>
After engaging in this project, the Community Advisory Board (CAB) has taken steps to pursue funding to employ tangible infrastructure solutions in their communities to address extreme heat. If granted, they will be able to partner with local businesses to install public water stations, as well as create a digital resource hub that will direct residents to nearby cooling stations and other resources intended to help Atlanta residents stay cool during extremely hot days. In addition, the CAB has been drafting policy recommendations focusing on subsidizing the weatherization of homes for people of color.
The CAB has also helped develop the following infographics that aim to educate the public on common heat-related illnesses, tips for staying cool inside the home, and programs available to assist in lowering energy bills:
<ol>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Extreme-Heat-Infographic.pdf">Staying safe in the heat</a></li>
<li><a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Energy-Burden-Infographic.pdf">Handling high energy costs from heat</a></li>
</ol>
[alert type="info"] 
Save the date! 
Join the Partnership for Southern Equity on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 for a video screening event and discussion on extreme heat, climate change, and equitable infrastructure. The screening will take place at the PSE office (<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/TVuLk3rBJs55ik8Q7">667 Fairburn Rd NW, Atlanta, GA</a>) from 6:00—8:00 PM EST. [/alert]
SGA and PSE are thankful to <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=the+kresge+foundation+cche&amp;rlz=1C5GCEM_en&amp;oq=the+kresge+foundation+cche&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIJCAQQIRgKGKABMgkIBRAhGAoYoAHSAQg1MjczajBqN6gCALACAA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">The Kresge Foundation,</a> which has been instrumental in advancing our CCHE work.

Climate Change, Health, and Equity: The Effects of Extreme Heat in Atlanta

Milwaukee, WI: Capacity challenges slow, but don’t stall Complete Streets work

Baltimore, MD: Consistent reflection is crucial to inform binding next steps

Last fall, SGA concluded a <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/advancing-equitable-development-in-massachusetts/">technical assistance partnership</a> with two Massachusetts community organizations, CultureHouse in Somerville and Westside Legends in Pittsfield. The Massachusetts Technical Assistance programming included three distinct phases of support for the two community organizations in their efforts to advance affordable housing production and economic development opportunities in their respective communities.
<h4>CultureHouse: Encouraging smarter growth in the greater Boston area</h4>
The recent passing of the <a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mbta-communities-law-qa#:~:text=The%20MBTA%20Communities%20Act%20requires,%2C%20ferry%20terminal%20or%20subway).">MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Area Transit Authority) Communities Law</a> requires the 177 communities in the region with MBTA rail stations to upzone neighborhoods within a half-mile of the station to allow for by-right development of multi-family housing. Passed as one of several statewide zoning reforms aiming to address the Commonwealth’s housing crisis, the MBTA Communities Law brings additional focus on the need for more affordable housing in one of the most expensive housing markets in the United States.
<a href="https://culturehouse.cc/">Cultu</a><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/image1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-84727 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/image1-293x300.png" alt="Five step process: &quot;Research: We work with community partners to identify pain points, opportunities, and scope projects. Community Engagement: through advisory groups and participatory action, we create plans that meed neighborhood criteria. Design.build: Using tactical urbanist methods, we design and build spaces that are accessible and foster community. Operation: We invite people into projects, provide programming, and collect data. Impact report: By analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, we document findings and provide a path forward for continued development.&quot;" width="293" height="300" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/image1-293x300.png 293w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/image1.png 667w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 293px) 100vw, 293px" /></a><a href="https://culturehouse.cc/">reHouse</a>, a nonprofit organization in Somerville, Massachusetts (an MBTA community), was poised to leverage the new law to benefit their community. Through their participation in <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/new-zoning-reform-technical-assistance-program-in-massachusetts/">SGA’s Massachusetts Technical Assistance program</a>, we worked with CultureHouse to create a framework that embeds smart growth principles into the organization’s internal processes and community engagement strategies. The program included a Virtual Training program for CultureHouse team members and the creation of several informational and educational materials on complex housing-related topics such as zoning reform, the technicalities of public-private space differences, and more. Our efforts focused on the organization’s five-step engagement processes, using new methods to incorporate boots-on-the-ground community feedback received during CultureHouse’s engagement events into smart growth-oriented actionable action plans.
As the regions in the greater Boston area continue to place an added focus on collectively exploring opportunities to create more affordable housing opportunities, SGA is thrilled to have had the opportunity to support CultureHouse in their efforts to revitalize and beautify underutilized and vacant public spaces across Somerville.
<h4>Westside Legends: Bringing much-needed affordable housing development to Westside Pittsfield to lessen the impacts of Urban Renewal and Redlining and prevent further displacement</h4>
Through the technical assistance program, SGA supported <a href="https://www.westsidelegends.org/">Westside Legends</a> to grow the reach and scale of its affordable housing rehabilitation program. Our partnership included funding support, land use strategy development, and mentorship on housing development best practices. The concluding series of recommendations for Westside Legends included strategies for fundraising, hiring, and collaborating with local municipal permitting departments during housing development project processes. The SGA team also provided a desktop policy scan of approximately $1 million in operational funding opportunities that would support its mission and programming. As a result, Westside Legends accessed ARPA funds provided by the City of Pittsfield to continue to support its affordable housing projects. They also connected with a grants manager to pursue additional funding. Finally, we connected Westside Legends with national experts who shared additional best practices to support their work.
SGA is thrilled to continue supporting small, local organizations across the country, such as Westside Legends, which have taken it upon themselves to fill the gaps in equitable affordable housing and economic development at the most localized neighborhood level.
<h4>The Westside Working Group</h4>
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SGA-MATA-Recommendations-Report_Final.pdf"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-84724" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Westide-Recs-Report-Cover-Image-300x232.png" alt="A mural of a girl in a rainbow dress on a wall in Pittsfield with a report title that reads &quot;Westside Working Group Recommendations Report&quot;" width="222" height="172" /></a>For the final phase of the technical assistance program, SGA convened a working group in Pittsfield of local community leaders to develop a comprehensive suite of recommendations and next steps to advance affordable housing and economic development in the Westside neighborhood. The Westside Working Group included neighborhood leaders, planning practitioners, business leaders, and other local community stakeholders who shared various work expertise and lived experiences in Pittsfield. Discussions, in particular, were focused on community concerns over the inconsistent communication that Westside community leaders have historically experienced when working with the city to address neighborhood concerns over past disinvestment.
Leaning heavily on the lived final report included the following six recommendations and action items that Westside Legends will present to the City of Pittsfield leadership to bring actionable investment and improvements to the Westside:
<ul>
<li>Recommendation 1: Support grassroots advocacy, bolster community voices in housing and community development decisions, and expand upon existing community engagement efforts</li>
<li>Recommendation 2: Create an Equitable Development Roundtable to facilitate collaborative and cross-sectional discussions and relationships</li>
<li>Recommendation 3: Create and implement a vacant lot remediation strategy focused on the Westside</li>
<li>Recommendation 4: Develop City-supported educational programming to encourage and support BIPOC wealth generation</li>
<li>Recommendation 5: Update zoning to allow for mixed-use development and infill on the Westside</li>
<li>Recommendation 6: Update the 2009 Master Plan</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SGA-MATA-Recommendations-Report_Final.pdf"] Read the recommendations report here[/button]
The final recommendations report will serve as a strategy guide that Westside Legends can use as they work with the City of Pittsfield to mitigate the longstanding effects of exclusionary zoning and create more affordable housing opportunities in the Westside neighborhood.
<h4>Conclusion</h4>
The Massachusetts Technical Assistance program concluded with an Equitable Development Convening in Pittsfield. The convening brought together CultureHouse, Westside Legends, and a selection of Statewide and National leaders on equitable development to share findings from the technical assistance programming, discuss and finalize the Westside Working Group recommendations, and brainstorm actionable next steps toward advancing equitable development across the Massachusetts Commonwealth. Community organizations and local governments across the country will have the opportunity to work together to address historic

Supporting smart growth in Pittsfield and Somerville, MA

Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report

Bristol has made commitments to Complete Streets in the past as a strategy to confront their lack of biking and walking infrastructure. With major state routes running through its borders, the Bristol team was eager to collaborate directly with CTDOT in the program so that they could learn how to make their roads safer for all users—and create a roadmap for other cities to do the same. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-05-Bristol_Aerial-View_Photo.png"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-84171" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-05-Bristol_Aerial-View_Photo-1024x421.png" alt=" width=" height="329" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-05-Bristol_Aerial-View_Photo-1024x421.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-05-Bristol_Aerial-View_Photo-300x123.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-05-Bristol_Aerial-View_Photo-768x316.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-05-Bristol_Aerial-View_Photo.png 1090w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
From the program’s launch, Bristol had a clear idea of where they wanted to deploy their quick-build demonstration. The site covered several blocks on West Street (CT 69), home to key community destinations including Immanuel Lutheran School, the Boys and Girls Club, and St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church, making it a place that draws more pedestrians. However, the offset crosswalks and frequent parking made it a challenging place for pedestrians to cross and otherwise get around.
Bristol temporarily removed one of the existing offset crosswalks and installed a temporary perpendicular crosswalk to encourage crossings at a single location to make it more clear to drivers to yield to people walking. They also improved visibility for both drivers and people on foot at the intersections by removing the capability to park at corners. The team worked with community members— including the Boys and Girls Club—to host a launch event in September where they solicited feedback and celebrated the temporary changes.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
The impact of the project was measured through observations, data collection, and engagement. One highlight from their findings was that speed data confirmed that the travel speeds were reduced during the installation, from approximately 38 miles per hour pre-installation to approximately 29 miles per hour at the end of the installation period.
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Community connections are key. When making changes, it is important to think about who will be the most impacted by them and make an effort to include those groups in the process from start to finish. This will not only help create a better project that improves the community but also builds trust within the community and can ultimately lead to more community support and involvement in future efforts. In Bristol, the city made sure to do a lot of outreach in preparation for the quick-build demonstration and held a launch event that allowed the community to interact with the changes and give their feedback.
Strong collaboration equals success. When embarking on a project, it’s critical to connect with all the partners as early as possible whether they are local community groups, city or county staff, or those from a state department of transportation. Bristol found experiences interacting with CTDOT and transportation professionals from other cities extremely valuable, especially when they were able to connect in person.
Keep the momentum going. Coming out of the Complete Streets Leadership Academy, Bristol was figuring out what the project meant for long-term change. Quick-build projects are useful tools to test out potential infrastructure improvements without investing tons of funding and to make sure they work for the community before putting in something permanent. When implementing a quick build, start thinking of ways to use the lessons learned to plan for future permanent investments in transportation safety.
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[alert type="info"] <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-84180" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png" alt="The Complete Streets Leadership Academy report cover featuring an animated complete street, with a bike lane, bus lane, and sidewalk surrounding a street with lots of active people." width="116" height="150" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png 791w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-232x300.png 232w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-768x994.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1187x1536.png 1187w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1583x2048.png 1583w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px" /></a>In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
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Bristol, CT: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

With the goal of putting their 2023 Complete Streets Initiative Master Plan into action, Middletown joined the Complete Streets Leadership Academy to design and deploy a quick-build project that would improve nighttime visibility for pedestrians. Despite early setbacks, the team from Middletown was able to pivot and successfully implement a quick build that informed future efforts in the community. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
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<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT1.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-84204 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT1-300x225.jpg" alt=" width=" height="225" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT1-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT1-768x576.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CT1.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>One contributor to the national pedestrian safety crisis is the lack of visibility of pedestrians, with almost 6,000 pedestrian deaths happening when it is dark outside. Middletown sought to address this by installing pedestrian-level crosswalk lighting at the signalized intersection of Grand Street and Main Street. The location sees significant numbers of people walking as it is near multiple restaurants and other amenities.
This was not the first idea Middletown came up with for their project. Middletown initially planned to create back-in-only parking on Main Street by changing the angle of the parking spaces. However, when a local newspaper heard about the project and wrote an article on it, public opposition grew and the team realized that the constraints of the academy program did not allow time for the necessary engagement to build community support. Quickly, Middletown shifted to address concerns over pedestrian visibility and opted to explore lighting improvements to an intersection on Main Street. The pivot away from parking took staff time and resources and delayed progress on the ultimate installation.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
The impact of the project was measured through observations, data collection, and engagement. Interviews on the ground were conducted and people noted that it was more comfortable to walk with the lighting installed. Businesses, law enforcement, and other community members also noted that it improved visibility and some inquired whether it would be made permanent.
The city felt the experience was positive overall. Middletown hopes that the effort can be replicated at other locations with minimal investment now that it has been done once before.
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Expect the unexpected. Proposed projects may encounter unexpected reactions from the community or other external variables. Be flexible, creative, and open to change. Middletown’s original project idea received opposition before it was even solidified. The city then decided to pivot and come up with a project that was achievable and impactful.
Make a project that fits. Quick-build demonstrations can have a positive impact on a community without being overly ambitious. Exploring possibilities that are within budget, timeframes, and resources can still lead to permanent solutions in the future.
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[alert type="info"] <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-84180" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png" alt="The Complete Streets Leadership Academy report cover featuring an animated complete street, with a bike lane, bus lane, and sidewalk surrounding a street with lots of active people." width="116" height="150" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png 791w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-232x300.png 232w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-768x994.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1187x1536.png 1187w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1583x2048.png 1583w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px" /></a>In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

Middletown, CT: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

Over the years, the City of Waterbury has worked to revitalize its downtown and implement its 2014 Complete Streets Resolution. Participating in the Complete Streets Leadership Academy gave Waterbury the dedicated time to focus on addressing problems related to the safety and accessibility of people walking and biking. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Waterbury_Quick_Build-01-scaled.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-84178 " src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Waterbury_Quick_Build-01-232x300.jpg" alt=" width=" height="389" /></a>
<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
The participants from Waterbury identified Grand Street as the project location because it is a major commercial, residential, and civic corridor in the heart of downtown which also connects to a number of interstates. The Complete Streets Leadership Academy allowed Waterbury to dedicate time to demonstrate the value of using a holistic approach that considers all modes of transportation including walking, rolling, biking, and public transit use. It was an opportunity to reimagine what a main street could look like that serves residents, encourages visitors, and protects the interstate travel the area supports.
The implemented quick-build demonstration aimed to address unsafe vehicle speeds, long pedestrian crossings, and crosswalks that lack visibility, all of which put pedestrians at high risk. Additionally, the project sought to draw the community to the area, giving businesses and the economy overall a boost and making the main street a hub again.
The Waterbury project shortened the crossing distance for pedestrians, narrowing travel lanes to 11.5’, and providing at least 25’ of no parking area on both sides of the crosswalks to improve visibility at intersections. Waterbury used barrels, traffic cones, and other easily moved materials to narrow lanes and improve crossing protection. They also increased the visibility of existing crosswalks with temporary paint and tape.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
The impact of the project was measured through observations, data collection, and engagement. Highlights include:
<ul>
<li>Data collected in August 2023 demonstrated an 11 percent decrease in speeds from similar data collected in April 2023. Data collected after the project was removed showed an increase in vehicle speeds, further demonstrating the impact of the decrease in lane width on driver behavior.</li>
<li>Program participants noted an increased knowledge in how to balance vehicular traffic with active transportation, including the logistical issues that need to be navigated in order to ensure success.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Partnerships can help overcome internal barriers. Waterbury faced internal staffing and resources challenges early on. By engaging the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG), they were able to build capacity and successfully complete the project. This effort also brought in other partners who could be part of future efforts for permanent changes to the area.
Early communication and engagement is key. Local businesses were concerned about the impact of removing parking spots. The team knew that it was key to engage businesses early in the project. Multiple forms of communication, including an in-person activity, demonstrated the need and potential of the proposed changes.
Data can tell a story. Numbers don’t lie, and the early success in reducing speeds contributed to the narrative of the project. Capturing before and after data is critical to being able to make the case that the project was successful and to inspire future action.
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[alert type="info"] <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-84180" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png" alt="The Complete Streets Leadership Academy report cover featuring an animated complete street, with a bike lane, bus lane, and sidewalk surrounding a street with lots of active people." width="116" height="150" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png 791w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-232x300.png 232w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-768x994.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1187x1536.png 1187w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1583x2048.png 1583w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px" /></a>In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
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Waterbury, CT: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

The City of Chattanooga has taken steps in recent years to address the safety of all road users, but it sought to find a more nimble approach to addressing dangerous street design. Their participation in the Complete Streets Leadership Academy allowed them to deliver a quick-build demonstration project on a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) state route. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
After analyzing state routes across the city, the City of Chattanooga selected South Willow Street—a state-owned road—for a quick-build demonstration that would improve the pedestrian experience and safety. Although multiple state routes have high crash rates, two intersections were selected on South Willow Street to demonstrate that safety improvements could be made at a relatively low cost and to ease coordination with TDOT.
The project installed two striped crosswalks with rubber removable medians to slow drivers and reduce the number of conflict points at the intersections where the pedestrian refuges were installed. To further reduce speeding, the project also included two removable speed bumps so that cars would have to slow before turning onto cross streets. The City of Chattanooga used flex posts and traffic paint along South Willow Street to reclaim public space for people walking and cycling. Later, they further increased visibility by using geometric shapes along the walkway, painted in colors not typically seen on roadways. Designed and installed with direct input from neighbors on both sides of South Willow Street, this sidewalk art created a sense of place by pulling inspiration from the Highland Park and Ridgedale neighborhoods.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
The impact of the project was measured through observations, data collection, and engagement. Highlights include:
<ul>
<li>Increased interest and positive reactions from the community. By building part of their quick build before the modular medians arrived, city personnel were able to start collecting community feedback early, improving community engagement overall and expediting the installation.</li>
<li>Measurement of pedestrian activity in the area to see if the addition of safe infrastructure was impacting the way people traveled. The City of Chattanooga found that when they installed safe crosswalks, people were eager to use them.</li>
<li>Thanks to this quick-build project, the City of Chattanooga will create a quick-build program with several more demonstration projects planned in the coming years.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Infrastructure improvements can reduce speeds. Slowing vehicle speed is a key tactic to improve safety for people walking and cycling because the risk of injury and death increases as driver speed increases. However, though this project was meant to improve pedestrian safety by addressing street design, it wasn’t explicitly a traffic-calming project. Even so, the mere introduction of crosswalks and flex posts naturally slowed vehicles as drivers became more aware of other road users.
One small step towards reconnecting communities. Without proper infrastructure for people to cross, South Willow Street divided two neighborhoods. However, the simple introduction of crosswalks and pedestrian refuges helped address this divide—a small step, but an initial and inexpensive one that allowed the city to help knit these neighborhoods back together.
Improvements can be cost-effective. The improvements on South Willow Street cost less than $15,000, demonstrating that a relatively small investment can quickly improve the street for all users, especially the most vulnerable users. Similar quick-build projects are efficient, low-cost tools that the City of Chattanooga can use to improve streets citywide.
Collaboration supports innovation. Buy-in from TDOT helped ensure that communication was quick and efficient. The city conferred with the state on the types of materials to use, compliance for curb ramps, and other interventions they could try on the state-owned road. Only four weeks passed between Chattanooga’s design adjustments and TDOT’s final review, which took place over email without a need for other permits.
<hr />
[alert type="info"] In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

Chattanooga, TN: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

With a newly adopted Vision Zero plan in place, Metro Nashville joined the Complete Streets Leadership Academy to strengthen partnerships and test out new paths to achieving safer streets. Working together to improve crossings for people walking allowed them to strengthen their relationships with local partners and provide quick, tangible benefits to a community that was ready for change. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-48B60A86-8BFD-408D-A769-2CC325395B0B_1_105_c.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-84175 alignright" style="padding: 5px;" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-48B60A86-8BFD-408D-A769-2CC325395B0B_1_105_c.jpeg" width="327" height="436" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-48B60A86-8BFD-408D-A769-2CC325395B0B_1_105_c.jpeg 769w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-48B60A86-8BFD-408D-A769-2CC325395B0B_1_105_c-225x300.jpeg 225w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 327px) 100vw, 327px" /> </a>As the participants from Nashville combed through potential sites, one location stood out among the rest due to the high pedestrian traffic along the route and the known equity concerns in the area: Dickerson Pike and Queen Avenue. Despite known safety concerns, the project area hasn’t seen major transportation improvements in 30 years. A quick-build project was a way to demonstrate to the people who live around Dickerson Pike—who are primarily low-income and people of color—that their safety and accessibility are a priority for both local and state decision-makers.
To reclaim pedestrian space, the Nashville team painted walkways along the east side of Dickerson Pike and the north side of Grizzard Avenue, a roadway on the west that dead-ends into Dickerson. The painted walkway on the east side of Dickerson included a mural by local artist Charles Key, who used affordable and easily accessible materials including colored concrete seal applied with roller brushes to make the art attractive and functional. Adding art further drew attention to the changes along Dickerson, both attracting pedestrians and signaling drivers to slow down and watch for people walking.
The Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT) also made multiple changes to the long crosswalk to make it more comfortable and safer to traverse. A pedestrian refuge in the center turn lane, painted with bright yellow paint and lined with flex posts, shortened the length people needed to cross. NDOT also refreshed the crosswalk with thermoplastic and replaced the school bus crossing signage with pedestrian crossing signage to match current needs.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
The impact of the project was measured through observations, data collection, and engagement. Highlights include: 
Quick builds allowed NDOT to test out safety improvements on a temporary basis, giving them an opportunity to boost buy-in within their agency for more permanent change to roadways. These low-cost projects were also easily replicable, so for a relatively low lift, NDOT built momentum on safety improvements throughout the metro area. 
Communication with Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) helped build relationships with different regional engineering teams. These relationships will make it easier for NDOT to embark on design solutions for state-owned roads in the future. 
NDOT also enjoyed stronger communication within their own DOT, as multiple team members worked together to identify hurdles and come up with solutions.
<h4>Key takeaways</h4>
Dedicated time and space can improve partnerships and foster future collaboration. Nashville metro’s quick-build demonstration project was an important step toward building a stronger partnership between NDOT, TDOT, and the community, which has sparked the potential for long-term Vision Zero improvements at the Dickerson and Queen intersection. This exercise testing creative, temporary solutions also sets a strong foundation for future quick builds in the metro area.
Build upon existing momentum. While many intersections in the Nashville metro area would benefit from safety interventions, partners had been working at the Dickerson and Queen intersection long before NDOT started their project there, creating a strong foundation of knowledge and community input for the demonstration. NDOT was also able to draw upon existing momentum for change from TDOT, which has identified multiple Nashville locations for Pedestrian Safety Initiative Projects.
A lot can be learned with some striping tape and a few cones. NDOT benefited by using tactical urbanism in advance of their quick build to create an even deeper understanding of their project site and the needs of the surrounding community. The data they collected, in addition to community input, helped create a more successful demonstration project.
Community members will notice when they feel safer, and they’ll want that feeling everywhere. Though outside the scope of NDOT’s demonstration project, community members offering feedback frequently pointed to the nearby successful HAWK signal at Dickerson and Sunset Avenue, which provides a flashing signal when pedestrians want to cross. This community input is a testament to how effective change can inspire community members to advocate for similar improvements elsewhere. Hopefully, improvements from the quick build will have a similar impact.
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[alert type="info"] <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-84180" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png" alt="The Complete Streets Leadership Academy report cover featuring an animated complete street, with a bike lane, bus lane, and sidewalk surrounding a street with lots of active people." width="116" height="150" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png 791w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-232x300.png 232w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-768x994.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1187x1536.png 1187w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1583x2048.png 1583w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px" /></a>In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

Nashville, TN: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

The City of San Leandro’s project was unique as they chose to demonstrate a small portion of an already approved county-led bike-lane project. The city leveraged this opportunity to host a pop-up event to unveil an art installation, build better partnerships, and engage the community on its plans and vision. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
&nbsp;
<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
San Leandro selected East 14th Street (State Route 185) from Hesperian Blvd to 150th Avenue for the quick-build demonstration site. The team utilized a city-owned striping paint machine and stencil to create a protected bike lane further supported by flex post delineators and adhesive pads to create the physical separation. The San Leandro cohort selected this street because it connects residents to regional transportation facilities, employment areas, and activity centers but is a dangerous corridor in need of improvement: about 90 percent of the corridor is identified as part of the countywide high-injury pedestrian network and 50 percent of the corridor is part of the high-injury bicycle network.
East 14th Street is part of an upcoming East Bay Greenway project which is a regional trail project spanning multiple cities to improve pedestrian and cyclist connections along the BART corridor. This includes a separated bike lane on East 14th Street, providing a vertical barrier between the bike lane and moving traffic, as well as transit boarding islands along a portion of the corridor. Unlike other projects in the academy where cities choose to test out new project ideas (which are not already a part of an approved project plan), San Leandro decided to use this opportunity to demonstrate a small portion of the already designed, approved, and upcoming bike lane to gather additional data and community input.
As part of the quick-build demonstration project, the city hosted a pop-up event in June 2023 on the Hesperian Triangle, often referred to as "the Triangle," to share more information about the upcoming changes to the corridor and encourage community members to try out the bike lane and provide feedback. The event was also the opening of a new art installation in the Triangle called "Genie Bottle," in addition to an existing art installation called the “Purr Pods.” Approximately 70-100 people attended the one-day event which had live music, food, and stalls from other community partners such as Bike East Bay.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
While photos, videos, and media coverage demonstrated a successful launch event and engagement on the project site, San Leandro did not collect or report any formal outcomes from the experience. Collecting data such as the number of users, their experience with the temporary bike lane, or feedback from surrounding businesses would have strengthened the case made by the quick-build project.
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Be aware of any conflicting and overlapping project timelines when a corridor is within the jurisdiction of multiple agencies. The City of San Leandro planned their eight-week demonstration project timeline strategically so that the removal could take place in advance of a Caltrans repaving project on the same corridor. This would’ve been a challenge if city and Caltrans officials hadn’t communicated and coordinated on the project timeline and schedules before project implementation. Alternatively, in cases where timelines overlap, there may be opportunities to collate resources which could be beneficial for all partners involved.
Take weather into account when selecting temporary materials. In addition to the permanent art installations already cited on the Hesperian Triangle, the city installed a temporary interactive art installation which was destroyed by high winds. Taking local weather conditions into account is crucial when selecting materials for pop-up installations.
Starting small can be a good first step to build momentum. San Leandro utilized this opportunity to engage the community through a demonstration of a short stretch of an already approved project and received a great response. Smaller-scale projects such as this one can be a good way to build internal and external momentum when a city is trying a new approach like quick builds on state-owned roads, but the city does not capitalize on the momentum quickly. Subsequent tests of more creative ideas to improve safety on city streets should be planned to help move toward successive implementation as soon as possible.
Data collection is key to making your case. San Leandro chose to not collect any formal feedback around the project including at the pop-up event. Collecting data would have provided important opportunities for community engagement and input. Data collected could have been used in determining next steps and demonstrating the impact of the project for future planning.
<hr />
[alert type="info"] In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

San Leandro, CA: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

The City of Berkeley’s vision was to test an unconventional design to improve safety for cyclists navigating a non-linear intersection on San Pablo Avenue. Ultimately the project was not installed due to various capacity constraints, but nevertheless, going through the design iteration process within their team, discussing permitting with Caltrans, exploring contractor support options, and conducting community engagement with adjacent businesses left the city valuable insights they will be able to leverage in the future. <a href="/knowledge-hub/news/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Page37_Berkeley.png"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-84192" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Page37_Berkeley-1024x768.png" alt=" width=" height="600" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Page37_Berkeley-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Page37_Berkeley-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Page37_Berkeley-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Page37_Berkeley-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Page37_Berkeley-2048x1536.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
<h4>Failure to Implement</h4>
Throughout the program, Berkeley experienced staff turnover and capacity challenges. With limited staff time available to be fully dedicated to this project and competing priorities, the city would’ve needed to rely on an outside contractor to complete the project, incurring additional costs. Due to these challenges, the city withdrew from the academy before the project could be installed. Even so, the city was able to make some progress on safe streets, charting out its community engagement plan and beginning initial engagement.
Though Berkeley was ultimately unable to see their quick-build demonstration come to fruition, plans are in the works for the corridor informed by their Complete Streets Leadership Academy experience. In November 2023, the Berkeley City Council considered and approved two conceptual designs for the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ATC) to explore with CalTrans: their preferred option of a one-way cycle track on each side of the street and a fallback option that includes a two-way cycle track on the east side. Whichever design is chosen, the ATC will be constructing the project simultaneously with other Safety Enhancement Projects on San Pablo Avenue, expected in the spring of 2025.
<h4>Proposed Project Concept</h4>
The project goal was to test a design solution for a bike boulevard crossing on San Pablo Avenue at the selected intersection. Initially, the city started with the idea of a conventional configuration of adding a one-way cycle track on each side of San Pablo Avenue but faced pushback from adjacent businesses about parking impacts. This combined with cost concerns and cumbersome Caltrans permitting procedures related to signal timing modifications. This pushed the city to explore an alternate configuration of a two-way cycle track on one side of the street. Now, the city envisions a potential permanent project similar to the original one-way cycle track at street level on each side of San Pablo Avenue.
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Identify potential issues and obstacles early on in the process and communicate them to partners. While it is inevitable that some unexpected issues will arise throughout the process, things like competing priorities and staffing challenges can and should be considered in the early stages of planning. Doing so allows for improved coordination to resolve these issues and the potential of getting support from partners.
Despite a failure to implement the project, lessons can still be taken from the process. The main goal of a quick build is to test new and creative ideas to better understand the project implementation process. While this project didn’t move from paper to pavement, developing the quick build for several months allowed city staff to build a greater understanding of the two-way cycle track option, making it a competitive alternative for a permanent project in the future.
Open communication allows agencies to build trust and opens the door for creative and alternative solutions. Upon understanding that the temporary project was intended for the summer months when the region does not expect heavy rainfall, Caltrans was able to waive a required hydrology review. By building upon this partnership in future projects, the city and Caltrans are both better prepared to utilize similar flexibility in the future.
<hr />
[alert type="info"] <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-84180" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png" alt="The Complete Streets Leadership Academy report cover featuring an animated complete street, with a bike lane, bus lane, and sidewalk surrounding a street with lots of active people." width="116" height="150" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png 791w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-232x300.png 232w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-768x994.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1187x1536.png 1187w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1583x2048.png 1583w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px" /></a>In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

Berkeley, CA: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

While local and state participants had the desire to address safety and accessibility in Soldotna, they were unable to overcome a number of challenges that ultimately prevented the implementation of the quick-build project during the program. However, both Soldotna and the State of Alaska benefited from their efforts to make Sterling Highway safer. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
<h4>Failure to implement</h4>
Although AKDOT&amp;PF and the Soldotna team were able to build partnerships and a vision during an in-person convening, when the teams went their separate ways, they lost that face-to-face communication, and this proved detrimental to future progress on the project.
The overarching themes of the relationship between Soldotna and AKDOT&amp;PF can be witnessed in any number of states across the U.S.—lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities and challenges around available resources. Multiple people at AKDOT&amp;PF were involved and it was unclear who had authority to make approvals to move ahead. While Soldotna personnel hoped to use temporary materials, standard for a quick-build project, these required specific approval from AKDOT&amp;PF. AKDOT&amp;PF did not have policies or processes in place to support quick-build demonstrations and participating staff did not have the space to create such policies. Confusion about what was and wasn’t allowed slowed the project’s progress.
Ultimately, the teams were up against the most unforgiving element: time. Soldotna had aimed to install the project so it was in place at the time when visitor traffic in the area was highest and before the challenge of winter weather would put the demonstration at risk. As the process to reach a consensus and receive AKDOT&amp;PF approval dragged on, finding a path forward seemed all but impossible.
<h4>Proposed Project Concept</h4>
The city selected the intersection of Birch Street and Sterling Highway for their quick-build project. Summer festivals at the nearby park attract visitors from far and wide, creating increased traffic across all modes. City personnel and local residents wanted to address concerning design elements so that people walking, cycling, and using mobility aids—especially in large crowds during the summer—would be able to feel safe as they crossed the streets.
To address the narrow sidewalk near crossings, the Soldotna team proposed bump-outs along the curb, giving more people space to wait for the signal to change. They planned to accomplish this with flex post delineators. A bike lane along Birch Street disappears at Sterling Highway, forcing cyclists to cross unprotected to continue their journey. The team discussed painting a green bike box just before the crosswalk on Birch Street and adding dashed 
green lines across Sterling Highway, giving cyclists a place to wait and a dedicated place to ride across the highway. In addition to the dashed green bike lane, the Soldotna team proposed widening the crosswalks and changing from the two-line parallel style to a ladder design. This would also allow the 
team to experiment with colors or patterns that add additional visual appeal and further attract the attention of drivers on the large, high-speed road.
Other components to enhance visibility included standard options, like introducing a pedestrian crossing sign, and more creative solutions, like hanging brightly colored flags or flower baskets on the light poles along the highway.
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Establish clear processes. Members at DOT&amp;PF felt that the quick-build project would have benefited from having clear processes established early on, including clarifying what the state DOT would be comfortable allowing for a temporary project, whose approval would be needed, and what the approval process would look like. This would have resolved many of the challenges and frustrations faced by the city in installing their project and would be necessary if this type of work is to be replicated in other parts of the state.
Coordination is key. Sharing ownership of any project can be difficult, particularly when working with a team several hours away. But partnership is essential to a quick-build demonstration’s success, not only in terms of clear 
communication but also in a willingness to share resources. This is particularly true for state DOTs working with smaller communities that might have fewer resources to spare where the state DOT could offer equipment, staff, and other resources to advance the project.
Obstacles will arise. A first-time quick build always comes with challenges, and anticipating and planning for hiccups will help ensure a project’s success. State DOTs and cities would be wise to embed some flexibility in their timeline and commit to resolving obstacles quickly with creativity and the larger outcomes in mind.
<hr />
[alert type="info"] In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

Soldotna, AK: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

South San Francisco’s project had several challenges—from differences of opinion on site selection with the city council to additional costs for seeking consultant support, to design challenges with ADA accessibility ramps. However, the city staff and supporting partners were determined to find solutions, which resulted in a resounding success for the project. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
&nbsp;
<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
The City of South San Francisco chose to focus on El Camino Real (ECR or State Route 82) as their corridor of interest. Despite changes in surrounding land uses that have brought in more businesses, schools, services, and other destinations along ECR, most parts of the corridor continue to prioritize the speed of vehicles passing through over people walking, biking, or using transit to get to a destination along the corridor. The City of South San Francisco’s participating cohort recognized these issues and wanted to test out temporary changes to reduce speeds, protect pedestrians at crossings, and improve transit access and operations. They identified a 2500-foot stretch on the ECR corridor to have temporary Class IV protected bike lanes, new high visibility crosswalks at Country Club Dr and ECR, and a Zicla bus boarding platform for hybrid bike/bus zones.
The city staff, supporting partners, and consultants did a tremendous job of overcoming the challenges they faced, including missing necessary tools to install the bus boarding platform and slope challenges with the ramps for ADA accessibility. The tenacity and commitment of everyone involved in the project was nothing short of exemplary, resulting in a successful project that caught the attention of the neighboring cities in the process.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
The impact of the project was measured through observations, data collection, and engagement. Highlights include:
<ul>
<li>The Zicla bus boarding island has proven to be a huge success with passenger pick-up time reduced from 1 minute and 15 seconds to 10 seconds since the project.</li>
<li>SamTrans, the local transit agency, loved the island’s success and has offered to buy back the island from the city to test it out in other locations across their service jurisdiction.</li>
<li>Given there are no sidewalks on this section of ECR, which has a school nearby, the city observed that students used the bike lane, which directly connects to the back entrance of the school, to walk to the school after getting off the bus. This helped illustrate the need for pedestrian infrastructure.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Having to iterate and shift from original plans is not a bad thing. The goal of these temporary demonstration projects is to allow cities to troubleshoot and resolve challenges along the way to ensure that lessons are learned and the final project serves the community's needs.
Costs for temporary projects can still be significant. While temporary projects cost significantly less than permanent projects, the costs of purchasing materials for temporary quick-build projects can still be notable, particularly if they span long stretches of time and require outside contractor support. Cities that have adopted this model as an ongoing part of their system tend to store materials that can be reused for multiple projects and lean on their public works staff and volunteers as much as possible for installation to reduce associated costs.
Don’t think small. The South San Francisco project team dreamt big and faced a lot of challenges as a result. But they leaned on multiple partners for support and help, stayed in consistent communication with their city council and Caltrans staff, and committed to making this happen. It wasn’t smooth sailing, but all of their efforts resulted in this being a huge success for the city and its partners, and the largest quick-build project that Caltrans has ever participated in on a state-owned road.
<hr />
[alert type="info"] In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Complete-Streets-Leadership-Academies-Report_Final.pdf"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

South San Francisco, CA: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

The City of Memphis passed a Complete Streets plan in 2019 to make their streets safer, building on an earlier 2013 policy. But the plan's non-binding nature combined with the lack of dedicated funding and support produced significant challenges in implementing the policy. Their participation in the Complete Streets Leadership Academy armed them with more methods and partnerships to make safe streets a reality. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.</a>
<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Memphis-before_after.png"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-84268" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Memphis-before_after.png" alt=" width=" height="275" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Memphis-before_after.png 1011w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Memphis-before_after-300x103.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Memphis-before_after-768x264.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1011px) 100vw, 1011px" /></a>
<h4>Project Snapshot</h4>
The Memphis project location was selected because it is a hub for people walking and biking, with two transit stops nearby. Even with a lack of safe infrastructure, an average of 30.5 pedestrians and cyclists cross this roadway per hour, meaning someone crosses at least every two minutes. Between 2020 and 2022, six pedestrians and cyclists were hit while trying to cross the street. Two people were seriously injured, and four people were killed.
The City of Memphis already has a Complete Streets plan for this area, created by TDOT, but that plan hasn’t been implemented yet. Their quick-build project followed the existing draft plans but utilized temporary materials. In doing so, Memphis was able to test out how the design would function so that any needed changes could be made in advance of a permanent installation.
The Memphis quick-build demonstration project took place on Summer Avenue between Tillman Street and Baltic Street. To provide pedestrians and cyclists with a safer place to cross the five-lane roadway, the City of Memphis worked with TDOT to add a striped crosswalk, providing more visibility to the crossing. They also installed pedestrian crossing signs with a flashing LED light that alerts drivers and placed an “island” made of flex curb and cold mix asphalt in the center lane to calm traffic and reduce conflict points. The City of Memphis helped add ADA-compliant curb ramps so that more people would be able to use the crosswalk safely, regardless of how they travel.
<h4>Outcomes</h4>
The impact of the project was measured through observations, data collection, and engagement. Highlights include:
<ul>
<li>Engagement throughout the quick-build demonstration built confidence among community members in TDOT’s plan for permanent change.</li>
<li>During the quick-build project, city staff were stationed onsite to talk to community members. Links to an online survey were advertised throughout the city so that people could easily provide feedback on the project and whether or not it made them feel safe. This also produced increased knowledge and awareness of the issue among community members.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Key Takeaways</h4>
Internal capacity is essential to success. There were staffing issues within the City of Memphis team that impacted the quick-build project’s road to implementation. When plans for Summer Avenue were first put in motion, three people were working together on the city’s Bikeway Pedestrian Program. By the end of the project, only one staff member remained. While the project was ultimately successful, there were some aspects of the project that needed to be set aside as internal capacity dwindled.
Barriers will arise—but they don’t have to stop a project in its tracks. Originally, the Memphis team planned to involve an artist to draw attention to the demonstration project using bright colors along the sidewalks of Summer Avenue. However, their artist had a scheduling issue that made this portion of the project difficult to accomplish. Though the final version of their quick-build project didn’t fully match their original vision, the Memphis team continued moving forward and still took valuable steps toward building strong partnerships and paving the way for permanent change.
<hr />
[alert type="info"] <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-84180" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png" alt="The Complete Streets Leadership Academy report cover featuring an animated complete street, with a bike lane, bus lane, and sidewalk surrounding a street with lots of active people." width="116" height="150" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-791x1024.png 791w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-232x300.png 232w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-768x994.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1187x1536.png 1187w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Leadership-Academies-Cover-image-1583x2048.png 1583w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 116px) 100vw, 116px" /></a>In 2022, Smart Growth America launched the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academies</a> in Alaska, California, Connecticut, and Tennessee to equip and train local agencies and state departments of transportation to collaborate, innovate, and commit to making changes together to address safety on these dangerous state-owned roads. Cohorts were selected to plan and implement "quick-build" demonstration projects, a way to pilot and test new ideas and street designs to activate streets and better support walking, biking, and rolling. 
 
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/"] Read the report [/button]
[/alert]
This program and report was developed with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802). The views presented in this product do not necessarily reflect the views and/or positions of CDC.
&nbsp;

Memphis, TN: Complete Streets Leadership Academy case study

A coffee shop in Pineville, MO is offering high school students an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge about running a business and pocket scholarship money at the same time. Smart Growth America partnered with T-Mobile to help this learning lab grow, boosting the local and regional economy in the process.
[alert type="info"]Launched in 2021, T-Mobile's Hometown Grant program is investing in the power of community-driven initiatives to ensure small towns can connect, innovate, and grow together, dedicating $25 million through 2026 to support community development projects in towns nationwide. We partnered with T-Mobile to deliver technical assistance to six of these communities. To learn more, visit www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant[/alert]
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-83797 aligncenter" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-shop-interior.png" alt="Customers arrive at the cozy River Blend Coffee Shop, where students are ready and waiting to serve them" width="751" height="500" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-shop-interior.png 751w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-shop-interior-300x200.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 751px) 100vw, 751px" />
<h3>Project background</h3>
Pineville, Missouri, also known as “The River City” is home to less than 1,000 people and nestled in the Ozark Mountains. Despite its small size, Pineville is a vibrant place that intentionally invests in the future of youth in the area, providing them with opportunities to participate in a hands-on learning experience through the River Blend Coffee learning lab. The coffee shop, located in the heart of the city on Pineville Square, is a completely student-run business that teaches McDonald County students how to run a business and puts money in their pockets in the form of scholarships. Kasey O’Brien, President of the McDonald County Student Chamber of Commerce, spearheaded the idea for the coffee shop and pursued a T-Mobile Hometown Grant to construct the first iteration of the shop. River Blend Coffee opened in 2021, but lacked a professional feel, equipped with temporary, informal partitions to separate the space and no official seating area. In 2022, the chamber and the high school worked together to secure additional funding and outfitted the shop with a more official look and feel, updated machinery, and seating.
<h3>Construction and financing</h3>
With a $50,000 Hometown Grant from T-Mobile, River Blend Coffee was able to remodel, creating a more professional atmosphere, as well as purchase an espresso machine, coffee grinders, and other materials it needed to become a fully functional, full-service shop. The shop leveraged an additional $10,700 from McDonald County High School for interior renovations. What was clear throughout the duration of the project and its remodel was that it could not have been completed without countless hours of volunteer support from the Chamber and teachers. Local businesses also supported the River Blend Coffee venture, including Airship Coffee, a popular coffee shop in neighboring Bentonville, donating their expertise and advice to get the shop off the ground.
<h3><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-83798 alignleft" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-shop-student-worker.png" alt="Prepping lattes looks like fun as a student laughs and opens up a bottle of vanilla syrup in the back of the cafe" width="567" height="425" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-shop-student-worker.png 600w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-shop-student-worker-300x225.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px" />Goals and outcomes</h3>
The main goal of River Blend Coffee was to help students and youth get involved in the community and to provide additional opportunities to earn money and gain work experience. About eleven students fully staff the shop, open from 7 a.m.-11 a.m. on weekdays, and is supervised by a volunteer teacher from the high school. Revenues at River Blend contribute to a scholarship fund for students who work at the shop, and employees take home the tips from their shifts. The shop’s location in the square provides spikes in business when local events take place and provides easy pedestrian access to neighboring businesses.
Beyond benefits for the students who work at River Blend, the shop has had reverberating impacts on the wider community, especially the Pineville Chamber located just next door. The intergenerational interactions between students and customers at the coffee shop have been particularly impactful, sowing fruitful relationships that otherwise would not have been possible, and providing opportunities for students to network with locals and build professional ties.
A surprising result of the coffee shop project was the amount of regional interest it generated. After seeing the success of River Blend Coffee, three other cities in the county are considering how they can use grant funds, like those from T-Mobile, to complete transformational projects of their own. River Blend Coffee has not only been a business incubator for Pineville, it now serves a model for other communities.
<h3>Challenges</h3>
The main challenges for River Blend Coffee lay in the physical elements of the shop's construction. Planned to be completely student-run, including the building’s renovation and construction, this was a learning process for both students and volunteer staff as they encountered roadblocks, timeline delays, and many unknowns—including the pandemic, building challenges, and difficulties acquiring required materials and machinery. Another challenge was that things did not always go according to plan, leading to student frustration as expectations rubbed up against realities. However, all seemingly disappointing things in the moment turned out to be positive in hindsight. When a challenge popped up, students weighed their options and devised a plan to address it, a valuable lesson giving insights into the real world.
<h3><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83799 size-medium alignright" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-Shop-students-at-work-300x200.png" alt="Teamwork is the name of the game as two high school students hand off duties while working in the coffee shop" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-Shop-students-at-work-300x200.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/River-Blend-Coffee-Shop-students-at-work.png 751w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The bright future ahead for River Blend Coffee</h3>
In 2023, the chamber purchased another building on the Square where they will be moving in 2024, and donated the old chamber building to River Blend Coffee to use as a community space. Potential projects include expanding the seating area outside of the shop, including a city-approved street bump-out to accommodate that, and turning the shop into a multi-use space where students can hang out, display their artwork, and participate in other group activities. Like many small midwestern communities, Pineville struggles to attract and retain residents and has issues with “brain drain.” River Blend Coffee provides the opportunity for the city to invest in its most important asset: its people. The opening of the coffee shop brought people back to downtown Pineville and provided hope for a more prosperous future. Just recently, a vacant building across the street from the shop was bought and others will follow, supporting both the local and regional economy. Projects like River Blend Coffee can do wonders for small communities such as Pineville, and show local elected officials just how powerful a community can be when people come together.

<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-background" style="background-color: #f0f1f1;">
<blockquote>“It all has to start somewhere. Why not with our younger residents? Success might even give them a reason to stay and build their own businesses.” —John Newby, President, McDonald County Chamber</blockquote>
</figure>

[alert type="info"]We built upon our history working with rural communities by providing technical assistance to a select group of T-Mobile's Hometown grant recipients. Read about all six communities by clicking the links below.
<ul>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-atmore-al/">Atmore, AL</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-bowling-green-oh/">Bowling Green, OH</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-clarksville-ar/">Clarksville, AR</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-erwin-tn">Erwin, TN</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-minden-nv/">Minden, NV</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-pineville-mo/">Pineville, MO</a></li>
</ul>
[/alert]

Small Towns, Big Impact: Pineville, MO

The Carson Valley Arts Council works to provide creative outlets and community gathering places in Minden, NV, and one of their most recent projects is the Copeland Community Arts Center, a site that could help host youth arts education programs, concerts, and festivals. Smart Growth America partnered with T-Mobile to help make this plan a reality.
[alert type="info"]Launched in 2021, <a href="https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/hometown-grants">T-Mobile's Hometown Grant program</a> is investing in the power of community-driven initiatives to ensure small towns can connect, innovate, and grow together, dedicating $25 million through 2026 to support community development projects in towns nationwide. We partnered with T-Mobile to deliver technical assistance to six of these communities. To learn more, visit <a href="http://www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant">www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant</a>[/alert]
[bafg id="83786"]
The current site for the new Copeland Community Arts Center (on left) and a conceptual image of the finished building (on right).
<h3>Project background</h3>
Minden, Nevada sits along Interstate 395, a critical thoroughfare in the region, and is home to about 3,300 people in Carson Valley. The location brings many visitors and tourists, many traveling to or from Southern California or Lake Tahoe. Although the tourism industry is strong in Minden, improvements are needed to expand services and amenities for the people who call Minden home. The Carson Valley Arts Council (CVAC) is working to provide creative outlets and community gathering spaces in Minden by supporting local theaters, cultural centers, art galleries, and more. One of these planned projects is the Copeland Community Arts Center, located in downtown Minden, and with strong connectivity to the neighboring town of Gardnerville. The new home of the Arts Center was once a logging facility, representative of Minden’s industrial past. Originally constructed in 1908, the facility is large, with vaulted ceilings, oak trusses, and plenty of space for a performance stage and community spaces. Last year, the building was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings, adding to the cultural and historic value of the space.
<h3><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-83789 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copeland-Community-Arts-Center-interior-before-construction-300x225.png" alt="The Copeland Community Arts Center might stand empty, but its potential is clear. High ceilings and spacious design leave plenty of room for CVAC's biggest dreams." width="300" height="225" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copeland-Community-Arts-Center-interior-before-construction-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copeland-Community-Arts-Center-interior-before-construction-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copeland-Community-Arts-Center-interior-before-construction-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copeland-Community-Arts-Center-interior-before-construction-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copeland-Community-Arts-Center-interior-before-construction.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Financing and planning</h3>
Starting in 2004, CVAC started considering a new space for the Arts Center after a local ballot initiative failed; one that would have approved a new sales tax specifically to fund the Arts Center. In 2008, the vacant logging building was donated to CVAC. Sharon Schlegel, Director of CVAC, sprung into action and gathered local groups and supporters who wanted to see a high-quality arts and performing center in the community. This dedicated group has been committed to the project ever since and will see it through to its completion in 2024. The vision is to completely renovate the original facility and “create a climate for the arts through the presentation and promotion of cultural and educational events for the Carson Valley Youth and community and the greater Western Nevada/Lake Tahoe region.”
Since its original design, the Arts Center has been through many redesigns and revised budgets. The total cost for the project is now about $85,000, and with a $35,000 Hometown Grant from T-Mobile, a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, $20,000 in matching funds from CVAC, and $17,000 in private donations, the Center is on its way to completion. Delays in the reconstruction of the building were mainly due to COVID and design challenges. Despite these roadblocks, partnerships with local architects, schools, Douglas County and Douglas County Parks and Recreation, Main Street Gardnerville, and the Towns of Minden and Gardnerville, maintained the project’s momentum and donated time and money to ensure the project’s success. Sharon and CVAC’s Board of Directors convened about five different groups representing communities and towns in the region, including a representative from each local school district. Concurrent events and programming at CVAC’s existing buildings and facilities helped demonstrate the concept and impact to the group and to the public.
<h3>Community impacts</h3>
This project is important to Minden and the wider region for several reasons, but mainly, it will provide opportunities for youth to have access to quality arts programming. The region currently lacks a performance space large enough to host crowds or with high-quality sound production. The town hall is currently being used as the performing arts space for local students, but it does not have a sound system or permanent seating, so attendees have to use folding chairs. CVAC and the Arts Center gear much of their programming toward under-resourced segments of the community, recognizing the vital role the arts and creativity play in promoting social cohesion and interpersonal development.
The Center offers free admission to local youth and promotes youth arts education through the Youth Arts Educational Program, designed to educate, entertain, and enlighten the youth of Douglas County through interactive performing arts presentations. A concert series, work with Main Street groups to coordinate festivals, and supporting arts education in local schools are just some of the initiatives that are undertaken by CVAC, and would be supported by the renovated Arts Center. In April 2022, CVAC partnered with Arts for All Nevada, a nonprofit in Reno that focuses on providing access to arts for individuals with special needs. Additionally, CVAC conducts an annual scholarship art show that utilizes a raffle to raise funds for local students looking to pursue higher education in the arts.

<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-background" style="background-color: #f0f1f1;">
<blockquote>“Bumps in the road are a challenge, but staying dedicated and coordinated in your approach to a project will be a surefire way to ensure project completion.” —Sharon Schegel, Director of the Carson Valley Arts Council</blockquote>
</figure>
Aside from the benefits that the new Arts Center will provide to local schools and youth, CVAC plans to market the facility to companies looking to host conferences and events in Minden, bringing more business and tax revenue to the community. Sharon also recognized that Minden is growing, and in anticipation of growth, the city is pursuing larger spaces to accommodate more people, especially families. The Copeland Community Cultural Arts Center is scheduled to be completed in May 2024. It will host a variety of community arts events throughout the year, geared specifically toward supporting local youth and underserved communities.
[alert type="info"]We built upon our history working with rural communities by providing technical assistance to a select group of T-Mobile's Hometown grant recipients. Read about all six communities by clicking the links below.
<ul>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-atmore-al/">Atmore, AL</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-bowling-green-oh/">Bowling Green, OH</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-clarksville-ar/">Clarksville, AR</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-erwin-tn">Erwin, TN</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-minden-nv/">Minden, NV</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-pineville-mo/">Pineville, MO</a></li>
</ul>
[/alert]

Smalls Towns, Big Impact: Minden, NV

Erwin, Tennesee's Unaka Bike Park helps capitalize on one of the town's best assets: its outdoor recreation options. Smart Growth America partnered with T-Mobile to support the development of the new park, helping to attract new residents and businesses while creating a new recreation space for the town's current residents.
[alert type="info"]Launched in 2021, T-Mobile's Hometown Grant program is investing in the power of community-driven initiatives to ensure small towns can connect, innovate, and grow together, dedicating $25 million through 2026 to support community development projects in towns nationwide. We partnered with T-Mobile to deliver technical assistance to six of these communities. To learn more, visit www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant[/alert] <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-83776" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-sign.png" alt="A rustic sign on the edge of a tree-covered mountainside announces the entrance to Unaka Bike Park" width="1600" height="1066" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-sign.png 1600w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-sign-300x200.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-sign-1024x682.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-sign-768x512.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-sign-1536x1023.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" />
<h3>Project background</h3>
Erwin, Tennessee is a town of about 6,000 people, approximately two hours from Knoxville, Tennessee, and on the border of North Carolina. Like many towns in Appalachia, Erwin has a historic downtown with well-connected sidewalks and a plethora of small businesses. Over the past decade, Erwin has made a conscious effort to increase the town’s connectivity, accessibility, and transportation network to create a local “micro-economy.” Erwin’s location is both one of its greatest assets as well as its greatest inhibitor to attracting new residents and businesses. In an effort to diversify their local economy and to boost the local tourism industry, Erwin has been working to capitalize on their outdoor recreation assets. Erwin has a lively mountain biking community which served as the inspiration for the city’s latest investment: Unaka Bike Park. The bike park acted as the missing piece for a community developing a portfolio of outdoor recreation options, including hiking, rafting, camping, and fishing, and is working to attract more tourists and visitors while also serving to attract and retain workforce for local industry. The project also aimed to support small businesses that struggled during COVID, specifically those that sell outdoor gear.
<h3>Goals and outcomes</h3>
The goals and expected outcomes of the bike park project started out small: to find enough funding to finish the construction of phase one and establish a proof of concept. Project leaders needed a portion of the project to be physically finished in order to engage local elected officials and decision makers to move forward with the rest of the project. A $50,000 T-Mobile Hometown Grant provided just enough to get the first phase of the bike park up and running and to allow the first users to hop on the trails. In total, Unaka Bike Park cost just over $178,000 to complete, plus approximately $50,000 for construction of the trailhead, parking lot, and signage. The Tennessee Valley Authority provided funding for materials, and Erwin Fiber, the local broadband provider, contributed as well. The bike park was built to its current state in two phases and provides cross-country and downhill trails for beginner and intermediate riders. In total, the park provides over four miles of trails on six different paths for residents and visitors to use, with up to ten miles of trails designed for future expansion. There are also plans in place to build a park to link the Appalachian Trail, Unaka Bike Park, and the Nolichucky River to create a multitude of outdoor recreation opportunities.
<h3><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83777 size-medium alignright" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-construction-226x300.png" alt="The Erwin, TN construction team &quot;breaks ground&quot; on the new mountain bike park, forging a trail through the forest" width="226" height="300" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-construction-226x300.png 226w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-construction-771x1024.png 771w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-construction-768x1020.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-construction-1157x1536.png 1157w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-construction.png 1205w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px" />Challenges</h3>
Throughout both phase one and two of the project, residents and stakeholders were encouraged to attend community meetings to discuss plans and strategies for the park. At many of these meetings, some residents vocalized concerns about bringing too many newcomers into the small community, and the impacts that higher rates of tourism would have on the local economy. For these residents, the first phase of the bike park needed to be proof that the construction of the park would not change Erwin’s local character.
<h3>Community impacts and partnerships</h3>
The bike park could not have been completed without support from the community. Collaboration with local stakeholders was a key element in every part of this project, and the project team often called on local experts to act as advisors. The active local mountain biking community was a key stakeholder in this project, along with RISE Erwin, a young professionals group, and the Town of Erwin through the Erwin Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA). The Town of Erwin has served as a critical partner, securing consistent funding in the town’s annual budget to cover year-over-year maintenance costs for the park. Barry Smith Trails constructed the park, and Robert King Photography along with Creative Energy helped with marketing. The bike park’s connection to downtown Erwin was a major benefit to the local and regional community. Downtown Erwin is the heart of the community, so residents and visitors alike gather not only on the trails but also at local businesses that are near the park. The bike park is also close to residential areas and schools, allowing users who may not have access to a car to use the park, and for older residents to frequent the park in the quieter morning hours.

<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-background" style="background-color: #f0f1f1;">
<blockquote>“I think there’s a balance of taking action and having patience to see results add up over time. There’s plenty of tangible results, but patience comes in when you start to hear positive feedback and notice the impact it’s having. You see people moving closer to downtown because of the bike park or decisions being made that are influenced by its existence.” —Joseph Wignington, President, Friends of O’Brien Watershed Board</blockquote>
</figure>
Unaka Bike Park is much more than a tool to attract outdoor enthusiasts to Erwin. It helped rebuild community spirit in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and showed locals that opening a small town up to new experiences and people can provide a multitude of benefits. For Erwin, the development of the bike park acted as a catalyst for attracting more economic activity downtown and has inspired further plans for more recreational space.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83778 size-large alignnone" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-mountain-biker-1024x683.png" alt="A mountain biker speeds down the new Unaka trail" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-mountain-biker-1024x683.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-mountain-biker-300x200.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-mountain-biker-768x512.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-mountain-biker-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Erwin-TN-Unaka-Bike-Park-mountain-biker.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
[alert type="info"]We built upon our history working with rural communities by providing technical assistance to a select group of T-Mobile's Hometown grant recipients. Read about all six communities by clicking the links below.
<ul>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-atmore-al/">Atmore, AL</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-bowling-green-oh/">Bowling Green, OH</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-clarksville-ar/">Clarksville, AR</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-erwin-tn">Erwin, TN</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-minden-nv/">Minden, NV</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-pineville-mo/">Pineville, MO</a></li>
</ul>
[/alert]

Small Towns, Big Impact: Erwin, TN

Smart Growth America partnered with T-Mobile to support Bowling Green's Parklet Project, converting would-be parking space into appealing dining and retail space.
[alert type="info"]Launched in 2021, <a href="https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/hometown-grants">T-Mobile's Hometown Grant program</a> is investing in the power of community-driven initiatives to ensure small towns can connect, innovate, and grow together, dedicating $25 million through 2026 to support community development projects in towns nationwide. We partnered with T-Mobile to deliver technical assistance to six of these communities. To learn more, visit <a href="http://www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant">www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant</a>[/alert]
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-83771" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-Parklet-2.png" alt="A peaceful calm settles over the Bowling Green Parklets as the sun sets behind an open street free of car traffic" width="960" height="720" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-Parklet-2.png 960w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-Parklet-2-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-Parklet-2-768x576.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
<h3>Project background</h3>
Bowling Green, Ohio is a town of just over 30,000 people and about 20 miles south of Toledo. It is home to a vibrant, diverse community, with a large youth population provided by Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Since 2021, city officials and local residents have placed an emphasis on placemaking efforts, including improvements to walkability, expanding wayfinding and signage, and adopting Complete Streets policies to slow traffic. Part of this effort is the Parklet Project, originally introduced by Rachel Phipps, a council member for the City of Bowling Green. During COVID, the city supported small businesses by allowing the expansion of dining and gathering space onto sidewalks, and then, with the passage of the parklet ordinance, into the street. The three original parklets, also called “dining decks,” allowed merchants in downtown Bowling Green to use city parking spaces in front of their businesses as dining and retail space. The installations also acted as a beautification project, with each parklet having its own unique design and decoration.
<h3>Goals and outcomes</h3>
In the beginning, the primary goal of the Parklet Project was helping local restaurants, coffee shops, and other local businesses to open safely as COVID restrictions were being lifted. However, the group started to see other incidental benefits in the months that followed. First, the parklets are temporary installations—for now. They are assembled by local arts and design students at BGSU when the season begins in April, and then disassembled and placed into storage during the winter months. This is an effective way to ensure that the parklets are being used for their highest and best use during warm months when it is comfortable to sit outside.
Another benefit was the opportunity to engage the community, especially young artists. The first parklets were designed by Ellen Fure Smith, a Parklet Project team member, artist, and owner of Little Bare Furniture. For the second round, designs were chosen through a competition among local arts students.
A secondary benefit recognized by the Parklet Project was the ability to test traffic calming methods along Main Street in downtown Bowling Green. Like many small cities, Bowling Green has several lanes of traffic running through downtown, a design that makes the environment uncomfortable for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other modes of transportation. In an effort to soften the built environment, the city used the parklets to show local officials, residents, and businesses how beneficial narrower, slower, and less car-oriented streets could be.
Another outcome of the Parklet Project was the huge amount of demand for the structures. Local businesses have seen the success that the parklets bring to their associated businesses, not only in terms of foot traffic and revenue, but also marketing through unique design. Along with business support, the biggest takeaways from the Parklet Project has been that when you weave public improvement efforts together, the result is a stronger social fabric and a more vibrant community where more people want to live, work, and raise a family.
Seeing the benefits of slower streets and public space reclamation has led to some surprising long term results as well. Last year, for example, the city completed an entire overhaul of Bowling Green’s zoning code. The new code was written with an emphasis on improving the pedestrian experience and allowing for more dense housing development in and around downtown.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-83772 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet-construction-1024x768.png" alt="With construction of a parklet complete, a group of young people smiles triumphantly from atop the new space" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet-construction-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet-construction-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet-construction-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet-construction.png 1440w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
<h3>Financing and construction</h3>
The total cost for the Parklet Project, as it currently stands, was just under $64,000. With a $50,000 Hometown Grant from T-Mobile, collaborative partnerships with local organizations like Grounds for Thought, Juniper Brewing Company, Kabob IT, Flatlands, and Ohio Logistics, the idea for the project was able to become a reality. With the help of local volunteers, the original installation of the three parklets was a huge success. Increased demand and funding support allowed the city to increase the number of available parklets from three to seven. Harnessing the interest and support for the parklets and the benefits they provided, the city’s annual Holiday Parade—the largest in northwest Ohio—centered on the different parklets, raffling them off to local businesses. This is just one example of the innovation and creativity from the Chamber of Commerce and the city to increase participation in local projects and engage local residents.
<h3>Community impacts</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-83773 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet-225x300.png" alt="A couple clinks glasses in the new parklet dining space, surrounded by flowers and streetside shops" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet-225x300.png 225w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Bowling-Green-parklet.png 720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />
The Parklet Project has had many wide-reaching impacts on the community in Bowling Green. When the project initially started, prior to the T–Mobile grant, it was a purely grassroots effort. Funds were initially raised by individual contributions and local leaders focused on spreading the word about the project to build a broad base of support. Although it is an ongoing process to engage with the community and provide information about the Parklet Project and those like it, early, consistent communication was very beneficial. In the end, it was vital to engage the business community downtown, to tell them about the Parklets, and then show them how the extra space could support their businesses. This was especially important during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, as outdoor interactions were recommended for public health. The parklets have received copious amounts of support from the community in terms of donations, engagement, and volunteering to construct and deconstruct the parklets.
Through the success of the Parklet Project, the Chamber of Commerce was able to offer several awards to minority students in the area and provide opportunities for them to display their art in the community and on the parklets themselves. In a community that has over a 30% poverty rate and a relatively high proportion, as compared to the state, of minority communities (5.7% Black, 6.5% Hispanic/Latino, and 1.4% Asian), scholarship and entrepreneurship opportunities like those provided by the Parklet Project are vital to community health and long-term vitality.
Since the parklets have been popping up on Main Street in downtown Bowling Green, the city has seen a larger conversation about designing and using public spaces. A city-wide initiative, called Downtown Forward, is now spearheading a strategic pedestrian plan for Bowling Green, and the city’s Economic Development Master Plan has added a ‘quality of place’ initiative. Outside of shifts in local policy, the parklets have ushered in a culture shift in prioritizing people first when making investments in land use.
[alert type="info"]We built upon our history working with rural communities by providing technical assistance to a select group of T-Mobile's Hometown grant recipients. Read about all six communities by clicking the links below.
<ul>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-atmore-al/">Atmore, AL</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-bowling-green-oh/">Bowling Green, OH</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-clarksville-ar/">Clarksville, AR</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-erwin-tn">Erwin, TN</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-minden-nv/">Minden, NV</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-pineville-mo/">Pineville, MO</a></li>
</ul>
[/alert]

Small Towns, Big Impact: Bowling Green, OH

Clarksville's Levee Park Beautification Project, supported by T-Mobile funding and Smart Growth America technical assistance, activated underutilized space in the rural community's downtown, attracting new development and creating a gathering space for locals and visitors alike.
[alert type="info"]Launched in 2021, T-Mobile's Hometown Grant program is investing in the power of community-driven initiatives to ensure small towns can connect, innovate, and grow together, dedicating $25 million through 2026 to support community development projects in towns nationwide. We partnered with T-Mobile to deliver technical assistance to six of these communities. To learn more, visit www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant[/alert]
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-83764" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park.png" alt="As the sun sets, Clarksville's Levee Park comes alive as people gather in front of a stage for an evening event." width="1024" height="766" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park-300x224.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park-768x575.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
<h3>Project background</h3>
Clarksville, Arkansas, a town of about 9,500, is located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, abutting the Arkansas River. It boasts enviable scenery and is known for its abundance of opportunities for outdoor recreation. As the seat of Johnson County, Clarksville is important to both locals and residents throughout the region. To capitalize on these existing assets and to build a more resilient economy, Clarksville has embarked on a journey to activate underutilized space downtown with the Levee Park Beautification Project. The site used to be a laundromat that burned down and was a vacant lot right in the middle of downtown Clarksville for years. With visionary leadership from Jessica Gunn and the Clarksville County Chamber of Commerce, the Levee Park project was born. Gunn wondered if the site could be turned into a space for community events, like the popular First Fridays events—a city-sponsored concert series that takes place on the first Friday of every month. From the beginning, the chamber’s goal was to increase quality of life throughout Clarksville.

<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-background" style="background-color: #f0f1f1;">
<blockquote>“We understand that if downtown isn’t thriving, it hurts the overall success of our community.” —Abby Acensio, Vice President, Johnson County Chamber of Commerce</blockquote>
</figure>
<h3><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-83765 " src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park-construction-225x300.png" alt="Construction workers get to work converting the vacant lot into a park" width="213" height="284" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park-construction-225x300.png 225w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park-construction-768x1024.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clarksville-Levee-Park-construction.png 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px" /></h3>
<h3>Construction and partnerships</h3>
In 2018, the City of Clarksville began the Levee Park project by clearing the old laundromat site and removing debris, leaving only the shell of the building. In June of 2019, the chamber put together a committee of downtown business and property owners, a pastor of a minority church located downtown, the University of the Ozarks located just north of downtown, the Johnson County Historical Society, two locals well-versed in sound and equipment, and a minority local restaurant owner. The committee pushed the vision for the site forward and gathered local donations and funding. The chamber worked with Main Street Arkansas to present a rendering of what this space could look like to the community and local officials. In late 2019, the community decided that the site could be better used if the building was demolished. An amphitheater stage was built as space for local musicians and performers, and the site was opened for public use with funding from the T-Mobile Hometown Grant.  
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<h3>Community impacts</h3>
Throughout the planning and construction phases of the Levee Park project, the city and the Chamber of Commerce worked very closely. The project needed updated zoning and parcel information from the city as well as funding and programming support from the chamber. Locals and visitors consistently showed up to support the project, advertising events and providing input on potential project designs when requested. A variety of programming was needed—events like movie nights, outdoor game events, concerts, and food trucks—to demonstrate that the space was open and available for use. This coordination fell on the city and chamber, unless they were approached by a community group who already had a vision for an event at the Levee.
<h3>Goals and outcomes</h3>
One of the unintended outcomes of the Levee Park project was the attraction of several new mixed-use developments to downtown Clarksville. These businesses saw the success of the park and the extra foot traffic it attracted, and decided to capitalize on the benefits and buy property downtown. A new restaurant, rooftop bar, and mercantile store will also increase local property values. The park’s location in the heart of downtown Clarksville means it’s well-connected to the existing pedestrian network, nearby multi-use trails, and homes and businesses downtown.
The Levee Park project included the construction of a flood wall, added after the initial design phase of the project to protect the property and neighboring businesses from the Arkansas River which floods regularly. The wall provided protection as well as tax relief, as businesses no longer needed to pay flood abatement taxes for the properties adjacent to the park. The flood walls will be made more visually appealing by the addition of six moveable panels featuring artwork representing local history and culture.
Since the creation of the stage and lifting of COVID restrictions, several organizations are stepping up to the plate to organize events at Levee Park, something that was lacking in the community. The county library also started programming and is interested in working with the chamber, City Parks and Recreation, and nonprofits to create a culture of art and memories made with families. The future of Levee Park is bright, supported by continued use and funding, a thriving downtown entertainment district, a full-time downtown director employed by the chamber, and tons of future enhancements for the design of the Park.
[alert type="info"]We built upon our history working with rural communities by providing technical assistance to a select group of T-Mobile's Hometown grant recipients. Read about all six communities by clicking the links below.
<ul>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-atmore-al/">Atmore, AL</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-bowling-green-oh/">Bowling Green, OH</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-clarksville-ar/">Clarksville, AR</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-erwin-tn">Erwin, TN</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-minden-nv/">Minden, NV</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-pineville-mo/">Pineville, MO</a></li>
</ul>
[/alert]

Small Towns, Big Impact: Clarksville, AR

Smart Growth America partnered with T-Mobile to support Atmore, Alabama's efforts to complete a Water Conservation and Butterfly Pollination Park. These efforts revitalized Atmore's downtown, supported compact residential development, and helped preserve open land and green spaces.
[alert type="info"]Launched in 2021, T-Mobile's Hometown Grant program is investing in the power of community-driven initiatives to ensure small towns can connect, innovate, and grow together, dedicating $25 million through 2026 to support community development projects in towns nationwide. We partnered with T-Mobile to deliver technical assistance to six of these communities. To learn more, visit www.t-mobile.com/hometowngrant[/alert]
<figure id="attachment_83735" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-83735" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-83735" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-art.png" alt="Close-up of a colorful mural in Atmore, Alabama depicting trees, people, and nature along with the town's name" width="1200" height="500" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-art.png 1200w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-art-300x125.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-art-1024x427.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-art-768x320.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-83735" class="wp-caption-text">Photo courtesy of Main Street Atmore</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Project background</h3>
Atmore, Alabama, a small town of just over 8,000 people, is home to a diverse population that is 44% White, 53% Black, 1% American Indian and 2% Hispanic/Latino. Atmore also has a large veteran population of almost 600 and a poverty rate of <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/atmorecityalabama/PST045222">37%</a>. A vibrant and active economic development organization, Main Street Atmore, is working to enhance existing community assets and build on its unique elements. One of these assets is the Water Conservation and Butterfly Pollination Park in the heart of downtown. Completed with funding from T-Mobile’s Hometown Grant program, the park draws local residents and visitors to downtown Atmore to learn about the local environment and spend time outdoors.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-83907 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/atmorenewthumbnail-300x225.jpg" alt="An aerial view of the garden in progress in Atmore, AL. You can see a pathway starting to form where green space will eventually flourish." width="300" height="225" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/atmorenewthumbnail-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/atmorenewthumbnail-768x576.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/atmorenewthumbnail.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Uniquely, Atmore is divided into two noncontiguous pieces of land, the first bordering the Florida panhandle and containing Atmore’s historic downtown with surrounding neighborhoods. The second portion of the city, locally known as Rivercane, is about five miles north of downtown near Interstate 65. This land is home to the local community college and next to the Wind Creek Casino, which is run by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The casino is located on reservation land and just outside city limits, which means Atmore does not collect tax revenue from the business, but the casino attracts thousands of visitors from Pensacola, Florida, Mobile, Alabama, and beyond every year.
In 2019, Smart Growth America held a workshop in Atmore to discuss the city’s plans and strategies to support future growth. Conversations with community members, business owners, and local representatives resulted in a clear path forward for Atmore—one aligned with smart growth principles like downtown revitalization, the preservation of open land and green space, and compact residential development. At its inception, the Water Conservation Park sought to capitalize on existing assets in downtown Atmore: small specialty retail, restaurants, and coffee shops. Following SGA’s work in Atmore, the local visionary for the project, Terrence Breckenridge, Vice President of Main Street Atmore, pushed the project forward.  
<h3>Goals and outcomes</h3>
<h3><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83738 size-medium alignright" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-2-e1708462866918-300x227.png" alt="A young woman in a Harvard t-shirt lounges in a butterfly bench inside the new park, demonstrating that this is a fun place for youth to gather and rest." width="300" height="227" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-2-e1708462866918-300x227.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-2-e1708462866918-1024x776.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-2-e1708462866918-768x582.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-2-e1708462866918.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></h3>
The expected outcomes from this project were related to activating spaces downtown, specifically targeted toward local veterans, while also providing an educational space for youth and support for local businesses. The park has inspired new businesses to locate downtown, seeking to capitalize on the park’s ability to increase foot traffic. The park also connects to the newly installed mural trail that creates a two-mile loop throughout downtown Atmore—part of the larger network of Alabama mural trails. Local students haven’t had arts programs in their schools in Atmore for 13 years, so the mural trail allows students to see public art installations first-hand and experience their hometown in a new way. The park has also been used by students for field trips to learn about the life cycle of insects, native plants, and environmentally friendly water conservation tactics, and it has been used to facilitate civic mentorship programs between veterans and students.
Atmore’s key goals for the park project included increasing pedestrian connectivity and establishing spaces to spend time in downtown. Throughout the pandemic, downtown Atmore and the Main Street program had to be nimble in their funding and implementation strategies due to shifts in the local population and changing community demands. Currently, the space is not used by students and youth as much as it could be, but the park is just at the beginning of its life, and plans are in the works to program the space for these groups with help from the local veterans’ association and schools.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-83736 size-medium alignleft" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-construction-300x286.png" alt="A crane places a barn's facade inside the site of Atmore's new park, while two men carry a large metal beam into position" width="300" height="286" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-construction-300x286.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-construction-1024x977.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-construction-768x732.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-construction-1536x1465.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Atmore-park-construction.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
<h3>Financing and construction</h3>
To kickstart the project, the city started by gathering funding and critical community and volunteer support. Main Street Foley board member and Main Street Hero honoree, landscape architect Chad Watkins did pro-bono design work for the landscaping of the park, and Main Street Atmore remained committed to the vision of more greenspace downtown. The total cost of the project was over $220,000, and was funded through a T-Mobile Hometown Grant, donations from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, United Bank, the governor’s COVID relief funds, and various funds from private parties. Construction on the Water Conservation Park started in 2021 and was completed less than a year later. Throughout the construction process, creating an outdoor recreation and gathering space that provided a unique experience for both locals and visitors remained a top priority.
&nbsp;
<h3>Community impacts</h3>
Importantly, the city and the local tribal government have worked together over the past three years to support the health, wellness, and economic development of both Rivercane and downtown Atmore. Atmore has a high proportion of Black and Indigenous Americans that live either within or just outside of city limits, and the health conditions in these groups are below the national average, a result of a lack of access to medical care and fresh food options. The park creates opportunities for physical activity and interaction with nature.

<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-background" style="background-color: #f0f1f1;">
<blockquote>"People will surprise you and people will disappoint you. Teamwork is critical for getting through the ups and downs." —Dale Ash, Founder, Main Street Atmore</blockquote>
</figure>

One of the most important outcomes of this project was the local energy it created—it brought the community together around a central focal point and created new life in a space that carries historical importance for many residents. An overarching strategy for not only the development of the park, but also the entire downtown area, was vital to keep projects on track and to present a unified vision to locals. Together with help from T-Mobile, SGA, local partners, and volunteers, Atmore was able to transform an underutilized space in the center of downtown into a place that provides a unique experience to everyone who visits.  
[alert type="info"]We built upon our history working with rural communities by providing technical assistance to a select group of T-Mobile's Hometown grant recipients. Read about all six communities by clicking the links below.
<ul>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-atmore-al/">Atmore, AL</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-bowling-green-oh/">Bowling Green, OH</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-clarksville-ar/">Clarksville, AR</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-erwin-tn">Erwin, TN</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-minden-nv/">Minden, NV</a></li>
<li><a href="/knowledge-hub/news/small-towns-big-impact-pineville-mo/">Pineville, MO</a></li>
</ul>
[/alert]

Small Towns, Big Impact: Atmore, AL

Thanks to generous funding from The Barr Foundation, over the last several months, SGA has provided technical assistance to two Massachusetts-based community organizations: Westside Legends of Pittsfield, MA, and CultureHouse of Somerville, MA. These technical assistance partnerships with these two community organizations are oriented around the goal of advancing equitable zoning reform and affordable housing development.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-82942" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/somerville-scaled.jpg" alt="A blue sky and sun that sets on a row of houses in Somerville Massachusetts" width="2560" height="1920" />
A rising wave of state-level legislation aimed to mitigate the region’s affordable housing crisis— including <a href="https://www.mass.gov/info-details/multi-family-zoning-requirement-for-mbta-communities">Multi-Family Zoning for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Communities </a>and the Governor’s recently proposed <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/healey-driscoll-administration-unveils-4-billion-affordable-homes-act-to-increase-production-and-lower-costs">Affordable Homes Act</a>—has created a strong window of opportunity to advance equitable development goals in the Commonwealth. 
As a capstone event for the months-long technical assistance program, SGA and Westside Legends co-hosted an in-person convening in Pittsfield with a theme of “Driving Equitable Development.” 
The convening, hosted October 26-27, 2023, provided an opportunity for the cohort to share experiences and lessons learned during the technical assistance program, connect like-minded community equity advocates from both regions, engage with housing affordability and transportation subject matter experts, and develop next steps towards advancing goals developed during the program. The convening concluded with a curated bus tour of transformative equity-focused projects around Pittsfield such as new affordable housing developments, community-focused greenspaces, and downtown murals.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-82946" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Copy-of-group_photo.jpeg" alt="A group photo of members of the cohort and SGA leadership. " width="500" height="376" />
One of Westside Legends’ greatest programmatic priorities is to provide the next generation of the neighborhood’s BIPOC residents with wealth-building opportunities through affordable homeownership. 
“When we were growing up, community leaders in the Westside enabled us to be successful. Now it’s our turn to empower and make the younger generations successful,” said Tony Jackson, Westside Pittsfield native and founder of Westside Legends. 
The organization offers educational programming for prospective first-time lower-income home buyers on important personal finance skills that homeowners need to know, i.e., mortgages, budgeting, tax credits, etc.
 “Our neighborhood gave to us when we were younger,” added Westside Legends treasurer and co-founder Marvin Purry, “and now we’re recycling it back—a domino effect!” 
Based in Somerville, CultureHouse partners with community organizations in the Boston metropolitan area to beautify and revitalize blighted and vacant urban spaces with its team of trained architects. With a focus on designing and creating projects that promote equity and social inclusivity, CultureHouse ensures that stakeholder and community involvement is the core element that drives each project’s design and development phases.
 “Community members must be the driver of difference, a new community-driven model that benefits those who have the most to gain and the most to lose,” explained Aaron Greiner, CultureHouse’s Executive Director. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-82950 alignright" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Copy-of-SmartGrowthChart1-2-1.jpg" alt="Drawings and text cover a large white paper capturing ideas from a group brainstorm. " width="1024" height="597" />
For the final phase of both technical assistance partnerships, SGA is creating a comprehensive series of recommendations for each organization tailored to each of their respective communities. The provided recommendations are geared toward continuous capacity-building strategies for both organizations, furthering efforts toward mitigating the longstanding effects of exclusionary zoning and creating more affordable housing opportunities in Massachusetts.

Advancing Equitable Development in Massachusetts

<a href="http://smartgrowthamerica.org/community-economic-roadmap/"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-82516" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Approaching-the-Energy-Transition_Header-1024x307.png" alt=" width=" height="307" /></a>Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant played an integral role in stimulating the economy of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding Harrisburg metropolitan region from its opening in 1974 until its 2019 shutdown. TMI contributed approximately $1 million in annual tax revenue and an annual $60 million in payroll to the local economy. However, regional leaders are investing in assets and growth sectors, such as transportation and logistics, to bolster economic resilience in the wake of the plant becoming inoperable.
The Greater Harrisburg region is a national logistics hub and sits at a strategic crossroads between Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. &amp; and New York. Covering three counties (Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry) the Tri-County Regional Commission operates the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study (<a href="https://www.tcrpc-pa.org/about-tcrpc">HATS</a>). The HATS region is located within one day’s drive for 40% of the U.S. population, 60% of the nation’s buying power, and 50% of Canada’s population. The region is home to a unique confluence of interstate highways, in addition to rail service from Norfolk Southern, CSX, and York Railway. The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) also operates four airports across South Central Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg International (<a href="https://www.flyhia.com/about-hia/">HIA</a>) which hosts commercial and freight air traffic. Due to this strategic geographic location and transportation infrastructure, the region has become a major distribution and goods-movement hub for national and global companies– including nine of the top fifty logistics companies in North America—and is home to some of the largest warehouse facilities in the nation. Over 100 warehouses and distribution centers are located in Dauphin and Cumberland Counties alone, totaling around 10 million square feet of facility space and including prominent companies such as Amazon, FedEx, UPS, and DHL.
According to the regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (<a href="https://indd.adobe.com/view/2c0cb7ab-4140-4d5b-b148-8026554da0a7">CEDS</a>) completed by <a href="https://www.harrisburgregionalchamber.org/harrisburg-regional-chamber-credc/">Harrisburg Chamber &amp; Capital Region Economic Development Corporation</a>, Warehousing and Storage was by far the largest growth sector in new jobs from 2011-2022 for the region at 22,270 new jobs. To build on this growth and to utilize the region’s competitive advantage, the CEDS also lists Transportation and Warehousing as one of the four top target industries best fit for the region to attract and retain jobs.
<figure id="attachment_82482" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82482" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82482" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image1-1024x631.png" alt="Map of Harrisburg region and the logistics industry presence. " width="800" height="493" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82482" class="wp-caption-text">Map of Harrisburg region and the logistics industry presence.</figcaption></figure>
Air cargo is used to haul lightweight, but high-value and time-sensitive goods, such as medical devices and supplies, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. HIA—located 2.5 miles from the Three Mile Island plant site– provides critical infrastructure to ensure the success of the current supply chain and growing logistics industry. However, HIA’s air cargo facilities are presently functioning at near capacity, and the growth in freight being received and total air cargo is expected to increase to 69,000 tons by 2032, a 1.5% annual increase. To support this growth, SARAA recognized the value of improved access and connectivity between HIA and the region’s supply chain infrastructure and enterprises. Thus, major improvements to airport infrastructure are in progress to support increased air cargo traffic at HIA and the efficient movement of goods, supporting the region’s most in-demand industries: warehousing and logistics.
To support SARAA in this capital project, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) invested $3.75 million in August 2021 as a part of the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/nuclear-closure-assistance/awards-snapshots/">Nuclear Closure Communities</a> (NCC) funding. Specifically, this funding will improve and realign the primary roadway artery (Third Street) from the cargo facilities connecting to airport ingress/egress.
<blockquote>
“Third Street now is a very dangerous, narrow, steep, intersection. The scope of this project will be to realign the road and include a rotary component so traffic doesn’t have to stop and will make it easier to access the cargo sortation facility,” said Timothy Edwards, Executive Director of SARAA.
</blockquote>
This rotary component will be a roundabout traffic pattern, in which the perpetual movement and traffic calming feature should help with efficiency, in addition to traffic safety by reducing conflicts, according to Louis Pirozzi, SARAA Deputy Director for Engineering &amp; Planning. SARAA worked directly with <a href="https://www.deltaone.com/">Delta Development Group</a> on this project development and application.
<figure id="attachment_82483" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82483" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82483" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image2-1-1024x553.png" alt="Site plan design at Harrisburg International Airport for improved roadway and roundabout." width="800" height="432" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82483" class="wp-caption-text">Site plan design at Harrisburg International Airport for improved roadway and roundabout.</figcaption></figure>
This investment on the ‘landside’ of the airport fence (access roads, parking, sortation, and support facilities) will allow the airport to add capital investments on the ‘airside’ of the fence, including expansion of the cargo ramp to accommodate three additional wide-body cargo aircrafts, which is expected to increase freight capacity by 30 percent and enable more than $50 million in airside investment by FAA and air cargo handling companies.
<blockquote>
“We have calculated that by expanding the cargo ramp, adding sortation facilities, and improving access points that we would create an additional 350 jobs…offsetting some of those losses from the power plant closure,” said Edwards.
</blockquote>
Once this project is fully completed in late 2025 or early 2026, it is expected to infuse over $23 million annually into the regional economy, add $4.5 million in property tax revenues for regional school systems, and generate nearly $70 million in landing fees and other fee and lease revenues for HIA.
<hr />
This resource is part of the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/community-economic-diversification-roadmap/">Community Economic Diversification Roadmap</a>, a new tool created by Smart Growth America and the Nuclear Communities TA team, to support communities in planning for the challenges and opportunities that stem from hosting energy infrastructure.

Economic Diversification Roadmap: Keeping the Economy Moving in South Central Pennsylvania (Case Study)

<a href="http://smartgrowthamerica.org/community-economic-roadmap/"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-82518" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Building-Economic-Resilience_Header-1024x307.png" alt=" width=" height="307" /></a>The 52-year-old Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, located in Van Buren County on the scenic shores of Lake Michigan, formally closed in May of 2022 and was sold to the nuclear decommissioning company Holtec. First announced for a 2018 closure, the Palisades decision was amended, extending its operation until 2022. As Palisades provided approximately 600 well-paying jobs and served as one of the largest taxpayers in Van Buren County, the plant closure announcement led key partners and stakeholders across Southwest Michigan to jolt into action to plan for the closure impacts on the regional economy.
<figure id="attachment_82475" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82475" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82475" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image1-1.jpg" alt="An aerial image of Palisades Nuclear Plant on the shores of Lake Michigan." width="800" height="526" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82475" class="wp-caption-text">Palisades Nuclear Plant on the shores of Lake Michigan</figcaption></figure>
“We knew that planning needed to happen,” said John Egelhaaf, Executive Director of the Regional Economic Development District: <a href="https://www.swmpc.org/">Southwest Michigan Planning Commission</a> (SWMPC). While the negotiated closure timeline extension gave the region and its communities a brief exhale of relief, the newly developed Nuclear Closure Communities (<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/nuclear-closure-assistance/awards-snapshots/">NCC</a>) program of the U.S Economic Development Administration (EDA) emerged as a strategic and timely avenue for SWMPC and partners such as <a href="https://www.marketvanburen.org/">Market Van Buren</a> (the economic development organization for Van Buren and Cass Counties) to prepare for economic resilience and recovery before the plant closed.
Through the EDA NCC funding program, a federal grant of nearly $970,000 was awarded in June of 2021 to SWMPC, and a collaborative of partners including Market Van Buren (Kinexus Group), the University of Michigan Economic Growth Initiative, and the State of Michigan Department of Treasury—to support the Palisades Closure Recovery Strategy Initiative. The Michigan Department of Treasury’s Energy Transition Impact Project (<a href="https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/local/etip">ETIP</a>) provided supportive match funding of over $242,000 for the initiative. The Palisades Closure Recovery Strategy was designed as a three-year, multi-phase effort to 1) gather and analyze data on the impacts of the plant closure; 2) develop an assessment of data findings and weave them into a ‘story of closure’ and; 3) turn the assessment closure story into an action strategy with identified action steps to respond to impacts and pursue new opportunities. Community engagement and transparency with the public, including media interaction and social media presence, were central to the project kickoff phase to “build a scaffolding on the front end” for the plan and will continue to serve as a core pillar throughout the project, John Egelhaaf highlighted. “We wanted to make sure we are as accessible as we possibly can be.”
As of August 2023, the initiative is into the final third of the project timeline and into the action strategy phase: the <a href="https://www.vanburencountymi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3500/12023-Draft-Assessment-Section-of-the-Palisades-Economic-Recovery-Strategy?bidId=">Palisades Economic Recovery Initiative</a>. According to the assessment, for example, the total impact of closure (direct, indirect, and induced effects) is estimated to be 739 jobs lost and a reduction of $259 million in total output (GDP). For the action strategy, a recovery specialist will be hired to help in the process of building action steps and ultimately shepherding the plan to implementation. “Planning is not the end. All too often we think we succeeded when the plan is done and it’s not even close…it is really about what happens afterwards,” said Engelhaaf. While this action strategy will be completed in Fall of 2023, prior planning work from the regional COVID-19 <a href="https://www.swmpc.org/downloads/economic_recovery_and_resiliency_plan_final.pdf">Economic Recovery &amp; Resilience Plan</a> and Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (<a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1088d0f26689491cb3497ee19092192d">CEDS</a>) have spotlighted growth opportunities in tourism, value-added agriculture, and potential in other value-chain opportunities, including asset of <a href="http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/aqualift/contact.html">Whirlpool’</a>s world headquarters in the region to pursue more strategic investments in the research and development (R&amp;D), technology, or advanced manufacturing sectors.
Throughout the recovery strategy initiative, there has been an increasing discussion and movement towards a reopening of Palisades—an unprecedented move for a decommissioning nuclear plant. While this decision looms, community and local leader support for economic diversification and the recovery strategy remains committed.
<blockquote>
“In some ways, that’s an interesting twist of fate and we’re right back to where we wanted to be at the very beginning…diversifying the economy and preparing for an eventual closure, but doing it in an environment where it’s not an emergency anymore,” Egelhaaf said of a potential Palisades reopening.
</blockquote>
<h3>SMART Park</h3>
Midwest Energy &amp; Communications (<a href="https://www.teammidwest.com/">MEC</a>), born of a 1998 merger of two Great Depression-era rural electric cooperatives, MEC has since continued the rural co-op spirit to “provide innovations and solutions to create vibrant, relevant, and sustainable rural communities...where others won’t.” The concern of diminishing rural populations and quality-of-life drives MEC to fill those critical gaps of rural services, noted Dave Allen, Vice President with MEC. The closure announcement of the Palisades power plant further fueled MEC’s creative and expanding community role to retain jobs and talent in rural Michigan.
The <a href="https://www.imaginesmartpark.com/">Southwest Michigan Advanced Research &amp; Technology (SMART) Park</a> is a 400-acre center for technology and industry nestled in the rural Cass County village of Cassopolis (pop. 1,700), 45 miles from the Palisades plant. MEC was awarded $6 million from the U.S. EDA NCC program in September 2021 to support the development of SMART Park, including water and sewer lines, stormwater management system, and access road construction. Adjacent to MEC’s headquarters and their recent community solar energy array, this park will target enterprises focused on technology, R&amp;D, advanced manufacturing, and sustainability. This target focus is directly aligned with the larger regional vision for economic development strategies and is identified in the regional CEDS completed by SWMPC and complements the longer-term regional Recovery Strategy efforts with short-term wins.
<figure id="attachment_82477" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82477" style="width: 916px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82477 size-full" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image3.png" alt="An aerial site plan of SMART Park" width="916" height="515" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82477" class="wp-caption-text">An aerial site plan of SMART Park</figcaption></figure>
The first tenant for SMART Park is Hydro, a Norwegian company focused on a sustainable future, which will open operations in late 2023 or early 2024 with a state-of-the-art aluminum recycling plant. Hydro is investing $150 million in the project, which at full capacity will create 70 jobs and produce 120,000 metric tons of low-carbon aluminum extrusion ingot per year. Additional site investments will soon connect the park to rail via the Canadian National Railway that runs along the site property. In total, the SMART Park project is expected to create 250 new jobs. MEC is also coordinating with Market Van Buren and institutions of higher education on proactive workforce training and development partnerships in advance of Hydro and future tenants of the park.
<figure id="attachment_82476" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82476" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82476 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image2-1024x539.jpg" alt="A view of the future Hydro facility and SMART Park under development" width="1024" height="539" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82476" class="wp-caption-text">A view of the future Hydro facility and SMART Park under development</figcaption></figure>
A dedication to community engagement and being good neighbors has helped get SMART Park off to a promising start and will remain a ‘north star’ for the future. Immediately south of the park site sits Diamond Lake, which is home to residential and vacation home communities. MEC and community leaders have strived to balance the park business development with the preservation of the bucolic landscape, with covenants including aesthetics and dark-sky lighting standards as just one approach. This community engagement and relationship-building also has the potential to prove fruitful in securing future investment from interested Diamond Lake residents and second-home owners from Chicago. “You never know where the next gem will come from… so keep mining,” Allen offered in reference to the importance of engagement, partnerships, and patience in economic development.
<hr />
This resource is part of the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/community-economic-diversification-roadmap/">Community Economic Diversification Roadmap</a>, a new tool created by Smart Growth America and the Nuclear Communities TA team, to support communities in planning for the challenges and opportunities that stem from hosting energy infrastructure.

Economic Diversification Roadmap: Smart Planning & Development in Southwest Michigan (Case Study)

<a href="http://smartgrowthamerica.org/community-economic-roadmap/"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-82519" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Land-Use-and-Planning_Header-1024x307.png" alt=" width=" height="307" /></a>For the majority of Plymouth, Massachusetts’ 400-year history, the town has grown and thrived; now it has its eyes set on the next 400 years. Plymouth—'America’s Hometown’— holds great prominence in American history and the town has long capitalized on that brand to support its economy through tourism and hospitality. Plymouth is also home to the aptly named Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, which helped power the regional economy from the early 1970s until its shutdown in 2019. To pair with their tourism economy, community leaders are now leveraging Plymouth’s ‘post-nuclear’ status to build economic diversification and attract talent through technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
The Plymouth Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing quality of life through smart economic growth. Steering the ship into the future and a post-nuclear era is Executive Director, Stephen Cole. Cole defined a post-nuclear economy in Plymouth as “embracing the entrepreneurial spirit, utilizing assets we control, supporting small business, and investing in emerging technologies such as AI, quantum, and robotics. We’re never going to get something back in only one fell swoop that pays as much in taxes and wages as a nuclear power plant.”
In August of 2020, a $200,000 award from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Nuclear Closure Communities (<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/nuclear-closure-assistance/awards-snapshots/">NCC</a>) program supported a study to help outline how the town and larger region can support an entrepreneur ecosystem, identify innovative new opportunities, and make this new future a reality. The study was completed by the <a href="https://donahue.umass.edu/about-us">University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute</a> and encouraged Plymouth to double down on an asset-based approach. “Lean into your assets…look to your unique geography,” Cole offered advice to peer communities going through decommissioning.
<blockquote>
“The building of the Pilgrim plant was pivotal in the economic development of the town 50 years ago. And its decommissioning is going to be even more important.”
</blockquote>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-82471 size-full" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image1.jpg" alt="Aerial shot of Plymouth Harbor and coastline." width="804" height="534" />
An asset unique to Plymouth’s geography is its 37-mile underutilized coast. Leaning into this asset has led Plymouth to pursue entrepreneurship and economic innovation in the marine economy or blue economy. The community hosted its first annual conference on the blue economy in October 2022—<a href="https://www.plymouth-ma.biz/conference/#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20the%20Blue,sanctuaries%2C%20cultural%20heritage%2C%20and%20climate">Blue Future Conference: The Now and Next of Plymouth’s Marine Economy</a>—and a second annual event is being planned again for October 2023. In an exciting nexus between both the marine economy and AI technology innovation, a centerpiece of this conference was the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (<a href="https://mas400.com/">MAS</a>)—the first unmanned autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean using AI and edge computing. Honoring Plymouth’s history and culture, MAS’ retracing of the original 1620 Mayflower journey also showcased technology to advance solutions to improve ocean health and support a sustainable economy.
The region is also exploring growth in aquaculture research and development, especially with kelp. Plymouth Foundation and other stakeholders have even been in discussions with Holtec for utilizing water frontage sites on the decommissioning Pilgrim plant property for kelp and other aquaculture pursuits. “As post-nuclear and not post-industrial, we are not trying to solve problems from the last 50 years. We are generally focused on what the next 50 years look like,” said Cole.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-82472 size-full" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/image2.png" alt="Model image of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) Text Reads: A ship without a (human) captain and crew. Taking the human factor out of the Mayflower has allowed us to completely reimagine the design. Instead of thinking about eating, sleeping, and sanitation, the Mayflower's engineers were able to purely focus on the mechanics and function of the ship. " width="874" height="414" />
Another core piece of the UMass Donahue study provided recommendations for three to four distinct brick-and-mortar buildings to advance an entrepreneurship ecosystem:
<ul>
<li>Co-Working Space (Short Term)
<ul>
<li>This space would provide critical office facilities to help alleviate a lack of available and affordable office space in downtown Plymouth.</li>
<li>The space will connect entrepreneurs and remote work residents with a community and culture and help to attract and retain a young, talented workforce to live, work, and play in Plymouth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Food Science Center / Shared Kitchen (Intermediate Term)
<ul>
<li>Building off the tourism destination economy in Plymouth, the town is seeking to further build its brand as a food destination, and complete the fourth “P” linking four food towns of New England (Providence, Portsmouth, and Portland).</li>
<li>The center will offer facilities and support to existing restaurants and aspiring food service entrepreneurs and chefs, in addition to catalyzing a burgeoning food truck industry.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Maker Space / Proof-of-Concept Space (Long Term)
<ul>
<li>This facility will provide a space for innovators to prototype or add technical components to ideas while offering peer-to-peer engagement.</li>
<li>The maker space would be targeted toward marine technology, energy technology, robotics, and drones.</li>
<li>Future integration and partnerships with the local school systems could also utilize the maker space to offer a creative learning environment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Convention Center
<ul>
<li>A new convention center facility will help attract tourism and support the local hospitality industry, while potentially combining the Food Science Center under the same roof.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
“The building of the Pilgrim plant was pivotal in the economic development of the town 50 years ago. And its decommissioning is going to be even more important… We are generally focused on what the next 50 years look like”- Stephen Cole, Executive Director, Plymouth Foundation
</blockquote>
<hr />
This resource is part of the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/community-economic-diversification-roadmap/">Community Economic Diversification Roadmap</a>, a new tool created by Smart Growth America and the Nuclear Communities TA team, to support communities in planning for the challenges and opportunities that stem from hosting energy infrastructure.

Economic Diversification Roadmap: Looking to the Future in ‘America’s Hometown’ | Case Study

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>CREATING CONNECTIONS IN MONTPELIER, VT</h3>
Location: Montpelier, VT 
Population: 7,434 (2020) 
Typologies: Traditional main street 
Key takeaway: In small cities and rural areas, the effects of emergency situations like a global pandemic can hit especially hard. Finding ways to connect the community during crisis can be essential for resiliency in rural areas
<figure id="attachment_82112" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82112" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82112 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Montpelier_Page28-1024x796.jpeg" alt="People, vendor tents, and activity on an open street in downtown Montpelier, Vermont." width="1024" height="796" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82112" class="wp-caption-text">Source: montpelieralive.com</figcaption></figure>
<hr />
Vermont’s capital city, Montpelier, looks like it could have been drawn straight out of a storybook, with beautiful brick buildings from the 1800s set along the Winooski River and backed by a wooded hillside. But this little rural city, which had a thriving economy before the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen a significant economic impact from the loss of state office workers that resulted from the emergency shutdown—a loss that has continued to affect the town.
<blockquote>
“Boomers and millennials, both generations who think they have nothing in common, actually want the same things - everybody wanted to have that house and now everybody's aging. No one wants to drive. Everyone wants to have a place downtown.” – Elizabeth Parker, CFO, Sustainable Montpelier Coalition, Montpelier, VT
</blockquote>
Amid the pandemic, the Sustainable Montpelier Coalition, a local community organization, saw a need to build communication channels and connect neighbors across Montpelier, and reinstated the Capital Area Neighborhoods program. The program identified 50 different neighborhoods across the city and began assigning neighborhood coordinators who encouraged civic engagement and held community events to get residents talking about these issues and how people can work together. Along with encouraging communication connections, Sustainable Montpelier Coalition is working toward making Montpelier a more physically connected community with denser neighborhoods within the city to provide more affordable housing options, including through mixed-use housing and invisible infill strategies such as accessory dwelling units and duplexes.

Active Roadmap Case Study: Montpelier, VT

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>QUALITY OF LIFE IS KEY IN RUSTON, LA</h3>
Location: Ruston, LA 
Population: 21,987 (2020) 
Typologies: Retirement, second-home; Traditional main street; College 
Key takeaway: Ruston is implementing changes to their built environment to encourage walking and to connect their communities. These changes have enabled them, in spite of their distance from a large metropolitan area, to remain a vibrant small city that can attract new residents, including students graduating from the local college, while improving the quality of life of their current residents.
<figure id="attachment_69863" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69863" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rrpark.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-69863" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rrpark.jpg" alt="A small park with a tent that appears to be covering a stage. There are many people in front of it, many of whom are wearing bright punk shirts. A small downtown is in the background" width="800" height="533" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rrpark.jpg 800w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rrpark-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rrpark-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-69863" class="wp-caption-text">Source: ruston.org</figcaption></figure>
<hr />
Ruston, LA, is in some ways an island. With no major metropolitan area nearby (the nearest city, West Monroe, is about 30 miles away) and commuter traffic through the area decreasing over the last decade, Ruston has developed an internal resilience, focused on the quality of life of their residents, including supporting Complete Streets, walkability, local restaurants, and downtown programming.
Ruston’s Monroe Street Corridor is a multi-use greenway that will run from the north city limit to the south city limit, and connect to Louisiana Tech University. The trail will provide a walkable and bikeable connection between the southern part of town, which has historically been a lower-income area with higher percentages of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and the northern, wealthier, and predominantly white part of town—two groups that have been divided by interstate highways in the past.
Ruston’s other recent efforts to enhance quality of life include pedestrian-friendly site design. The city’s 2016 Reimagine Ruston plan included a major walkability component, including a requirement for all new buildings and businesses throughout the city to put in sidewalks. They’ve also explored zoning changes to reduce the amount of land used for parking and implemented using a parking calculator to look at private lots with different uses between daytime and night, which resulted in a 20% reduction and increased parking efficiency.
<blockquote>
“Downtown has been reborn as a cultural, entertainment, professional, and retail hub, much like its glory days when the town center was the heartbeat of the city.” – Mayor Ronny Walker, Ruston, LA
</blockquote>

Active Roadmap Case Study: Ruston, LA

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>OXFORD’S COMPLETE STREETS ADD ECONOMIC BENEFITS</h3>
Location: Oxford, MS 
Population: 27,662 (2020) 
Typologies: Traditional main street community; College community. 
Key takeaway: Improving safety and comfort for people walking, biking, and rolling can improve not only the safety and enjoyment of people in a rural community but also the economy of the community.
<figure id="attachment_82145" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82145" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82145 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/oxford-mississippi-double-decker-crowd-from-above-4-Pano-scaled-1-1024x568.jpg" alt="A wide shot of people using the street, with a street fair happening and buildings with second floor patios filled with people." width="1024" height="568" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82145" class="wp-caption-text">Source: visit-oxford.com</figcaption></figure>
<hr />
Oxford, MS, is home to the University of Mississippi with a population of about 27,000 residents and a picture-book downtown square. Oxford has a rich history as the former home of William Faulkner, and a successful food and retail scene. Oxford recognizes that safe, walkable streets are a key part of making downtown economically prosperous. Since the 1990s, Oxford’s economic development foundation has focused on creating an environment where people enjoy everyday life.
Oxford focused on creating good design standards for streets to make them safer and more comfortable for people walking, biking, and rolling. These strategies paid off—Oxford was ranked ninth for strongest micropolitan economy in the US in 2019. Today, Oxford’s Complete Streets resolution is improving safety for people walking in the downtown area. The City is converting East Jackson Avenue in downtown into a more walk-friendly corridor. This is important since although it has a row of restaurants, retail, and heavy foot traffic, it is one of the least walking-friendly streets in the community.

Active Roadmap Case Study: Oxford, MS

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>ERWIN’S THRIVING DOWNTOWN ACTIVITY CENTER</h3>
Location: Erwin, TN 
Population: 5,910 (2020) 
Typologies: Retirement, second-home; Traditional main street; Edge 
Key takeaway: By focusing on attracting investment to its historic downtown, expanding broadband, and improving access to local amenities and commercial areas, Erwin has created a thriving downtown activity center, where residents can safely walk to the various amenities and services that draw them to the area.
<figure id="attachment_82108" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82108" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82108 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ErwinTN_Page6-1024x683.jpeg" alt="An active street filled with tents and people attending the Unicoi County Apple Festival in Erwin Tennessee" width="1024" height="683" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82108" class="wp-caption-text">Source: unicoicountyapplefestival.com</figcaption></figure>
<hr />
While some rural communities have struggled in the face of economic shifts, and continue to face the challenges to expanding broadband access, Erwin, TN—a town of just 6,000 people—is successfully adapting by attracting investment to its historic downtown, expanding broadband, and improving access to local amenities and commercial areas in the process. Erwin already has a relatively compact town center and lots of potential for revitalization, with commercial activity clustered around the downtown area and two of the largest employers in the area located in the southwest area of the city, a short drive from downtown.
Erwin has had great success with improving broadband access which supported businesses in the downtown and easy switch to remote work during COVID. But the city realized it's still not a great downtown from a walkability perspective. They did a sidewalk assessment study during COVID with an intern walking all streets in the town and grading them on a scale which is now being used by the local government for their long range plan so they have a strategy to create a walkable network rather than merely a walkable Main Street.
Erwin has also worked to transform its downtown into a thriving activity center, in part due to the work of grassroots organization, RISE Erwin. Erwin changed some of the town’s ordinances to allow residences in the commercial downtown area, marketed the downtown to businesses, and installed several public art projects, including securing Tennessee Arts Commission funding to install a large mural on the pavement of downtown streets in an area with a skate park, library, and two art studios. The city reported that traffic has since slowed on the streets with the mural, making it safer for people walking to the library and skate park.
&nbsp;

Active Roadmap Case Study: Erwin, TN

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>EXCELSIOR SPRING RESILIENCY CAPABILITIES</h3>
Location: Excelsior Springs, MO 
Population: 11,688 
Typologies: Traditional main street; Edge 
Key takeaway: By applying a combination of strategies to support local businesses during a global health crisis, Excelsior Springs was able to minimize negative effects to their local economy, continue to attract visitors, and maintain the healthy, stable community that existed pre-pandemic.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-82149 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Trails-Excelsior-Springs-1024x580.jpg" alt="Joggers running with their backs facing on a train through green grass and spring trees with a building in the background" width="1024" height="580" />
<hr />
Located 30 miles northeast of central Kansas City, MO, Excelsior Springs was built as a “health community,” attracting visitors who wanted to access one of the five natural supplies of ferro-manganese mineral water in the world. This spring is responsible for the growth of Excelsior Springs as a tourist and health treatment center.
Much of Excelsior Springs’ local economy today depends on visitors and tourists. Therefore, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, the town was faced with a huge challenge to support the economy and to provide support to local businesses, while making sure residents, business owners, and visitors were safe. A combination of various successful local efforts did the trick, and the city reported that none of their local businesses closed because of the pandemic. While there was a 22% decrease in visits between 2019 and 2020, the visits were back up in 2021 with an increase of 33% compared to 2020 and were even 4% higher than the pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.
<blockquote>
“We have to think about it as being a right-sized community. Because we are a tourist destination. We want to remain a destination. We don't want to grow into the next largest city next to us. It doesn't really benefit our growth as a tourist community. We'd like green space between us and someone else. We will lose our identity if we become an extension of Kansas City.” – Melinda Mehaffy, Economic Development Director, Excelsior Springs, MO
</blockquote>
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Downtown Excelsior Partnership (i.e., their Mainstreet Program) began hosting Facebook Live meetings with merchants on a private page to collaborate on the best ways to support each other. City restaurants quickly transitioned to curbside pickups. City staff saw more people eating outdoors and using their walking trails and parks more often. The City allowed for special parking signage to go up along the sidewalk or in parking lots reserving parking for curbside pickups. A few of their local businesses also put chairs and tables outside their buildings for public use and have continued the curbside pickup.
One major concern from merchants in downtown Excelsior Springs was that they weren’t set up to go virtual. The city immediately realized that with much uncertainty about the pandemic, an online presence was critical for their local businesses to succeed.
Morgansites, a local business with over 20 years of experience in helping area businesses get online, offered to build free websites with online e-commerce, not only for businesses located in downtown Excelsior Springs but also in the surrounding communities of Kearney, Lawson, Raytown, and Richmond. Any business negatively impacted by the pandemic was invited to take advantage of this opportunity, which included a professionally built six-page e-commerce website at no cost for six months.
Fifteen businesses took advantage of this opportunity and saw the direct benefits of online revenue streams throughout the emergency shutdown. On top of that, the city reported that the businesses have continued to benefit from diverse revenue streams through reopening and recovery. Morgansites’ service provided a chance for businesses to survive a time of uncertainty, without fear of having to shut down permanently.
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Active Roadmap Case Study: Excelsior Springs, MO

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>PARIS TAILORS FIXED-ROUTE SERVICE TO COMMUNITY NEEDS</h3>
Location: Paris, Texas 
Population: 24,814 (2020) 
Typology: Traditional Main Street community 
Key takeaway: Through community partnerships, Paris’s fixed-route service was kept affordable for residents, and was tailored to the needs of the sponsoring partners.
<figure id="attachment_82122" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82122" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82122 size-full" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/954-paris-metro-bus.jpg" alt="A red and white Paris Metro minibus" width="700" height="394" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82122" class="wp-caption-text">Source: ruralhealthinfo.org</figcaption></figure>
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Paris is a town of 25,000 people located in northeastern Texas along the border of Oklahoma. It is part of a 10-county area serviced by the Ark-Tex Council of Governments Rural Transit District (TRAX), which only operated an on-demand service requiring reservations. Though the on-demand service was critical for residents who used it, the advanced notice required, limited availability of rides and small fleets were major limitations.
In 2016, Paris and other local partners supported TRAX to launch an affordable fixed-route bus service called Paris Metro. It costs 50 cents a ride, and 25 cents for students. They also recently partnered with the Texas Veterans Commission to provide free six-month ride passes for veterans living in a transitional shelter. The service, which includes four routes in Paris running hourly between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, has filled a critical need in allowing residents to access jobs and social services. The Paris Metro was created with the specific transportation needs of each sponsoring partner in mind. For example, the Paris Regional Medical Center, the largest employer in the city, is located outside the city center and was previously inaccessible by transit. Now, the Paris Metro allows residents to get to scheduled appointments rather than coming in through the emergency room.
Lack of access to reliable transit was a barrier for students with disabilities at Paris Junior college. To give students the support they needed to reach classes and other daily destinations, TRAX and the college created a discounted semester pass for students, subsidized by Pell grant funds. Reliable, affordable transit allows more students to enroll and attend their classes.

Active Roadmap Case Study: Paris, TX

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>CHILLICOTHE BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS</h3>
Location: Chillicothe, OH 
Population: 21,668 (2020) 
Typologies: Traditional main street; Edge 
Key takeaway: Chillicothe’s process was successful because the decisions the city made were driven by and through the extensive community engagement that was conducted. This led the city to pursue a hybrid option of preserving the fixed-route service while also adding the on-demand option for flexibility where the fixed route didn’t reach.
<figure id="attachment_82107" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82107" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82107 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ChillcotheOH_Page33-1024x683.jpeg" alt="Red transit trolley with historic design passes through an arch that reads &quot;Majestic&quot; in Chillicothe, Ohio." width="1024" height="683" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82107" class="wp-caption-text">Source: City of Chillicothe</figcaption></figure>
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Chillicothe, Ohio’s first (and third) capital city, sits in southern Ohio, near the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. US Routes 23 and 50 dissect the city, and like in many small towns and rural communities, these major corridors built to prioritize cars above all else have also divided the community. But leaders of Chillicothe have been working hard to improve access and mobility in the community for everyone to safely walk, bike, roll, and use public transit.
From November 2020 to August 2021, Chillicothe participated in the Bloomberg Harvard Innovation Track, a Leadership Initiative program where 11 interdisciplinary city teams from across the US developed innovative solutions to a pressing city problem. Chillicothe focused on improving public transit throughout the city. The city’s journey over the year led to a complete revamp of service, from a fixed-route only service with extremely inefficient and long routes, to a mix of 30-minute fixed routes coupled with on-demand point-to-point service. The new transit system covers the whole city and two outlying regions where major employers exist. The city also partnered with the library to locate a transit transfer hub and introduced a new trolley system, an idea that came from their community engagement sessions. The trolley was piloted in December 2021 and received an overwhelmingly positive response with over 750 visitors in the pilot week, which led to the service being officially launched in June 2022.
<blockquote>
“Instead of a forum or interview, if you hop on the bus and say, “Hey, what do you like or not?” They start chatting with you. And then the only other piece is getting them to trust you. When we first started talking, people didn't want to say anything bad. They were like, “Oh, it's fine.” and I was like, “Well, ma'am, you've been on the bus for 45 minutes. Is it really fine?” – Asti Powell, Director of Planning and Development, Chillicothe, OH
</blockquote>

Active Roadmap Case Study: Chillicothe, OH

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>OSAGE NATION TRIBAL COMMUNITY DEVELOP A VISION FOR THE FUTURE</h3>
Location: Pawhuska, OK 
Population: 3,456 (2020) 
Typologies: Gateway; Traditional main street; Edge; Tribal and Native American 
Key takeaway: With a clear vision, shaped based on an understanding of their history and identity, the Osage Nation implemented a series of projects that worked together toward a common goal of improving the health of the Osage community, and by extension, the surrounding community of Pawhuska.
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<figure id="attachment_82144" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82144" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82144 size-full" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NAJA_2ndPlace_NewsPhoto_Cody_Aug22-1024x715-1.jpeg" alt="A large group of kids run toward the camera through a gateway entrance along a path with grass on both sides of the WahZhaZhe Heritage Park Trail" width="1024" height="715" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82144" class="wp-caption-text">Source: osagenews.org</figcaption></figure>
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The leaders of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma had a vision for improving the health of the Osage community, and they have strategically taken on projects in recent years that align with that vision. One such project was the completion of the WahZhaZhe Heritage Park and Trails in 2021. Completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, this ecopark and trail system near the downtown area was particularly successful as a place for community members to safely socialize, and it continues to serve not only the Osage Nation but also the City of Pawhuska, providing a community asset that improves the quality of life and health for residents.
WahZhaZhe Heritage Park and Trails includes 2 miles of trails, workout stations, a playground, a frisbee golf course, a picnic area, and an outdoor classroom to teach about the nation’s culture and history. The park is also adjacent to Harvest Land, a tribe-owned working farm and food store, which provides access to healthy food options, including native species the Osage has traditionally harvested. The Nation plans to expand on the success of this project with a large health and sports complex nearby. The Nation has also partnered with the City of Pawhuska in applying for a streetscape project to revitalize the downtown area with new sidewalks to make walking safer, improving traffic flow and vehicular safety, and updating street infrastructure, a step that has benefited the economic development of not only the tribe but of the entire region.

Active Roadmap Case Study: Pawhuska, OK

[alert type="info"] For our new report—<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">an Active Roadmap: Best Practices in Rural Mobility</a>—the SGA team interviewed rural communities across the country that have implemented successful strategies to improve multimodal transportation access to key destinations. This could be through transportation and/or development decisions such as improving transit access, adopting a Complete Streets policy, thoughtful community engagement methods, investing in downtown revitalization, and more.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/rural-roadmap/">Read the report and learn more about the eight other communities we profiled here.</a> [/alert]
<h3>DOWNEASTER RAIL SERVICE CONNECTS COMMUNITIES</h3>
Location: Saco, Brunswick, and Surrounding Rural Communities, ME 
Population: 19,716 (2020) 
Typologies: Gateway; Resource-dependent; Retirement, second-home; Traditional main street; College; Edge. 
Key takeaway: Transit service can make living in rural areas more attractive for young adults who want access to attractions and resources in nearby cities, and more feasible for older adults who need access to health care services.
<figure id="attachment_82134" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82134" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-82134 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Downeaster-AmtkDE100607-109Mstr8-e1690462631603-1024x718.jpg" alt="An amtrak train going over a bridge that is passing over small waterfalls and green foliage" width="1024" height="718" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-82134" class="wp-caption-text">Source: NNEPRA</figcaption></figure>
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A number of rural communities have expanded transit service and have seen significant benefits. The Amtrak Downeaster rail service in Maine began over 20 years ago through a citizen-initiated bill, the first of its kind, called the "Passenger Rail Service Act.” The service acts as an anchor for the interconnectedness of smaller communities in Maine, for students to get to colleges and universities in Saco and Brunswick, and for a large proportion of the senior population to access medical services in Boston.
Changes brought by COVID-19 have created opportunities for rural communities like those in Maine. Many young adults have moved to fewer urban parts of Maine because of the increased flexibility of remote work. For example, Saco, Maine, has a walkable downtown; is one of the fastest-growing communities in Maine; and saw an increase in its younger population during the initial years of the pandemic. The Downeaster train connects this growing population to cities like Boston for services and entertainment, which according to agency officials, is often cited as an attractive factor for younger people to live in parts of Maine. For older residents, Downeaster has a partnership with the American Cancer Society to offer $15 fares for people going from anywhere in Maine to Boston for medical appointments. The discounted fair applies to both the patient and a travel companion.
<blockquote>
“Each train has its own distinct personality. For example, 682 is the second Southbound Train to Boston, so we get a couple business travelers, some leisure travelers, seniors that are going to medical appointments. That's very different from 686 which is usually the sports fans and that’s where we sell beer and chicken sandwiches.” – Patricia Quinn, Executive Director, NNEPRA, Downeaster, ME
</blockquote>

Active Roadmap Case Study: Saco, ME

As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify, zoning presents a key tool to direct development to protect communities from climate events. Norfolk, Virginia, a city at severe risk from sea level rise due to climate change, is among the first cities in the US to use climate adaptation as a core consideration for future development.
This report examines the economic and social impact of resilience zoning in Norfolk, Virginia, which offers a cutting-edge example of climate-informed policy through the adoption of two land use plans—planNorfolk2030 to guide short-term development and Vision 2100 for long-term development. Using quantitative analysis, the Smart Growth America team explores the fiscal implications on Norfolk’s annual budget and property values. Additionally, this report includes a national scan of resilience zoning efforts, and shares recommendations to Norfolk and other cities facing flood risk seeking to address climate risk in land use policy and advance equitable climate adaptation.
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[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://go.lincolninst.edu/Burgess_WP23KB1.pdf?_ga=2.129747086.386307756.1689602775-799266633.1689265581"] READ THE REPORT [/button]

The Case for Climate-Informed Zoning: A Study of Fiscal Impact in Norfolk, VA

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-81745 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/VT-Blog-image-1024x576.jpg" alt=" width=" height="576" />Smart Growth America is working with a team of practitioners and leaders with deep knowledge of state and local land use policy to reform Vermont’s state designation programs that guide development and state investment priorities for revitalization. This project offers an exciting opportunity to support livable, walkable, thriving communities with a range of attainable housing and healthy economies in the State of Vermont while protecting the State’s character and rural landscapes, addressing equity and historical barriers, and supporting and investing in downtowns and villages.
Smart Growth America is kicking off a project to review and assess Vermont’s state designation programs along with partners from Vermont-based Community Workshop LLC and a small team of subject matter experts. The evaluation of the programs presents a unique opportunity to refocus on smart growth strategies and much-needed additional housing while maintaining Vermont’s pattern of compact cities and village centers separated by rural countryside. We believe that the designation programs can be updated to expand regulatory incentives for diverse and equitable communities.
[alert type="info"] Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Development manages the state designation programs—outlined here as Downtowns, Village Centers, New Town Centers, Growth Centers, and Neighborhood Development Areas—which “work together to provide incentives, align policies, and give communities the technical assistance needed to encourage new development and redevelopment in our compact, designated areas. The program’s incentives are for both the public and private sectors within the designated area, including tax credits for historic building rehabilitations and code improvements, permitting benefits for new housing, funding for transportation-related public improvements, and priority consideration for other state grant programs.”[/alert]
The project aims to set a vision for the next 25 years of Vermont’s designation programs by setting new goals, evaluating emerging priorities, and defining future success. To ensure more equitable outcomes, we will begin the project by listening to diverse stakeholders, from state and local officials to local businesses and community members, as well as advocacy and nongovernmental organizations.
We will also evaluate the current designation program’s structure, processes, and partnerships, comparing them to similar programs from other states. This work will culminate with a report of findings and our recommendations to the Vermont General Assembly, which may include recommendations to:
<ul>
<li>Modernize, reform, and consolidate existing programs</li>
<li>Improve the consistency between and among regional plans and future land use maps</li>
<li>Make the designation programs and associated benefits more accessible to municipalities</li>
<li>Strengthen designation and incentives as a platform for place-based economic development, climate action, complete streets, and equity and efficiency of public investment and service delivery</li>
<li>Implement changes that lead to smart growth outcomes.</li>
</ul>
By aligning Vermont’s land use and development programs and community investment with smart growth principles, we can support the equitable delivery of the program and meet the needs of communities. Through this project and our recommendations, we hope that the state’s designation programs can serve the communities of Vermont and as an example for other states to follow, as well as inform the future of land use and planning.

Power of Place: Reimagining Vermont’s State Designation Programs

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Elkins, West Virginia has been working to revitalize their downtown, a challenge in any circumstance, but especially in a rural Appalachian town. The workshop with Smart Growth America shared expertise and provided site-specific advice to aid local officials and community members in placemaking.
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The SGA team visited Elkins for two days where they participated in collaborative conversations with stakeholders and community residents, toured downtown, and worked with local leaders to establish a development plan for downtown Elkins based on both local experience and SGA’s professional recommendations. These conversations were structured around several small-group meetings, a public forum, and an interactive stakeholder workshop where participants focused on ideas to revitalize downtown Elkins—the place the vast majority of residents identified as the heart of the community. 
 

Elkins is currently undergoing several development efforts in areas in and around the downtown, including the<a href="https://cityofelkinswv.com/elkins-riverfront-plan/"> Riverfront Redevelopment Area</a>, the renovation of the <a href="https://www.theintermountain.com/news/local-news/2021/10/status-of-historic-tygart-hotel-renovation-project-discussed/">Tygart Hotel</a>, and a <a href="https://downtownelkins.com/design-2/">Downtown Streetscape Design Project</a>. Additionally, there are efforts to redevelop the Railyard, a significant portion of property that represents a quarter of the developable land near downtown Elkins. These plans and projects have galvanized support for the city in undertaking redevelopment projects and activated locals to make sure their voices are heard.
 

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<h2 class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color has-text-color">What we heard</h2>

During both formal and informal conversations and workshops with SGA, participants shared their thoughts on the main opportunities and challenges in Elkins:
Opportunities
<ul>
<li>Elkins is a regional economic center and a growing tourist destination that needs to think carefully about its future development and strategic planning, especially given the once-in-a-generation opportunity of the seven-acre Railyard Redevelopment Area.</li>
<li>There is strong community support for redevelopment and adaptive reuse in downtown Elkins. Residents want to see a vibrant, lively downtown that hosts a variety of businesses and people.</li>
<li>“Good bones” in existing downtown buildings and structures that are prime locations for redevelopment.</li>
<li>Beautiful, mountainous landscape that attracts outdoor enthusiasts and tourists.</li>
<li>Strong sense of community, camaraderie, and historical significance centering around the main intersection in downtown, 3rd Street, and Davis Ave.</li>
</ul>
Challenges
<ul>
<li>Lack of entry-level jobs and industries that attract young people and families.</li>
<li>Broadband connectivity issues.</li>
<li>Perception issues in downtown, including dilapidated buildings and homelessness.</li>
<li>Walkability, accessibility, and signage challenges, especially outside the downtown core and in proximity to Davis and Elkins college.</li>
<li>An abundance of single-family homes and a lack of other housing choices.</li>
<li>Changing real estate market trends. Baby Boomers and Millennials are driving demand in housing and development, and they want compact housing in walkable areas whether they are located in small towns or big cities. Elkins is determined to alter its development to accommodate shifting preferences.</li>
</ul>

<figure class="wp-block-table aligncenter is-style-stripes"><figcaption><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/arts-culture/technical-assistance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Learn more about our technical assistance offerings.</a></figcaption></figure>
 

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<h2 class="has-vivid-cyan-blue-color has-text-color">Community Workshops and Stakeholder Meetings</h2>
 

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Through conversational interviews with small groups including youth organizations, business and landowners, and economic development professionals, the SGA team heard two main points from the Elkins community: 1) the focal points of the city are 3rd Street and Davis Avenue at the center of downtown, and Davis &amp; Elkins College, sitting atop the hill looking down on downtown Elkins; and 2) tourism is a pillar of the Elkins economy, attracting high levels of revenue in outdoor recreation and activities that can only happen in the mountainous region. When asked what downtown would look like in ten years, residents and stakeholders dreamt big, painting a picture of a vibrant downtown hosting a diverse array of businesses, updated housing structures, and a streetscape that supports an active, 24-hour population.
 

To support Elkins’ efforts to revitalize their town, SGA conducted a <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/rationale-model-fiscal-ordinance/">Fiscal Impact Analysis </a>to show where clusters of economic activity are located in the city. Our analysis demonstrated that the most profitable areas in the city are in the downtown and that these areas will continue to pull in the most revenue in the future. Although several properties in downtown Elkins have fallen into disrepair, a comparative analysis that took into account the costs of providing services to these properties as well as tax revenue that is collected from properties showed that there is a significant clustering of properties in downtown Elkins that are providing the city with the majority of its revenue. This presentation, along with a brief review of development market trends, led to a lively conversation and collaborative group visioning for the future development of key redevelopment areas.
 

As a result of SGA’s analysis and conversations with locals, the seven-acre Railyard Redevelopment Area was identified as the portion of land with the most potential for new development Elkins. Residents came up with creative solutions on how to use the Railyard space, including installing a splash pad; a year-round indoor recreation facility with amenities like a climbing wall and an arcade; a historic walking trail that connects the downtown to the Tygart Riverfront; an outdoor music space; and many more. Additional discussions on how to improve downtown Elkins revolved around how to engage both visitors and locals through vibrant storefronts and businesses like unique bookstores, upper-floor redevelopment, and a renewed parking strategy.
 

Elkins is a tight-knit community that is ripe for an equally successful downtown and development plan. Planning for redevelopment in Elkins will take careful collaboration, coordination, and visioning to create spaces that are profitable, useful, and meaningful to locals and visitors. Over the next month, SGA will provide the City of Elkins with a detailed next steps report, laying out possible action items for the city to address the identified issues and step into the vibrant future that they envisioned.
 

<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" class="wp-image-79925" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0078-1024x768.png" alt="&quot;" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0078-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0078-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0078-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0078-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0078-2048x1536.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Artwork on the walls of a building in downtown Elkins (Photo: Chris Zimmerman).</figcaption></figure>

The Mountains Are Calling: Placemaking and Redevelopment in Elkins, West Virginia

Smart Growth America and the North End Local Advocacy Group co-created the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/north-end-equitable-development-strategy-needs/">North End Equitable Development Strategy (NEEDS)</a> to serve as a roadmap for equitable development in the North End neighborhood of Newport, Rhode Island.  The NEEDS evolved over months of collaboration and is intended to advance policy changes that will make their neighborhood a place where everyone can thrive.
<hr />
With a development plan in place, change was coming to the North End neighborhood of Newport, Rhode Island. And changes were needed; over the last 50 years, the neighborhood suffered from decline and neglect, due in part to an urban renewal bridge project that cut off the community from the rest of Newport. The problem was, that plan didn’t take into account the residents who were already living there or how they might be impacted by the changes called for in the plan.
The plan, officially known as the <a href="https://www.cityofnewport.com/en-us/city-hall/departments/planning/north-end-urban-plan#:~:text=The%20North%20End%20Urban%20Plan,Plan%20on%20February%2010%2C%202021." target="_blank" rel="noopener">North End Urban Plan (NEUP)</a>, was created in 2021 and is the most recent effort to chart the North End’s future. The plan doesn’t waste time in revealing its motives, dubbing the North End as “Newport’s last economic development opportunity neighborhood.” Overlooked by decision-makers, North End residents came together to be sure that their voices were included in any changes coming to their community—<a href="https://thepublicsradio.org/article/newport-changes-north-end-zoning-to-prioritize-workforce-housing-open-space" target="_blank" rel="noopener">securing more equitable outcomes in the process</a>. The North End Equitable Development Strategy (NEEDS) is the culmination of their efforts to build strategies that will advance policy changes to make their neighborhood a place where everyone can thrive.
<blockquote>
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-78620 size-medium alignleft" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/northend-rex-lebeau-300x225.jpg" alt=" width=" height="225" /> “I'm thrilled to see North End residents' priorities outlined so clearly and I'm hopeful the NEEDS will guide the redevelopment in a way that allows the residents' vision becomes a reality. It's time for the existing community to be centered as these big changes happen." - Rex LeBeau, Strategy Specialist at Newport Health Equity Zone 
</blockquote>
&nbsp;
<h4>Building an Equitable Development Strategy</h4>
North End residents were driven to action because the NEUP felt like it was done about them or to them rather than with them. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/north-end-equitable-development/">Nearly 18 months ago</a>, North End community leaders formed the Local Advocacy Group (or LAG), in partnership with the <a href="https://newporthealthequity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newport Health Equity Zone </a>and with guidance from Smart Growth America, started the hard work of building an equitable development strategy for the North End. 
[alert type="info"]What is equitable development? 
Equitable development is an approach and a mindset that, to be successful, must be shared by everyone who plays a role in the redevelopment process—residents, business owners, public officials, city staff, developers, and investors. For marginalized communities, like the North End, equitable development is the path for reconciling past inequities and ensuring that those who are most impacted by new development have the opportunity to remain in their neighborhood and thrive.[/alert]
To begin the process of creating an equitable development strategy, the LAG dedicated themselves to gathering opinions from across their community, ensuring that as many voices as possible would be included in the development decisions that would impact their neighborhood’s future. The data collected was workshopped and refined and resulted in six key priorities:
<ol>
<li>​​Community empowerment</li>
<li>Housing affordability and mitigating displacement</li>
<li>High-quality, publicly accessible open space</li>
<li>Workforce development/economic diversification</li>
<li>Neighborhood development</li>
<li>Road safety and connectivity</li>
</ol>
With the community priorities set, the LAG worked with SGA to develop short- and long-term action plans to accomplish these priorities and work toward equity in the city’s development plans. After months of work, these action plans coalesced into the North End Equitable Development Strategy, which is intended to serve as a roadmap to implement the NEUP, according to the North End residents’ priorities for equitable development.
<blockquote style="font-size: 18px;">
“These concerns affect all of Newport, these zoning amendments for the North End, you have the opportunity to be bold and to show the way for the future when it comes to making cities and towns livable for year-round residents.” - Aida Neary, North End resident and LAG Member
</blockquote>
[alert type="info"]The North End Equitable Development Strategy:
<ul>
<li>Clearly lays out the priorities of the residents;</li>
<li>Identifies key audiences—the people and organizations who can influence the future of the North End;</li>
<li>Defines “equitable development” and explains why it is the best route forward for the North End and the City of Newport;</li>
<li>Describes the strategies, tools, and resources that North End residents can advocate for and use to achieve their aims;</li>
<li>Outlines implementation steps that the City of Newport must take to make the strategic goals a reality; and Proposes a way to track progress.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/north-end-equitable-development-strategy-needs/"] Read the NEEDS report here[/button] 
[/alert]
&nbsp;
<h4>An Early Win for Equitable Development in the North End</h4>
For the LAG, two early wins came in the form of the City Council adopting LAG-proposed zoning amendments and the awarding of the GrowSmartRI Smart Policy Award. For more than a year, Smart Growth America, and consultants worked with North End neighbors to draft a set of zoning amendments, which Newport’s City Council unanimously approved in May.
<blockquote>
"The residents' priorities and associated strategies, when implemented, will result in a healthier, more resilient community. We know that these are also factors that prevent domestic violence in the long term, so we truly see this as a first step toward a future free from violence for Newport." - Jessica Walsh, Executive Director, Women's Resource Center
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.cityofnewport.com/CityOfNewport/media/City-Hall/Boards-Commissions/Boards/Planning%20Board/Meeting%20Files/2021-07-02-PB-Staff-Report-North-End-Zoning-Amendments.pdf">The adopted zoning amendments</a> address three of the North End’s biggest priorities:
<ol>
<li>housing affordability</li>
<li>participation in negotiating community benefits agreements</li>
<li>high-quality, accessible civic, green, and open space.</li>
</ol>
The <a href="https://thepublicsradio.org/article/newport-changes-north-end-zoning-to-prioritize-workforce-housing-open-space">codification of the resident-proposed Zoning Amendments</a> sends a powerful message that the North End’s suggestions aren’t just lofty goals and aspirations; these priorities must be adhered to and addressed when developing in the North End.
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<a href="https://growsmartri.org/">Grow Smart Rhode Island</a> awarded the LAG The Smart Growth Policy Award, which “honors contributions to shaping stronger, more sustainable and socially just communities across Rhode Island” and further centers the voices and needs of the residents.
<h4>What’s Next?</h4>
While the completion of the NEEDS report is an important milestone, the work is only just beginning. North End residents have already begun using the NEEDS to advocate for equitable development that will not displace North End residents, including a planned presentation at an upcoming Newport Planning meeting this fall. This document will serve as a roadmap going forward so that North End residents are able to advocate for and succeed in achieving their goals for their community.
<blockquote>
"Having the NEEDS released is such a considerable accomplishment for those of us that have put years of knowledge into it. Knowing that our voices will be heard." - Phyllis Mulligan, North End resident and LAG member
</blockquote>
[button type="primary" size="lg" link="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/north-end-equitable-development-strategy-needs/"] Read the NEEDS report here[/button]

Meeting resident needs in the North End of Newport

Our newest video tells the story of how Pittsburgh’s former mayor decided to take action on building safer, complete streets, why the city’s new mayor is picking up the baton with a focus on equity, and how city staff are making progress across administrations.
<blockquote>
“This is affordable, essential mobility. But it’s not: ‘should we?’ It’s ‘HOW should we.”
– Karina Ricks, former director of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.
</blockquote>
A 2016 Complete Streets policy is providing the actionable blueprint for “how,” giving Pittsburgh the guidance they need to design and build safer streets. The city’s new mayor has a clear understanding of how safer and more enjoyable streets contribute to making his city both healthier and more equitable.
“This is a public health issue, and if we don’t address equity from a public health standpoint, then we can’t get healthy,” says Mayor Ed Gainey.
<h3>About these videos</h3>
With the support and partnership of <a href="http://cityhealth.org">CityHealth</a>, we have been profiling cities with exemplary Complete Streets policies and starting today, we’ll be releasing a new video each week for the next three weeks. Next week, on Tuesday, February 15, we’ll be taking you to Louisville, Kentucky. On Tuesday, February 22, we’ll be bringing you the story of Tucson, Arizona, which in 2019 passed what our National Complete Streets Coalition says is one of the strongest policies they’ve ever scored. The videos will premiere at 12 p.m. Eastern each day on our Youtube channel, and we’ll be sharing them immediately on twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/smartgrowthusa">@smartgrowthusa</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/completestreets">@completestreets</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/city_health">@city_health</a>
The National Complete Streets Coalition at Smart Growth America has been advancing the adoption and implementation of Complete Streets policies for two decades to ensure that everyone who needs to use our streets—no matter how they get around—can safely and comfortably do so. Complete Streets are streets for everyone—designed and managed to prioritize safety, comfort, and access to destinations for all people who need to use a street. Complete Streets policies can help cities transform how they make decisions about their streets. Done right, these policies can help cities improve public health and address longstanding inequities in the transportation system.
CityHealth and the National Complete Streets Coalition at Smart Growth America recognize cities with exemplary Complete Streets policies—a key step in producing safer streets that can be used by everyone. Learn more at <a href="http://cityhealth.org">cityhealth.org</a> and <a href="http://completestreets.org">completestreets.org</a>
<h3>Pittsburgh’s story</h3>
Whereas the road to change a city’s approach to street design and construction is sometimes driven by nonprofit advocates and community stakeholders, former Mayor Bill Peduto deserves a lot of the credit for getting the city’s Complete Streets work off the ground and building the political support that was vital to both its creation and implementation.
With the support of nonprofit advocates like AARP, the American Heart Association, and Bike Pittsburgh, Mayor Peduto signed an executive order in 2015 calling for a city-wide Complete Streets policy and updated street design guidelines, which passed in 2016. The new policy also created a new transportation department to coordinate these efforts: the Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI). Karina Ricks was hired as DOMI’s first director and was charged with (among other things) the implementation of the Complete Streets ordinance to ensure that it would drive all design and construction decisions about streets.
The ordinance laid “a foundation to have the conversations and get other planning documents in place,” as DOMI Acting Director Kim Lucas says, such as the city’s connected bike network plan, their long-term transportation plans, and other design guidelines.
<h3>“The double-black diamond of roads.”</h3>
The most difficult and steep of extreme sport ski trails: That’s how former Mayor Peduto characterizes the challenges of mobility within a city of 302,000 people that has 90 distinct neighborhoods, 800 public staircases, incredible elevation changes, multiple rivers, and more bridges than almost any other US city—as well as the ripple effects of an economic collapse in the 1980s that devastated the city and took 30 years to recover from.
With that last point in mind, he urges other mayors weighing Complete Streets laws of their own to consider the economic power of improving mobility.
“If your population needs multiple different ways to get from point A to point B, then you have a responsibility. [Because] the greatest factor in economic mobility is the ability to get from point A to point B,” he says.
<h3>A difference of equality and equity</h3>
This policy is “not about [building] a complete street in every council district,” Mayor Peduto says. Mayor Ed Gainey, the city’s first Black mayor who was inaugurated in January, is on the same page with his predecessor on an equitable approach to Complete Streets.
“We start with who is in the most need, and then you move forward,” Mayor Gainey says, making it clear that data and equity should drive decisions about where to make improvements.
But the city’s policy is the foundational key, providing the blueprint for the future.
“We have a Complete Streets law on the books, and it’s our mandate as representatives and trustees of the city to follow that. Having that is a great north star, for us to aspire to in all areas and neighborhoods of the city,” says Councilmember Erika Strassburger.
The work isn’t easy, and after a few years of making changes and improvements to dangerous hotspots, starting to build out the city’s protected bike network, and reconfiguring some key corridors, “all of the easy stuff has been done,” according to Karina Ricks. “This is something that’s going to have to continue to be implemented over many mayors and many directors and many city councils.”
It won’t be easy, but the Complete Streets policy provides the path for a healthier, more economically inclusive city. “If we invest and we plant the right seed of change in this city, then this city will be a better city because they will see it as a city for all,” concludes Mayor Ed Gainey.
<h3>Stay tuned for more videos!</h3>
Louisville, KY will release on Tuesday, February 15, and Tucson, Arizona will release on Tuesday, February 22.
Follow us on social for more news: <a href="http://twitter.com/smartgrowthusa">@smartgrowthusa</a> / <a href="http://twitter.com/completestreets">@completestreets</a> / <a href="http://twitter.com/city_health">@city_health</a>

VIDEO: Complete Streets in Pittsburgh are vital for improving public health

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We’re spending the rest of this summer talking about our data-driven, equity-focused approach to economic development and producing prosperous, resilient places—from the team that makes it happen. Catch up with the full series of posts, essays, and reports on this <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/tag/ecdev-summer/">page</a>.
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The economic development team at SGA often works with communities to identify strategies for economic revitalization — especially in their downtown areas. Through both market analysis and gathering of local stakeholders, SGA worked with the city of Douglas, Arizona to identify the best plan of action to produce economic, health, and environmental benefits for the community. 
 

Smart Growth America often looks to an area’s downtown area as the first piece of economic revitalization. We ask how many residents live there? How many businesses operate in the area? We view having a vital downtown area with pedestrian foot traffic as vital for the economic health of an area. The agglomeration of economic activity can produce economic, health, and environmental benefits for a region at large. 
 

These principles led SGA to Douglas, Arizona, a city of about 16,000 people in southeast Arizona that formed in the early 20th century to support a booming copper smelting industry. The last plant closed in 1987 and the city has been working ever since to transform and revitalize its economy. As a border town between the United States and Mexico, its current major economic drive is the Raul Hector Castro Land Port of Entry (LPOE) facility which connects the people of Douglas and Agua Prieta, the city on the Mexican side of the border. The border crossing also provides a critical point of passage for the City of Douglas. It is the second busiest LPOE in Arizona for commercial traffic. 
 

Mining and agriculture remain key industries for the international regional economy and this impacts the quality of life for both the citizens of Douglas and Agua Prieta. These industries rely on heavy and oversized vehicles, which can impede traffic flow in both cities along the LPOE, and contribute to noise and safety concerns for pedestrians and residents that live near the border crossing. Furthermore, the border crossing is in close proximity to the downtowns of both cities, which constrains the facility and limits the range of options for expanding it.
 

The issue led the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to study the feasibility of various solutions for improving the LPOE. The CBP and GSA concluded a feasibility study in 2019 that identified a “two-port solution” as the preferred approach to meeting the CBP’s needs. GSA expects to construct a second standalone commercial port before 2028 about four miles west of Douglas on 80 acres of land donated by the city. This will require GSA to plan for new port infrastructure, services, and amenities to support the team that will construct the new port and modernize the existing port.
 

<h2>Tackling the problem</h2>
 

While the city of Douglas supports the plan, local officials have expressed concern that the new port could draw economic activity out of the downtown area—which had ongoing efforts to attract infill development to vacant properties. 
 

Given these dynamics, the GSA partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Community Revitalization to provide planning assistance for Douglas and technical support to the port project team. The assistance helped Douglas explore strategies for leveraging the land port of entry projects for economic development consistent with the city’s vision for the future. While the new commercial port can bring economic benefits for Douglas and the region, the city wants to ensure that the areas around the old port continue to thrive while at the same time encouraging commercial and industrial business growth around the new port. Therefore, the key strategies and actions focused on how to ensure long term vibrancy in downtown Douglas with infill development and placemaking investments. 
 

The city explored these key topics through a workshop that occurred over five virtual work sessions between September 15 and 25, 2020. The sessions brought together many local elected and appointed officials, state and federal officials, and business and institutional leaders with an interest in the downtown and the new port areas. The city and the RPG/SGA team supporting the workshop also created web content and solicited public input via a survey that received more than 100 responses. The workshop explored existing conditions through a locally led tour, issues and opportunities related to downtown revitalization and the new port area, strategies supportive of the city’s goals, and specific actions the city can take over the next two to three years to support its vision of future growth and development. 
 

The wide variety of stakeholders at these meetings gave SGA a more holistic view of the community, and helped give examples and context to the market analysis we performed prior. With the combination of analysis and discussions among local stakeholders, the team procured a set of strategies and actions agreed upon by the workshop participants from the community. 
 

The workshop also featured discussions focused on the new port area and the need to work closely with partners to plan for development in that area. Prior to the work sessions, the team also conducted a market analysis to inform the strategies and actions that were discussed during the workshop and agreed upon. The analysis generally points to the need to concentrate the city’s downtown revitalization efforts on a relatively small area most likely to attract investment in the near term. The team also presented findings and strategies related to the built environment and transforming downtown Douglas over time into a more walkable place. This research informed discussions among local stakeholders that led to the following set of strategies and actions agreed upon by the workshop participants. 
 

<h2>What’s to come for Douglas</h2>
 

The following includes the results from our market analysis findings — and what we summarized to be the most viable economic future for Douglas. 
 

<h4>Economic growth can come from Douglas’ proximity to and relationship with Mexico</h4>
 

We conducted a “SWOT” analysis to evaluate the city’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It indicated that Douglas has a strong base to generate economic growth such as the strong relationship with the border crossing of Agua Prieta and the employment generating Land Port of Entry. It also demonstrated that border restrictions, real estate volatility, and rural location provide challenges for the city to overcome.
 

<h4>Figure 1. Douglas, Arizona SWOT Analysis</h4>
 

<figure class="wp-block-table aligncenter is-bordered is-style-stripes">
<table class="has-background" style="background-color: #c3cf21;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>STRENGTHS</td>
<td>WEAKNESSES</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>- Stable employment base with Land Port of Entry  
- Growing median household income in area 
- Strong relationships across the US-Mexico border allowing access to larger market 
- Strong federal government presence in employment
</td>
<td>- Economic dependence on Agua Prieta  
- High vacancy rates for income generating properties 
- High percentage of workforce employed in retail and public administration industries 
- Rural location makes tourism difficult
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>OPPORTUNITIES</td>
<td>THREATS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>- Access to Agua Prieta market gives a strong base for retail activity 
- Federal investment provides stable base of employment to generate economic development 
- Zoning code rewrite provides ability to adapt land to needs of businesses and residents</td>
<td>- Border restrictions limiting the number of crossings in a given year 
- COVID-19 pandemic could limit number of border crossings in a given year 
- High percentage of employment in retail sector holds down wages and makes local economy dependent on unstable sector</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
 

<h4>Invest in downtown</h4>
 

The following charts demonstrate that rents for all four real estate sectors evaluated—office, retail, multifamily, and industrial—experienced increases over the last ten years. The low growth of retail rents are consistent with national trends. Meanwhile, growing office and industrial rents demonstrate potential demand for additional space dedicated to these uses in the city. The per year vacancy rate changes are volatile across the office sector. It was recently increasing by an average of 2.9 percent per year, but declined in the past several years. The other three evaluated sectors all declined indicating a volatility in the Douglas real estate market in recent years. It provides the city with opportunity for investment around the new port of entry with Mexico and the downtown area as the market has indicated it can support rising rents and has demonstrated lower vacancy rates.
 

<h4>Figures 2 and 3. Change in Market Rents and Market Vacancy, Douglas Arizona, 2010 - 2019</h4>
 

<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/A4OFn-89TO7sK7uC03vyVn4wdj0hhLS2VnLUH_uSTfOR29yGgjOetZztqVfBDHd2zdIueylVON6PHqrrdLChGq_s49DZp090yrIc6AL7Y2CedK5IMGMJHWHmSTqrNe-AcgDQVtBt=s0" alt="&quot;/" /></figure>
 

<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/v9g4mm36Yx3KVBcGdjgrSUySAPnMYPnY5aD-B3Wlx_xqdOcleIjsRfBxXgi2RtHmlnJuJd23S1OW9FqsQLUh8-JOJQmwSGPl1v0t-b1L7RUMWNww_uNG63XqL2xyh3uw9NcsUrDo=s0" alt="&quot;/" /><figcaption>Source: CoStar, March 2020</figcaption></figure>
 

&nbsp;
 

The research team also conducted a “fiscal hot spot analysis” for the city. A property’s value is often influenced by the value of surrounding properties either positively or negatively. A fiscal hot spot analysis looks at the property values within a set boundary and identifies areas where there are statistically significant clusters of higher or lower valued land. This analysis demonstrates where an area is generating its greatest economic impact on a per acre basis. It also provides a guide for where additional development is suitable for an area. Areas within or immediately adjacent to a cluster of hotspots will likely yield a higher economic return than areas that cluster lower value properties. 
 

The research team also evaluated the parcels in the Douglas on a per acre basis. This analysis revealed the average per acre property values range from $180 to $6.7 million. As displayed in Figure 4, five main hot spots were found in Douglas, four of which are in primarily residential areas, and one encompasses a large portion of downtown including North G Avenue and East 10th Street (see Figure 6). It was found that high value properties are clustered together, typical of most communities throughout the United States. The same strengths found in the SWOT Analysis - the strong relationship with Agua Prieta and the Land Port of Entry - provide opportunity for continued infill development and economic growth concentrated in the downtown Douglas area. As Figure 5 demonstrates, 2.2 percent of Douglas’s land area within hot spots accounts for 15.4 percent of the land value—presenting an opportunity for downtown investment. 
 

<h4>Figure 4. Fiscal Hot Spot Analysis of Douglas, AZ</h4>
 

<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xzCq85J7yacmI1KKDp-Eiga2tgDofuERlFdHarGDtHKR2WbHa8prNstt5g4Hp1M3XV21ZRg4fNpJdx_fHdGcA1vIyFE4PE3a2_z6-KLch2K6vpmhaomNiYBM-zjoj88-mcjXoHVc=s0" alt="&quot;/" /><figcaption>Source: Cochise County, Arizona</figcaption></figure>
 

&nbsp;
 

<h4>Figure 5. Fiscal Hot Spot Analysis Land Area and Land Value Ratios</h4>
 

<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/AuEsgzvZIQaGjSzgEcZE4G58FhqPg5DJtqURFRLD8nK8gygzSP9cWyeAX0dxM2oGEv52-Y6-SSv5v2l-s2-Ffc6m_eJ2AZFHhGdYYtbhHTdeUve2xVo9mFczBmRoOTxGkp7oeJm9=s0" alt="&quot;/" /></figure>
 

<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/9oSNeTwF34ylrBN4x-YrBfojWm_GVqnmDfXLr44EhDf7r0MSl27Z1JcfItgh4Q-tKJS_MsZY68Ri3Ohj-uEZxOY4fDhB56ZKNpGAF-1aOj32TdVd0s4XXH-XwTzKTfYQe5SXkFEm=s0" alt="&quot;/" /><figcaption>Source: Cochise County, Arizona</figcaption></figure>
 

<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
 

<h4>Use more flexible zoning to revitalize the downtown area</h4>
 

Bringing these analyses together pointed to potential in the Central Business District (CBD) for future development. The volatility of the real estate market and the clustering of high value properties in this area indicate unmet demand for downtown revitalization and growth. To explore that further, the team conducted an analysis of the zoning code. The research team identified specific zoning reforms for the city to consider. These include: 
 

<ol>
<li>Reduce large minimum lot requirements. </li>
<li>Less restrictive land use (38 percent of land is zoned single family residential). </li>
<li>Allow for more mixed-use development. </li>
<li>Make the zoning code more user friendly and more supportive of the type of development the city desires. </li>
</ol>
 

However, even without changes, Douglas’ downtown provides the backbone for a revitalized mixed-use commercial district. Figure 6 below demonstrates what is possible under current zoning for several underutilized lots in the core of the central business district — 40 new residential units and two new commercial buildings.
 

<h4>Figure 6. Potential CBD Development</h4>
 

<figure class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xEmVdmat5g63IphiSfOHgxZg94XEnHoZG_3wNrwjsS3j_jfegnwF4irU46_9ow3rW9T2SDeStCf_K0Y7toYDISQyGeYjPEbPEPal97i_eBmLN6F9u9F7gnunZfTthrEDEMCl1mzV=s0" alt="&quot;/" /></figure>
 

The key findings of the market study, fiscal hotspot analysis, and zoning audit highlight the challenges and opportunities Douglas has with the construction of the new commercial LPOE. The challenges to address are leveraging the LPOE project to bring in additional residents and visitors to the city and to promote the assets the city has. 
 

To maximize the potential of the downtown area, stakeholders could focus on the higher performing areas that have development opportunities under current zoning guidelines. Utilizing what is currently possible under this zoning and targeting this development in areas already generating an economic return, will produce the fastest results to assist in the revitalization of the downtown area and leverage the investment. . This downtown revitalization can even promote greater economic growth throughout the region around Douglas.
 

<hr class="wp-block-separator" /> 

This is just one case study of how Smart Growth America’s economic development team works with local communities “on the ground” to build better communities and support sustainable economic growth. Learn more about the team’s other work <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/tag/ecdev-summer/">here</a>.

Our economic development team at work in Douglas, Arizona

Fort Scott, Kansas has an incredible network of brick streets to rival any city in the country—an under recognized asset. At a recent workshop, Smart Growth America and local experts looked to build atop this and other assets to make Fort Scott more attractive to current and future residents.
Smart Growth America has been partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide rural residents and leaders with better information about the financial and economic impacts of their development choices and patterns.
“As a city, you’re going to be making infrastructure investments and land use decisions, and as any place does, you have limited resources,” Smart Growth America senior policy advisor John Robert Smith—also a former small-town mayor himself—told me after a recent workshop. “The choices you make about land use and investment will carry either a price or a return to your local community for decades to come.”
We took that advice with us to Fort Scott, KS, a city of around 7,500 people about 100 miles south of Kansas City and only a few miles from the Missouri boarder. Fort Scott has a rich history that includes skirmishes in the prelude to the U.S. Civil War and a large brick-making industry that left an enduring mark on the city.<img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-69752 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ft.-Scott-Block-brick-300x156.png" alt=" width=" height="156" /> While much of the brick-making firms left the city in the late 1800s, many of the city’s streets are still paved with the original “Ft. Scott Block” bricks. Paving bricks from the city’s kilns once paved streets around the country.
Some in Fort Scott say the city is in the “middle of everything”—Kansas City, Tulsa, OK; Wichita, KS; and Springfield, MO. But while Fort Scott may be in the middle it’s not particularly close to other destinations; the city needs to become a destination in its own right.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69754 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ft.-Scott-housing-field-300x140.png" alt=" width=" height="140" />
In interviews with local residents, nearly all of them noted Fort Scott’s strong sense of place. The intersection near the historic fort for which the city is named is the center of the community’s identity. The city’s unaltered brick streets also lend a strong character to the downtown and slow car traffic; however, the downtown is largely quiet and many businesses close before dark. Like so many other towns around the country, the potential of Fort Scott’s downtown has been overlooked, but this also presents a major opportunity for economic growth.
Interviewees also noted a lack of moderately priced housing needed to attract and retain skilled workers in the city’s manufacturing, education, and healthcare employers. According to Census data, over 3,500 people commute into Fort Scott every day for work.
Convincing some of those commuters to live in the city will take increasing the available housing for those making family-supporting wages in skilled jobs; it will also require generating more activity in the downtown throughout the day and evening. A strategy of (re)building downtown with new mixed-use development could help address both issues in one.
<img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-69755 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ft.-Scott-presentation-300x156.png" alt=" width=" height="156" />
In addition to housing and downtown activity, stakeholders identified improvements to parks, walking and biking infrastructure, and access to healthcare as opportunities to make the city more attractive to current and future residents.
But Fort Scott has one asset that no amount of strategizing or planning can create: the people. “People here are friendly, they keep to themselves, but if you have a flat tire they’ll help you fix it,” a resident said.
For more information, see the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Fort-Scott-Kansas-RCDI-NSM-FINAL-compressed.pdf">Suggested Next Steps memo</a> prepared for Fort Scott after the workshop.

Fort Scott paves a path to economic growth

The Cape Cod beach communities of Barnstable and Yarmouth sought guidance from LOCUS and Smart Growth America’s Form-Based Codes Institute in utilizing their respective Opportunity Zones to create a better sense of place within their communities, with a shared goal of attracting more year-round residency.
This post is part of<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/category/locus/"> a series</a> summarizing the experience and outcomes of the inaugural class of <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org">Smart Growth America </a>and<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/locus/"> LOCUS</a>’s  <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/locus/maozacademy/">Massachusetts Opportunity Zones Academy. </a>Read about Barnstable and Yarmouth, and be sure to check out the posts for Salem, Fitchburg, and Greenfield-Montague.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69242" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screen-Shot-2020-01-13-at-1.05.58-PM-1024x556.png" alt=" width=" height="380" /> 
Left to right: Cohort lead Marta Goldsmith, Director of the Form-Based Codes Institute at Smart Growth America; Karen Greene, Director of Community Development, Town of Yarmouth; Elizabeth Jenkins, Director of Planning &amp; Development, Town of Barnstable; and Kyle Pedicini, Economic Development Coordinator, Town of Yarmouth at the Massachusetts Opportunity Zone Convening in November 2019.
In May 2019, LOCUS selected the neighboring towns of Barnstable and Yarmouth on Cape Cod as joint participants in Massachusetts' first-ever Opportunity Zones Academy. The two communities were chosen because of their demonstrated willingness to adopt land use and other regulatory changes that encourage equitable, smart growth development. 
Throughout September and October of 2019, Barnstable and Yarmouth worked with staff from LOCUS, LOCUS Massachusetts, and the<a href="https://formbasedcodes.org"> Form-Based Codes Institute</a> on understanding Opportunity Zones and other smart growth strategies to improve their urban form, encourage development and renovation of mixed-use, multifamily housing, and catalyze year-round residency and economic activity.
First, each town selected a local catalytic development site to help focus their technical assistance attention and outcomes. Barnstable identified an area in the center of Hyannis’ historic downtown, called the Gateway Area, and Yarmouth chose a locally-owned recreational center, Bass River Sports World, located off of Route 28.
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-69209 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screen-Shot-2020-01-10-at-3.43.26-PM-1024x421.png" alt=" width=" height="421" />
Barnstable and Yarmouth’s technical assistance program kicked off in September 2019, when over 50 local stakeholders participated in two half-day visioning workshops facilitated by Marta Goldsmith, Director of the Form-Based Codes Institute. During these visioning sessions, participants created a high-level conceptual visions for the Gateway Area and Bass River Sports World sites and their surrounding neighborhoods.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69261 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screen-Shot-2020-01-14-at-11.11.30-AM-300x217.png" alt=" width=" height="217" />
In Yarmouth, the visioning session revealed a pent-up demand for proper wastewater infrastructure. Participants discussed several possible solutions to the town’s lack of wastewater infrastructure, including a District Improvement Financing (DIF) plan. Such a plan would allow a public or public-private entity to issue bonds to pay for new wastewater infrastructure at the Bass River Sports World site. The bonds would eventually be paid off with the increase in surrounding property values. Goldsmith recommended using an Opportunity Fund, a qualified investment vehicle specific to Opportunity Zone investment, to make participation in the DIF more attractive to investors.
To encourage more walkable, affordable, and mixed-use development the two communities created questions for the Form-Based Code Institute about possible code changes. The questions included:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">How can we make our catalytic development areas more walkable, mixed-use, and intensively developed by enhancing the urban form and making development more “place-based?”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">How can we encourage redevelopment and repurposing of existing properties?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Are our ordinances transparent, easy to use, and friendly to responsible real estate developers and investors?</li>
</ol>
After reviewing Barnstable and Yarmouth’s zoning regulations, the Form-Based Codes Institute presented its code recommendations and responses to local stakeholders in October 2019. 
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Simplify current regulations by combining commercial districts under one set of land-use and development codes and streamlining guidelines in existing historic districts.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Consider reducing the number of documents that apply to regulations in distinct districts. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Create great streetscapes for people and cyclists. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Allow parking to follow form, so that the built environment is not dominated by surface parking; consider adopting an integrated transportation demand management strategy.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Hire a branding consultant to prepare a prospectus and marketing/advertising plan for potential developers and investors. </li>
</ol>
Next steps for Barnstable include developing a downtown action plan and strategy with a focus on zoning, capital improvements, and marketing and branding. Yarmouth plans to simplify their zoning bylaws in order to encourage development, as well as continue to educate their residents on the need for wastewater infrastructure improvements and options for financing the project. Given all of the feedback, insight, and expert advice received during the Massachusetts Opportunity Zones Academy, the towns of Barnstable and Yarmouth should feel more confident in their future placemaking endeavors. Hopefully their actions will inspire other towns on the Cape to think about the value of a strong sense of place and how they can improve it.
<hr />
The Massachusetts Opportunity Zones Academy was a six month technical assistance program led by Smart Growth America and LOCUS to educate cities and towns in Massachusetts with designated Opportunity Zones on how to best take advantage of the new tax incentive to stimulate equitable development, responsible real estate investment, and community engagement. In 2019, as part of the inaugural Massachusetts Opportunity Zones Academy, LOCUS worked with six communities: Barnstable-Yarmouth, Fitchburg, Greenfield-Montague, and Salem.

Barnstable and Yarmouth aim to use Opportunity Zones to promote walkable urban form

<img decoding="async" class="img-responsive" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ACT-Fellow-American-Indian-Cultural-Cooridor-artwork-Minneapolis-Keiko-Budech.jpg" alt="&quot;" />Artwork along the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis, MN.
Transportation for America believes in hands-on learning from experienced practitioners. We put that belief into practice through programs like our Arts, Culture and Transportation (ACT) Fellowship, supported by the Kresge Foundation, where we have been able to take our fellows to different communities to experience first-hand the power of arts and culture to produce better transportation systems.
In late October, our 11 fellows participating in the fellowship visited the Twin Cities in Minnesota to learn from local practitioners using art and cultural strategies to improve transportation. We invited a few fellows to reflect on their experiences. The fellows were able to witness how community members are taking control and how transportation leadership and city government are learning from communities and becoming more responsive, and reflected on how they’ve integrated what they've learned into their own transportation projects at home.
Here’s what a few of our ACT Fellows had to share:
<h3>Listen to the community. They are the experts.</h3>
Sue Lambe 
Manager, City of Austin Art in Public Places Program 
Austin, TX
Our two days in Minneapolis-St. Paul were filled with meaningful glimpses into local culture, particularly along transportation corridors such as the Green Line in St. Paul's <a href="https://rondobeyondthepavement.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rondo neighborhood</a>. Rondo, like communities in many American cities in the '50s and '60s, was divided by an interstate highway which was constructed along racial lines to divide white people from people of color.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69397 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ACT-Fellow-Melvin-Giles-Metro-stop-Rondo-St-Paul-Sue-Lambe-300x187.jpg" alt=" width=" height="187" />
Deeply inspiring local activist Melvin Giles narrated our walk through the Rondo neighborhood and spoke of the fight for equity that the neighborhood has waged for decades. Melvin supports peaceful interaction while working for equity. He shared one of his biggest weapons in waging peace and de-escalation of violence by gifting each of us with a vial of his ever-present bubbles with bubble wand.
Melvin shared many insights with the fellows: the need to remain present through the tough times as well as the good times, his delight in the many friends and neighbors he introduced to us throughout the Rondo neighborhood, the art installations (one featured African American railroad employees) that seek to tell important stories illuminating the history of the African American community. One tiny moment in particular sticks with me and won't let go: a casual comment about an unassuming empty lot. As we moved along the Green Line that rainy morning, Melvin sort of threw a hand toward a space sandwiched between a restaurant parking lot and an empty storefront, stating that the unassuming grassy lot is the epicenter of neighborhood celebrations, civic events, and political campaign stops.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69395 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ACT-Fellow-Celebrated-Space-Rondo-St-Paul-Sue-Lambe-300x170.jpg" alt=" width=" height="170" />
For me, this was a revelation. Without his interpretation of this space, as an outsider I would have seen what just appeared to be there—nothing. My current work includes bringing public art to 50 miles of transportation corridors in Austin, TX and my immediate thought was: how will we be able to correctly interpret these "empty lots" in Austin as deeply meaningful spaces?
Melvin showed us one answer: planners, designers, and civic leaders embedded in a space, community, or neighborhood, must spark conversations with those living there in the process of decision making and listen to the wisdom imparted in order to ensure that valuable community resources may remain and be celebrated, possibly with public art. I’m so grateful. Thank you, Melvin!
<h3>Taking time to work with intention</h3>
Keiko Budech 
Communications Manager, Transportation Choices Coalition 
Seattle, WA
During our trip to the Twin Cities, our cohort met artists, activists, electeds, and community builders working in the intersection of art and urban planning. The words “community” and “belonging” came up, rooting us back to why we do this work—to create and preserve spaces where people feel a sense of connection and community belonging.
Community artists and activists Melvin Giles, Missy Whiteman, and Andrea Jenkins all reiterated the importance of having community members and artists as a (paid) part of a planning process (at the beginning stages), and continued to ask the question, “how do you build on assets of the community that are already here?” There’s endless collective and creative wisdom in a community that is often overlooked in urban planning.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69401 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ACT-Fellow-Seattle-Team-Rondo-St-Paul-Keiko-Budech-e1579883200494-300x225.jpg" alt=" width=" height="225" />
A highlight of our visit was meeting artist, poet, and Minneapolis Councilmember Andrea Jenkins. She described a powerful community-based art project in Central and South Minneapolis called 'This house is not for sale' that displayed art on realty signs outside of foreclosed homes to spread awareness about displacement in the neighborhood, distributed information about what to do if someone is trying to buy your home, and explored what it means to acknowledge a home’s history. She also shared her experience transitioning as an activist/poet into elected office. She took us on a walk to the bridge over the “scar that splits our neighborhood” (the interstate highway), where she hosts an annual dinner on the bridge to connect her east and west communities. Andrea was full of ideas of ways to use art and culture to bring community together, and reminded us that art can be a powerful agent of community transformation.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69398 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ACT-Fellow-Missy-Whiteman-American-Indian-Cultural-Cooridor-St-Paul-Keiko-Budech-300x225.jpg" alt=" width=" height="225" />
Missy Whiteman, artist and member of the Northern Arapaho and Kickapoo tribes, guided us around the American Indian Cultural Corridor in Minneapolis along East Franklin Avenue. She explained that it’s better to take time on a project and do it right, because big land-use and transportation projects will last for generations. She also emphasized the importance of always working with indigenous community members (again, paid!) on planning projects to understand the history of the land that we are occupying, and what changes we can make to acknowledge and not repeat our oppressive history.
The Seattle fellowship team continues to explore questions around how to create public art that builds on the assets of community, and works to keep low-income communities and communities of color in place when new infrastructure is built (for example, the Puget Sound region’s current construction of our 116-mile regional light rail system). Community-informed public art can be a tool to preserve and celebrate the neighborhood’s history and culture, but if we don’t anchor community with anti-displacement tools, then who is that art work for? It was helpful to connect with experts in the Twin Cities dealing with similar questions, and explore a city with rich public art resources and multiple public art nonprofits, like Forecast Public Art, supporting community artists pursuing public art work.
<h3>Integrating on-site learning into projects at home</h3>
Erika Wilhite 
Artistic Director, En Masse Arts 
Springdale, AR
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69396 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ACT-Fellow-Displacement-mural-Rondo-St-Paul-Sue-Lambe-300x177.jpg" alt=" width=" height="177" />
My favorite day of our convening was led by Melvin Giles in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul. They told us the story about Rondo, which was the center of the local black community in the Twin Cities. It was heavily damaged and forever transformed in the 1960s due to the construction of a new interstate highway right through the middle of Rondo, causing the displacement of over 500 families as well as local businesses. Along the way I snapped photos of murals that state “Development Without Displacement” and signs taped to the side of buildings declaring “We will not be moved.” All around there was evidence of a community speaking up, taking their space, and directing the conversation about development.
Our final stop on the tour was the Rondo library, which is where we met with Erin Laberee of Ramsey County Public Works and artist Hawona Sullivan Janzen. They recounted a story about how the city went to the Rondo community for input on a new bridge that was to be built over I-94, but in the process city representatives learned that there was a lot of listening that first needed to be done about the negative impacts that I-94 had on Rondo. The city acknowledged that there was a need to address those wounds and give the community control of the planning process. I am especially impressed that they scrapped their original timeline and extended the community input process to listen as long as it would take. I love this story because it is an example of how community-led development can create the conditions for healing and neighborhood development.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-69403 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/RondoLandBridgeConcept-via-MinnPost-Courtesy-300x154.png" alt=" width=" height="154" />
Since the trip, I have since learned more about <a href="http://reconnectrondo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ReconnectRondo</a>, an organization in place to steward the community engagement and also cast a much more ambitious vision of a “land bridge” to place a cap over I-94 at several spots to reconnect the divided neighborhood, create new meaningful gathering spaces, and “leverage the potential of the Rondo Land Bridge and the numerous innovations, partnerships and policy changes in transportation, to see a sustainable and thriving community for us all!”
I see how the current conversation about transit in my community, Springdale, Arkansas, was rushed, and how we are missing opportunities to create conditions for community cohesion. I have shared these stories from Rondo and used them to rebut the claim that the process for community engagement can’t be amended once it is underway. There were many projects and stories of collaborations in the Twin Cities that I take away as examples of community-led, artist facilitated, development processes to share with my community and the NWA Regional Planning Commission (our metropolitan planning organization) of what equitable transit planning looks like in action.

ACT Fellows learn from local leaders in the Twin Cities

As we travel the country, there are few things better than witnessing an elected official have an “a-ha” moment and realize that the conventional wisdom they’ve been handed down about growth and development perhaps wasn’t actually the best wisdom after all.
Ruston is a city of about 22,000 in northern Louisiana hugging the Interstate 20 corridor that runs east/west across the state and connects to Texas and Mississippi. Though Ruston has a long list of assets and has been doing relatively well, it’s much like thousands of similar places around the country that have spent the last few decades overlooking the potential of their downtowns and existing areas in favor of sprawling new development and/or annexation. It’s an understandable decision—all the incentives are typically geared to make that type of development easier, but it often doesn’t produce enough revenue to cover costs over the long term, leading to (a short-sighted) urge to annex new land to increase the tax base and improve the economic outlook.
Smart Growth America has been partnering with the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/rural-development/usda-rd-workshops/">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a> to provide rural residents and leaders with better information about the financial and economic impacts of their development choices and patterns. A team of SGA staff were in Ruston last week for a workshop (Planning for Economic and Fiscal Health) in which we use data to help make the case to residents and elected leaders that not only is smarter growth better for overall quality of life, but it’s the best way to ensure the long-term economic prosperity of their cities.
<img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-499 alignright" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/JohnRobertSmith.png" alt=" width=" height="124" />“As a city, you’re going to be making infrastructure investments and land use decisions, and as any place does, you have limited resources,” Smart Growth America senior policy advisor John Robert Smith—also a former small-town mayor himself—told me upon his return from Ruston. “The choices you make about land use and investment will carry either a price or a return to your local community for decades to come.” 
Over the last decade or two, most of the growth in Ruston has happened near I-20 or on the north side of it—much of which has come by annexing new land. And as you might expect, most of that growth has taken the form of pretty conventional post-1950s land use patterns: separated uses, large parking lots, wide roads, not much connectivity or facilities that make it possible for walking, and so forth. The growth near I-20 is designed as much to be seen from the interstate as to be utilized by local residents, and as a result, many people in the region and beyond mostly know Ruston as a good place to stop for food or gas on the interstate between Jackson, MS and Shreveport, LA—while never seeing the downtown that gives the place its soul.
The city has already started to see some of the benefits of trying to encourage new development downtown, and while downtown is doing pretty well, it’s also definitely still “underutilized” in the words of Mayor Ronny Walker.  Our team prepared some data to help city leaders and residents start to understand that much of the city’s most valuable real estate is actually located there in the city’s downtown.
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-68493" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ruston_Presentation-hotspots-2-1024x576.png" alt=" width=" height="576" /> <img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-68492" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ruston_Presentation-hotspots-1024x576.png" alt=" width=" height="576" />
“There are definitely some hotspots out there on or near the interstate. And more investments are going to come out there but it was important to show the residents that the value per acre downtown was nearly twice that of the residential neighborhoods north of the interstate,” Smith said. “The downtown—even in its current underutilized state—is carrying a large share of the cost to provide services to those new residential areas.”
We also tried to communicate that infrastructure and service costs are additional factors to consider, though not included in this preliminary data analysis. Sprawling residential subdivisions require more costs per acre in the way of seats in local school systems, water and sewer infrastructure, and police/fire/emergency services.
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68490" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ruston-Presentation-density-costs.png" alt=" width=" height="720" /><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68491" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ruston-Presentation-sprawl-is-expensive.png" alt=" width=" height="720" />
One tremendous asset that Ruston has compared to similarly sized cities is Louisiana Tech University, a growing school that’s home to more than 12,000 students. (Grambling State, a 5,000-student historically black college, is also located nearby, within the same parish just west of the city.) The university is still a bit of a sleeping giant for the city.
“Louisiana Tech was long known as a ‘suitcase’ college where few students stayed on campus 24/7. Both the city and the university’s leadership want to help make Ruston a proper college town and provide more opportunities for graduates to stay after graduation—but they can’t do that without working together,” Smith said. Fortunately for Ruston (and for LaTech), the city and the university know that their fates are bound up together. 
“The leadership of the university is really strong and they’re focused on having a good relationship with the city to coordinate and collaborate. Having these two leaders together [Mayor Ronny Walker and University President Les Guice] brings the possibility of great things happening for the city,” he said.
By his own admission, current Mayor Ronny Walker came into office believing deeply in the conventional wisdom that opening up new land to development or annexation was the most viable long-term economic development strategy. Before our presentation was even over, Mayor Walker had changed his focus almost completely:
<blockquote>
<img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-68520 alignright" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/mayor-ronny-walker.png" alt=" width=" height="173" />“I heard it long before taking office in 2015—'if Ruston’s population is going to grow, we need to grow our footprint.' Prior to the Smart Growth America Economic and Fiscal Health Workshop, I was sure this was correct and annexation was our best option. Since participating in the workshop, I have done a 180 on my thoughts on annexation.  Ruston can still grow in population, but we can do a better job of utilizing the footprint and infrastructure we already have in place.  For example, we have a wonderful downtown, but it is still underutilized. We need to put our energy and focus on how to better utilize our existing assets to their full potential.”
</blockquote>
As part of the workshop, our staff also spent time interviewing a range of stakeholders and residents in the city to get a bead on peoples’ attitudes about downtown development, the city’s assets, and what needs to change or be done better. And we heard loud and clear that “downtown” and “Louisiana Tech” are the heart and soul of the city.
The City of Ruston has a real story to tell and it hasn’t been fully told in the past. We’re excited to continue working with Ruston (and other places like it) and equip them with tangible policy recommendations they can use to capitalize on their greatest assets to build upon a place where residents can stay and find opportunity, where college graduates want to stay and build a life, alumni want to retire, and where everyone can live in a place that’s healthy, resilient and prosperous.
Ruston is taking the long view to envision a better future, and although “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=fx8J3YpKBEIC&amp;pg=PP823&amp;lpg=PP823&amp;dq=%22a+city+is+not+builded+in+a+day%22&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=fCffnRtCz0&amp;sig=ACfU3U1Lco_aHOWmprE6HfzvmWAW2_9VXQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjV0dCIk-zkAhXB1lkKHQZsCUYQ6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=%22a%20city%20is%20not%20builded%20in%20a%20day%22&amp;f=false">a city is not built in a day</a>,” as Mayor Smith is fond of telling all of us here, a brighter future is not out of reach.
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-68489" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ruston-evolution-steve-price-urban-advantage.gif" alt=" width=" height="504" />Animation created from images courtesy of Steve Price, Urban Advantage. (Photos not of Ruston.)
<hr />
The workshop was funded at no cost to Ruston through funding provided by USDA’s Rural Community Development Initiative program. Learn more about <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/rural-development/">Smart Growth America’s rural development work</a>.
See the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Ruston-LA-Next-Steps-Memo-1.8-compressed.pdf">Next Steps Memo</a> prepared for Ruston and the <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Ruston-1mo-Progress.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one month progress report</a>.

"We have a wonderful downtown, but it is still underutilized"

<img decoding="async" class="img-responsive" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Indy-Red-Line-Station-Bus-via-IndyGo.png" alt="A Red Line bus stopped at a new station prior to launch." />
More than a decade ago, local business and civic leaders in Indianapolis realized that for the city to remain competitive it needed to be better at moving people. Today, after an exhaustive planning process, <a href="http://t4america.org/2014/03/27/indiana-governor-signs-bill-allowing-indianapolis-to-vote-on-transit-ballot-measures/">changes to state law</a>, and a <a href="http://t4america.org/2016/11/10/billions-in-transit-measures-approved-tuesday-unpacking-the-2016-election-results/">successful local referendum</a> where local voters raised their income taxes to invest in transit, the first major piece of Indianapolis's transit upgrade is set to open.
This post was originally published by <a href="http://t4america.org/2019/08/29/indianapolis-rolls-out-the-red-carpet-for-transit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transportation for America</a>, a program of Smart Growth America.
This Labor Day weekend, the Red Line bus rapid transit (BRT) will start carrying riders across the city. It's the first of three planned BRT lines in this midwestern city that, according to transit provider <a href="https://www.indygo.net/red-line/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IndyGo</a>, will usher in a "bold, new era of efficient, rider-focused" transit.
The Red Line is the culmination of years of work by current and former elected officials, countless residents and advocates, and business groups representing higher education, healthcare, and IT sectors, to name a few.
"The expansion of transit service in Indianapolis is the collective result from a tireless coalition advocating under one theme: connecting people to places," Mark Fisher, chief policy officer at the <a href="https://indychamber.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indy Chamber</a>, told T4America. "It means making sure that our most underserved neighborhoods are as connected as our most established ones. The result is building toward a system for all, one that will boost economic benefits for both residents and businesses."
Better transit is “key to luring employers, attracting young families and urban-oriented millennials looking for more affordable alternatives to pricey coastal cities, and drawing Indy-born college grads back home,” as we wrote a few years ago in an in-depth story about <a href="http://t4america.org/maps-tools/local-successes/indianapolis/">Indy’s ambitions</a>.1
<h3>Backbone of better transit</h3>
The Red Line runs north to south for 13 miles, connecting intown neighborhoods with downtown Indianapolis, forming the spine of the improved transit system. One in every four people who work in the county are within walking distance (a half-mile) of the new route and it serves all of the major colleges in the area—that's 133,000 college students. But this line won't just serve well-to-do business commuters; about 20 percent of households along the Red Line earn below the poverty rate.
The new Red Line service will bring higher-quality service for residents compared to a traditional bus. Dedicated bus lanes that cover more than half of the route will keep buses moving as will new traffic signals that ban left turns at many intersections and prioritize bus travel. Riders will also pre-buy tickets at the station and can then board through any bus door to speed the boarding process. And new stations in the road median provide protection from the elements, real-time bus arrival information, and flush access with the floor of the bus allowing easier access for people in wheelchairs and with strollers or carts. The Red Line also features electric buses, making it the first all-electric BRT line in the United States.
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North or south we have you covered! 🤗 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RedLine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RedLine</a> <a href="https://t.co/LO2qe9MZEj">pic.twitter.com/LO2qe9MZEj</a>
— IndyGo (@IndyGoBus) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndyGoBus/status/1164239312369704962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2019</a>
</blockquote>
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The corridor was a logical route for the city’s first BRT line: buses along the Red Line route already accounted for about 15 percent of IndyGo's boardings even though it only covers about one percent of its service area. The Red Line will greatly enhance service with buses running every 10-20 minutes every day; and this is only the first phase. Future phases will extend the line further north and south to reach even more people with high-quality transit.
<h3>Part of a system</h3>
While the Red Line will be the backbone of an improved transit network, it is not the first improvement that IndyGo has made nor will it be the last. Along with the launch of the Red Line—and funded in part by the same successful ballot referendum in 2016—a number of bus routes will be updated, and every bus route will now run seven days a week, with longer hours and more frequent buses. Many of these improvements began more than a year ago. After proceeds from the 2016 referendum started flowing, IndyGo identified which routes would not be changed with the Red Line rollout and they improved service on those routes as soon as possible. Those simple changes have already <a href="https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/09/12/indianapoliss-transit-investment-is-starting-to-pay-off/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased ridership</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I tried out my MyKey test card this morning. Love it. <a href="https://t.co/eSRCwccZ1h">pic.twitter.com/eSRCwccZ1h</a>
— BOOs Rapid Transit 🚲🚍🚊🌆 (@Indy_Austin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Indy_Austin/status/1164863518677639169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2019</a>
</blockquote>
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IndyGo is also preparing to roll out a new payment system, MyKey, that will allow riders to use prepaid cards or their phones to pay the bus fare. MyKey will also cap fares to a maximum of $4.00 a day and $15.75 a week. Once riders hit that amount in the course of a day or week, subsequent rides will be free.
<a href="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2023-Indy-Go-System-MapJ.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-28183" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2023-Indy-Go-System-MapJ-300x287.jpg" alt=" width=" height="335" /></a>And of course there are also the two other BRT lines in the works. The Blue Line will connect some communities east of downtown with the airport to the west. The Purple Line will replace and improve one of the most popular routes in the IndyGo system that runs north from downtown and then east. While neither line has started construction yet, when complete, they will bring many of the same benefits of the Red Line—more service, greater accessibility, and ease of use—to even more communities.
The Red Line and other improvements have been a long time coming, but they're just the first taste of better transit that will be coming to Indy over the next few years.
"IndyGo is ready to move the city forward and make transit practical for all Indianapolis residents," said Bryan Luellen, IndyGo's vice president of public affairs. "The Red Line is a mobility enhancement to the city, and by implementing a reliable transit network, we will contribute to the long-term development of surrounding communities."
In Indy, better bus service is driving a better transportation system for everyone. With the Red Line's bus lanes, Indy is quite literally rolling out the red carpet for transit.
<img decoding="async" class="img-responsive" src="http://t4america.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Indy-Red-Line-Bus-Lanes-via-IndyGo.jpeg" alt="&quot;" /> 
1 T4America also helped support the development of the Red Line through a $50,000 creative placemaking grant from our Cultural Corridor Consortium program to help Transit Drives Indy create a new culture of public transit in Indianapolis, activating artists, communities, and arts partners through a multi-year creative placemaking program that integrates the arts into the design and implementation of the full transit plan as well as the Red Line.

Indianapolis rolls out the red carpet for transit

<img decoding="async" class="img-responsive" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/A_view_of_downtown_Natchez_MS_IMG_6950-e1559059204389.jpg" alt="&quot;" />A view of downtown Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi has never been connected to the interstate highway system. Today, with help from Smart Growth America, it is revitalizing its historic downtown and also working to connect to the rest of the world through a newer medium: high-speed, broadband internet. 
Natchez' success has always been based on its connection to resources, commerce, and culture. The Natchez Trace—a historic forest trail connecting Natchez to Nashville—and the Mississippi River were important connections for Natchez to the outside world. And while Natchez has not been connected to the interstate highway system to date, there is a new "highway" that is arguably more important for the city's future: high-speed broadband internet.
After watching a webinar showcasing our <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Cool-Connected-One-Pager.pdf">Cool &amp; Connected workshop</a>—which helps communities leverage broadband Internet as a tool for downtown and economic revitalization—Natchez' leaders reached out to Smart Growth America about bringing that tool to their town.
<h3>Expanding broadband, revitalizing downtown</h3>
Natchez' existing broadband internet access was an important focus of the workshop. While some residents reported robust high speed internet service, others struggled to get online. This is a particular concern for schools, health care facilities, and emergency responders—all of which have experienced outages. Working with Broadband Catalysts—a specialist in internet service—we recommended a number of steps intend to help Natchez achieve reliable, redundant communications to address those service gaps. We also encouraged Natchez to pursue the creation of a downtown free public WiFi zone that would benefit businesses in the center of the city while also enable residents and visitors to get online in our increasingly connected world.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-67503" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20190425_125734-copy-e1558639463452-300x134.jpg" alt=" width=" height="179" />
The workshop also took a close look at Natchez' historic downtown and other local assets. Last year, Natchez adopted a robust and <a href="https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2018/10/04/natchez-downtown-master-plan-honored-as-mississippis-2018-best-planning-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">award winning</a> <a href="https://www.natchez.ms.us/DocumentCenter/View/438/Downtown-Master-Plan-PDF">downtown master plan</a>. The Smart Growth America team reviewed the plan and offered suggested first steps as the community begins to implement it. For example, the historic Eola Hotel, vacant since 2014, is poised to return to life as a hotel or to be converted into affordable housing units. Other historic buildings with vacant upper floors are prime targets for new housing. By using its existing historic buildings to create new amenities and housing, Natchez can turn them into assets that pay dividends to the city and strengthen it's economic outlook.
Another important cultural and historic landmark in the area is the <a href="http://www.mdah.ms.gov/new/visit/grand-village-of-natchez-indians/">Grand Village of Natchez Indians</a>. While the landmark draws visitors, it's not easily accessible from downtown. By working with the state to guide tourists from downtown to the Grand Village site and creating a sense of arrival once they reach it, Natchez can bolster the success of both.
The workshop was funded at no cost to Natchez by a grant that Smart Growth America received through <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-community-development-initiative-grants">USDA’s Rural Community Development Initiative program. </a>To learn more about Smart Growth America’s work under this program, <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/rural-development/usda-rd-workshops/">see our rural development page</a>.
Interested in bringing Smart Growth America’s experts to your community? For more information on our technical assistance program and how your community can request assistance from us on a variety of land use, development and transportation challenges, <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/work-with-us/why-smart-growth-america-technical-assistance/">please visit this page</a>.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Cool-Connected-One-Pager.pdf">Cool &amp; Connected workshop description &gt;&gt;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Natchez-Next-Steps-Memo-FINAL.pdf">Next steps memo &gt;&gt;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Natchez-6mo-Progress.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Six month progress report &gt;&gt;</a></li>
</ul>

A Mississippi community plugs into internet to power up downtown

<img decoding="async" class="img-responsive" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Feb-2018-Bay-St.-Louis-MS-amtrak-inspection-train-gulf-coast-Tim-Mueller-Photography.jpg" alt="&quot;" />During the Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Inspection Trip from New Orleans, LA to Jacksonville, FL in 2016, local officials and community leaders were greeted by residents who were thrilled about the return of passenger rail. (Image: Tim Mueller Photography)
Passenger rail along the Gulf Coast has been absent since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina wiped out much of the infrastructure. But Smart Growth America, through our Transportation for America (T4America) program, has been coordinating a monumental effort to restore service along the Gulf Coast. Just last week, that work paid off when Mississippi and Louisiana received a $33 million federal grant to upgrade the infrastructure required to run reliable passenger trains in the corridor.
Amtrak's national rail network is a lifeline for many communities around the country. It gives residents an important, affordable connection to the rest of their region and the country and can bring tourists (who may be accustomed to great rail service where they're from) to town. The Gulf Coast is no exception.
Since Hurricane Katrina, passenger rail service east of New Orleans has been suspended and communities along the route have been left high and dry without this vital rail connection.
<img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-67674 size-medium" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Mobile-Alabama-Gulf-Coast-inspection-trip-2016-e1560368756316-231x300.jpg" alt=" width=" height="300" />While rail service should never have been suspended for 15 years in the first place, <a href="http://t4america.org/2019/06/07/gulf-coast-passenger-rail-receives-33-million-in-federal-funding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent federal matching grant</a> will help Louisiana and Mississippi make the needed investments to not only restore service, but implement dramatically improved service on the route. And if Gov. Ivey decides to commit local funds, as her peers to the west have done, Alabama could join the party and guarantee quality service to Mobile. But regardless of Alabama's actions, communities in Louisiana and Mississippi are ready.
<h3>It all starts with a good idea</h3>
John Robert Smith, chair of our Transportation for America (T4America) program, is what one might call a passenger rail evangelist, and for good reason. As former Mayor of Meridian, MS (from 1993-2009), he was responsible for building the first new multimodal transportation hub (i.e. an Amtrak station) in the south in more than a century and he saw the impact firsthand as it transformed his city. With this valuable new asset located in the heart of downtown and unifying multiple modes of travel under one roof, more than $165 million in private investment subsequently flowed into the surrounding area, renovating old historic buildings into new residences and business spaces, and breathing new life into the streetscape. Additional public funding also helped revitalize other cultural landmarks like City Hall and the historic Grand Opera House. The station itself is more than just a station—it hosts hundreds of community events throughout the year. All of this investment started with a train station that built upon an underutilized asset and created a new gateway to the city.
<img decoding="async" class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-499" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/JohnRobertSmith-150x150.png" alt=" width=" height="150" />John Robert Smith (pictured left) also served on the Amtrak Board of Directors from 1998-2003 and led efforts to defend funding for the system during existential threats from the Bush administration. This depth and range of experience is exactly why we invited Mayor Smith to join Transportation for America and Smart Growth America years ago, where he's continued to evangelize about the power of public transportation—and passenger rail in particular—as a powerful economic development strategy for communities of all sizes. It was this personal experience plus the sharp policy minds of our T4America team that made us a good fit to help get the Gulf Coast rolling again.
<h3>Advocating for solutions</h3>
The first step toward getting passenger rail re-established was to build local and state support. There was no group more vital for doing this than the Southern Rail Commission. This unique regional group was created by Congress and has the unique authority to develop and enact a regional vision for passenger rail service, apply for and receive federal funding, and engage and negotiate with federal agencies and freight railroads—as with CSX, which owns the Gulf Coast trackage.
T4America’s staff started working directly with SRC as policy advisors about five years ago. SRC was charged with building local support in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. They brought together local mayors along the line, garnered support amongst business leaders in the region, and won tacit support of their governors. Meanwhile, Transportation for America helped bridge the gap with elected leaders in Congress; we not only helped convince key members of Congress that there was a need for new and improved passenger rail along the Gulf Coast, but that they could establish a program that could direct federal matching funds to the region. SRC chairman John Spain noted last week that SRC “never would have been able to navigate these complex issues in Washington, DC without the policy guidance and hard work of our colleagues at Transportation for America.”
T4America covered many of the details of the story over the last few years, but, long story short, in 2015, Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) created the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program to help pay for capital improvements to improve or expand passenger rail service. The next step for the SRC and Transportation for America was getting each of these three states—Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama—to put their own skin in the game and raise state matching funds so that a federal grant could be awarded.
To help build up support locally and within the states, the SRC and Transportation for America partnered with Amtrak to run a special inspection train from New Orleans to Jacksonville, FL in 2016—the first passenger train to roll east of New Orleans since 2005. T4America <a href="http://t4america.org/2019/06/10/a-major-obstacle-cleared-for-bringing-new-passenger-rail-service-to-the-deep-south/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">summed up its massive impact</a> nicely:
<blockquote>
"While there were some technical necessities for this trip—Amtrak inspected the tracks and stations to determine what physical needs there were along the line—the most important function was filling that train with elected, civic, and other local leaders from the Gulf Coast, while providing a visible sign that residents could rally around.
As the train approached the first stop after New Orleans—Bay St. Louis, MS—conversations on board suddenly stopped as passengers were surprised by overwhelming sights and sounds. Schools were closed, bands were playing, costumes were even donned, and it seemed like the entire city was there to see the first passenger train in 11 years. John Sharp, writing for AL.com, summed things up well, describing the arrival of that train as an incredibly cathartic moment for a city that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and had fought for years to bounce back.
Bay St. Louis wasn’t an outlier, though. That scene was repeated in town after town, whether in Mississippi’s second largest city of Gulfport, or tiny little Atmore, AL."
</blockquote>
This overwhelming public support for Amtrak rail service was a powerful motivator and ultimately the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana committed the required funding and applications to be awarded a $33 million grant last week.
<h3>Shepherds throughout the process</h3>
Applying for federal grants, particularly for huge, multistate infrastructure projects is complex. But Transportation for America advised SRC through the entire process from initial applications to submitting supplemental materials to obtaining letters of intent from governors and then securing state funding to ultimately receiving the first batch of federal funding last week.
Our technical assistance teams have also helped scores of communities with stations to develop their plans with an eye toward revitalizing downtown and leveraging their train stations, anchoring new development and attracting more investment. Smart Growth America and Transportation for America helped the SRC repurpose an old earmark to plan or construct new stations in Baton Rouge, Gonzales, and St. John The Baptist Parishes, LA; Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pascagoula, MS; Birmingham, Anniston, Tuscaloosa, and Mobile, AL—some of which are far beyond just the planned Gulf Coast route.
<img decoding="async" class="img-responsive" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Feb-2018-Pascagoula-MS-amtrak-inspection-train-gulf-coast-Tim-Mueller-Photography.jpg" alt="&quot;" />Residents in Pascagoula, MS greeted the 2016 Amtrak inspection train with open arms. (Image: Tim Mueller Photography)
<h3>An opening act for passenger rail?</h3>
Communities along the Gulf Coast should never have had to wait 15 years for rail service to be restored. And when trains do start rolling, they will enhance the national network of short- and long-distance passenger rail service. Part of the reason for this route’s viability is because it connects to no less than three other long-distance routes: Chicago through the Midwest, the East Coast, and all the way to Los Angeles—serving far more than just the Gulf Coast region.
Now that the SRC is making progress, there’s growing interest in working to improve other routes. A movement for new <a href="http://t4america.org/2015/09/30/providing-a-roadmap-for-starting-passenger-rail-service-between-new-orleans-and-baton-rouge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">service between the twin economic centers</a> of Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana has formed, as has a push for rail service and along the I-20 corridor between Shreveport, LA and Meridian, MS. This comes in addition to longstanding conversations to protect and expand passenger rail in the Midwest, the Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, and across the country.
The Gulf Coast is showing how good ideas, effective advocacy, and technical assistance are a powerful combination for positive change. It's a recipe that Smart Growth America and our various programs will continue using to create a more healthy, prosperous, and resilient country.

Passenger rail a lynchpin of smart, walkable development

Millinocket, Maine epitomizes the plight of many rural communities across the country that struggle to adapt as legacy industries or major employers that once helped sustain a place slow down or close altogether. But Millinocket has found new hope in part by pairing improved broadband internet access with a focus on downtown revitalization, giving the community the chance to take hold of their future and "actually build something" new.
<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-63740" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Millinocket-Welcome-Sign-Flickr-Jimmy-Emerson-DVM-BY-ND-NC.jpg" alt=" width=" height="2304" /> 
Photo Credit: <a style="color: #aca196;" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/auvet/4850789749" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jimmy Emerson, DVM</a>
Smart Growth America partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Appalachian Regional Commission to offer Cool &amp; Connected Workshops providing guidance and assistance to rural communities looking to use broadband to catalyze redevelopment.
Today, in the second part of this short <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/erwin-tn-evolving-railroads-fiber-optic-cables/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">series of profiles</a>, we have the story of Millinocket, Maine, which hosted a Cool &amp; Connected workshop in 2017. Listen as we talk with two residents of Millinocket about their experiences with the loss of a major employer that anchored the town for over a century, their efforts to bounce back, and how the Cool &amp; Connected process assisted in that goal. Senior Policy Advisor for Smart Growth America, John Robert Smith, helps narrate the story. (Written transcript below.)
<h3>LISTEN—Millinocket, ME: Recovering from the loss of an industrial giant</h3>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/411316707&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true" width="100%" height="166" frameborder="no" scrolling="no"></iframe>
[alert type="info"] To hear more about how your community can use sustainable downtown development and investments in broadband to support your local economy, <a href="https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/#/?meeting=acay38hmep2s&amp;campaign=j34wt8na7eid">register for our action steps webinar on April 5 at 1:30 p.m. ET</a> [/alert]
<h3>Audio transcript 
</h3>
<h5>Some edits made for clarity</h5>
Michael Crowley: Millinocket was basically a town that grew up around Great Northern Paper. Great Northern Paper was here, they built the paper mill. For 100 years they were the economic driver. We got the reputation of being the "Magic City" because of how quickly we grew up around Great Northern Paper. We had at one time a population of 9,000 people, we had the strongest economy in the state of Maine, we had some of the highest paying jobs, the mill employed at its height probably around 4,000 people with the Millinocket and East Millinocket mills. We were the economic hub of Penobscot County and a great economic driver for the State of Maine. It lasted for well over 100 years before the downfall unfortunately of the paper industry.
John Robert Smith: That’s Michael Crowley, a third-generation resident of Millinocket who took part in the Cool &amp; Connected workshop.
Crowley: I’m the executive director of an organization, a non-profit organization, Our Katahdin, we’re an economic development engine for roughly 10 communities in northeastern Maine that are on either side of the beautiful Mount Katahdin.
Smith: For reference, Mount Katahdin is the highest mountain in the State of Maine and marks the northern end of the Appalachian Trail. As the crow flies, Mount Katahdin is about 20 miles northeast of Millinocket and it’s the namesake of Crowley’s organization, Our Katahdin. We also spoke with another fourth-generation resident of Millinocket:
Mike Madore: Hi I’m Mike Madore. I am a lifelong resident of the town of Millinocket. I was in private business for 25 years and then went back to my first love which was teaching and I taught special ed for another 20. I’ve just recently retired. I am a four term town councilor for the Town of Millinocket. I am part of our economic development committee.
Smith: When the Millinocket paper mill closed in 2008, it was devastating to the town. As Crowley mentioned, Millinocket grew up around the paper mill. Dealing with the loss of the town’s only major employer was hard for both the town government and the residents. But today, they’ve turned a corner.
Madore: The process of getting over, you never really get over the loss of an industrial giant like Great Northern, but one of the things that helped was the demolition of the mill. As long as the mill stood and as long as the paper machines were there, there was a fervent hope that somebody would come in and revitalize the paper mill as such.
Crowley: So the Great Northern leaving was not only a financial and economic loss, it was a cultural loss because now the people in Millinocket for the first time ever not only had the opportunity to determine what their destination in their future would be but they had the responsibility, obligation to do that. And I don’t know that everyone was well tooled to shift as quickly as was required. So the predictable button down the hatch and ride out this storm was a very important time in the history of this community and I think it will be recorded that way. Not only was it a time to kind of assess and re-adjust and maybe size adjust everything that goes on in the community—8,000 to 3,500 people, schools closing, etc.—but it was an opportunity for the community also to wrap its head around “what do we want to be?”
Smith: And that is the key question for Millinocket, and other towns like them whether they’re struggling or not: Who do they want to be? Without a vision, it’s hard for cities or towns of any size to reinvent themselves. So what does the Millinocket of the future look like? Mike has an idea.
Madore: Think of an alpine village nestles in the woods, that has a gentrified downtown and hospitality services that are every bit as world class as the sense of place we both have been alluding to and speaking about for the last few minutes. Match that up with the grit and the hardworking men and women who love working in the woods, and love working with the wood product that is also a very important part of the platform for the new Millinocket. Young families, job opportunities, safe, friendly, and in some ways could be very quaint neighborhoods with minor investment. That is the Millinocket of 2030. And I think it’s a matter of time. But I think this notion of this community barely surviving and losing more than it’s gaining, that’s in the rear view mirror now. We’re now at a place where we all need to shoulder in and begin to look for that world class opportunity that is out there.
<img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-63738" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Baxter-State-Park-Flickr-Roger-H.-Goun-BY.jpg" alt=" width=" height="233" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Baxter-State-Park-Flickr-Roger-H.-Goun-BY.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Baxter-State-Park-Flickr-Roger-H.-Goun-BY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Baxter-State-Park-Flickr-Roger-H.-Goun-BY-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />   <img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-63741" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Mount-Katahdin-from-New-England-Outdoors-Center-Staff.jpg" alt=" width=" height="232" /> 
Views of Mount Katahdin from Baxter State Park (left) and the New England Outdoors Center (right). Photo Credits: <a style="color: #aca196;" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sskennel/5094976928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roger H. Goun</a> (left); Staff (right)
Smith: With that vision in hand, it becomes easier to see where the town needs to focus its efforts.
Crowley: One of the things Cool &amp; Connected brought out was the fact that we had a downtown that is the central hub of the community. We found that we had an area in our downtown that was totally underutilized and was, I would not say neglected but maybe not necessarily taken into consideration as other parts of our community. We focus so much on the mill site and on trying to bring back economic development in that way we didn’t really look at the town’s infrastructure as far as what could entice people necessarily to move in.
The Town of Millinocket has partnered with the Scenic Byway Committee for the State of Maine and is creating a green space to start our Main Street which contain a couple of city blocks that will be converted into green space where we’ll be able to have events, where we’ll be able to go ahead and have concerts, where we’ll be able to go ahead and create an environment for people to go and enjoy the downtown area more. We are going to go and apply, after we upgrade our comprehensive plan, we’re going to start applying for economic development grants to work on the beautification of our downtown area. We will be working on trying to put in the amenities necessary to entice people to be downtown to want to go ahead and take advantage of our restaurants, our shops, our retails places.
Smith: But some redevelopment has already begun to happen as a result of Millinocket’s first few steps.
Crowley: We have an organization who is working to invest one million dollars in the community to renovate properties within the downtown area for residential living that are properties that have been identified as not only walk-friendly, but also properties that are aesthetically significant in their structure to the atmosphere and the heritage of the town of Millinocket. And all of them are within walking distance of all the downtown amenities, of the hospital, of the mill site.
They’re taking local contractors to work on them so they’re stimulating the economy. They’re turning dollars back into the community by doing this and they’re part of what we are trying to focus on which is the center of town which is the main street area and make it as you pointed out to us many times a walking community to attract millennials and professional people to move into the area in some really nice, when these are renovated, some really nice properties.
Your broadband expert that was here, Brian Rathbone, he gave us a tremendous amount of ideas as far as how we can expand our broadband service more and more and we have not only in our Main Street area all the way up to the mill site but also in our library now and our hospital all have upgraded their broadband as well as our school.
<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-63745" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Penobscot-Ave-Downtown-Millinocket-Staff.jpg" alt=" width=" height="1708" />Penobscot Ave in Downtown Millinocket.
Smith: Access to that world-class broadband internet is one big reason that there is more interest and investment coming to downtown Millinocket.
Crowley: We were very pleased to have some grant funding to begin the broadband expansion into Millinocket. That will help us attract another generation, a new generation of workers who don’t go to a factory, who don’t go to a large office building but they work from their home. They can work from home, in Millinocket, Maine, in this beautiful place with the same access as anywhere on the globe. And that is remarkable.
Smith: Every town is different and needs to figure out what will work best for them. But particularly for communities reeling from the loss of a major industry, an ambitious, town-wide project like this can really bring a new energy and engagement to the town that hasn’t been there in a long time.
Madore: My experience with the Cool &amp; Connected process was that you brought in some inspiration. You didn’t come in with all of the fixes in hand. But you brought into the community some exceptional examples of like-minded communities who were faced with daunting challenges and who had the determination and the passion to make things better. And knowing that others had done it i think is always an effective way of empowering people.
And Cool &amp; Connected was an effective mechanism to get people to talk in real terms with real people, which helped I think put a different face on federal agencies, which there hasn’t been a high presence of those agencies in this regions historically, so that was a positive. I also saw a change in the people in Millinocket who were able to participate. It’s beginning to feel real. It’s beginning to feel like we’re going to build something. We’re not going to just save something. And we’re not going to just watch it torn down and carried away on trucks. We’re actually going to build something.
Smith: Millinocket is one of many rural communities across the country using broadband to help spur infill development and reinvent their economies for the 21st century without compromising the historic nature of their town. We’re grateful for the generosity of Michael Crowley and Mike Madore in sharing their stories with us. Finally, we want to thank U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Appalachian Regional Commission for their support for Cool &amp; Connected. And thank you for listening.
&nbsp;

Millinocket, ME: Recovering from the loss of an industrial giant

Many rural communities in America have struggled as the economy has changed dramatically over the last few decades, but some of these communities are evolving and finding new ways to adapt. This is a story of how one small mountain town in northeast Tennessee is finding new economic opportunity by investing in reliable, high-speed broadband internet to catalyze new growth and development focused in their walkable, historic downtown.
<img decoding="async" class="img-responsive" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Erwin-Main-Street-tn1.jpg" alt="&quot;" />Main Street in Downtown Erwin, TN. (Photo by <a style="color: #aca196;" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erwin-Main-Street-tn1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Stansberry</a>)
Smart Growth America partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Appalachian Regional Commission to offer Cool &amp; Connected Workshops to provide guidance and assistance to rural communities looking to use broadband to catalyze redevelopment.
We recently caught up with community leaders from one such town, Erwin, Tennessee, where we held a Cool &amp; Connected workshop in April 2017. In the audio (and written transcript below), they talk about Erwin's experience with broadband, downtown redevelopment, and what's happened since the Cool &amp; Connected workshop. Senior Policy Advisor for Smart Growth America, John Robert Smith helps narrate the story.
<h3>LISTEN—Erwin, TN: evolving from railroads to fiber optic cables</h3>
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[alert type="info"] To hear more about how your community can use sustainable downtown development and investments in broadband to support your local economy, <a href="https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/#/?meeting=acay38hmep2s&amp;campaign=j34wt8na7eid">register for our action steps webinar on April 5 at 1:30 p.m. ET</a> [/alert]
<h3>Audio transcript 
</h3>
<h5>Some edits made for clarity</h5>
Tyler Engle: Erwin is located in northeast Tennessee between Johnson City, TN and Asheville, NC on the Interstate 26 corridor, population of about 6,200 in the city and about 18,000 in the county. Like a lot of cities in Appalachia it's densely built so there's a really fine quality of place, a really fine downtown with good sidewalks and good walkability to neighborhoods and set down in a valley amid beautiful, beautiful mountains and as you drive down from Asheville into Erwin you just get vista after vista.
John Robert Smith: That's Tyler Engle, one of three residents from Erwin who are part of this effort and participated in our workshop.
Engle: I'm Tyler Engle, the Executive Director of the Unicoi County Joint Economic Development Board and the Chairman of the Unicoi County Board of Education.
Smith: And another member of the Joint Economic Development Board is joined us as well.
Lee Brown: Lee Brown, General Manager of Erwin Utilities, Erwin Fiber, Chairman of the Joint Economic Development Board of Unicoi County, lifelong resident of Erwin and Unicoi County.
<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-63634" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/IMG_4438-e1520264799206-1024x768.jpg" alt=" width=" height="768" />
Smith: Local leaders in Erwin like Lee and Tyler have been figuring out how broadband internet—fast, reliable internet—can be a vital piece of encouraging smart, sustainable, downtown development. But first, they had to get the technology right.
Brown: It's something that we've studied for probably the last 20 years and there was a community outcry years ago that really was pushing us into the cable TV business and a study was conducted at that time and the outcome of that feasibility study was investment in traditional copper cable was a bad investment and it would be hard to make the money back to pay for itself. Also, it was too early to make an investment in fiber, that the cost was too high. And the recommendation was to wait for technology to improve and the price of fiber to come down.
But early on we realized that broadband is as important to rural America as electricity was 70 years ago. The incumbent providers were not going to provide a true broadband experience for our community. And if we’re going to remotely try to stay above the bar in our community, broadband is essential for future economic growth. Things have changed dramatically in industrial recruitment and we feel like if we don’t have access to broadband our community's just gonna be left behind.
So we at Erwin Utilities—a municipal electric system that has an independent board from the city council—made the decision to invest in fiber to provide broadband to our community. In March of 2015 we connected our first customers to Erwin Fiber and we have built four phases and we have about two remaining phases to build out.
Smith: The build out of this broadband internet in Erwin has allowed the community to spur new development. Tyler explains:
Engle: We're able to tell an industrial user that any given site within our industrial portfolio has gigabit connectivity to the entire world which is something that no other—in our region of upper east Tennessee no other community can offer and few other communities in Tennessee can offer and very few communities in the southeast can say. But more than that—and, you know, this goes along with our mission of advancing the prosperity of every person in Erwin and Unicoi County—we can encourage folks to start a small business in their home. So if someone has a fabric business he or she could start an online business and be sure that they're always connected with a reliable high-speed connection and transact world class commerce right from their little den or wherever in their house.
It goes time and time again to transitioning to a data centered economy where we're able to focus on the commodities of the future, where it's not so much going to be grain and coal and oil that are moving in and out on railroad tracks, but blocks and packets of data that are moving on fiber optic cables. We had rail in the 20th century and new we have fiber optic cable in the 21st.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-63632 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/IMG_4503-e1520264825642-1024x768.jpg" alt=" width=" height="768" /> 
From the 2017 Cool &amp; Connected workshop in Erwin, TN
Smith: Beyond just county and municipal officials, Erwin has also involved a lot of community members and organizations. One such group begun with a focus on making Erwin more attractive to younger residents.
Jamie Rice: My name is Jamie Rice. I am a downtown business owner of a wedding venue. And I am president of a grassroots organization called RISE Erwin. RISE Erwin consists primarily of young professionals and millennials but honestly has been so successful it's really grown into different age brackets so we're really excited to have all these different points of view and perspective.
Smith: Jamie's group, RISE Erwin, has been involved with Erwin's redevelopment, particularly in the downtown.
Rice: Very early on in our strategic planning phases of our group, we really identified that the downtown is really the heartbeat of every community and that's where the small businesses are, that is the personality and what makes you different from everyone else. So our group really took hold of that theme and our focus has been on how can we use our talents and abilities and limited resources that we have to make our downtown a very livable and thriving community that so many of our grandparents talk about but that we’ve never really experienced. So we felt like Erwin fiber was such a huge asset in marketing our downtown. You know, you could have a storefront fill one of our empty, vacant buildings and have a great internet business as well right out of that same location.
Downtown living, it really creates and ecosystem for all of the businesses on street level. We have a hotel right in the heart of our downtown, three floors, about 15,000 sq. feet and we have an interested party who's wanting to create this beautiful living space with I think maybe eight condos in the upper floors with a restaurant on the lower level. And that's just a way of repurposing this historic hotel into something new. Same with an old structure in one of our neighborhoods, used to be an old elementary school built in the 20s I believe and for several years the town of Erwin was really scratching their heads as to what to do with this building because it was falling into disrepair. But the character that it brought to the neighborhood was something that no one could let go of. Luckily, an investor from Atlanta purchased that property. He restores old buildings and he fell in love with the character that this building has. So 2018 will start official construction and there will be 10 or 12 new living spaces in that elementary school.
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-63633 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/IMG_4486-e1520264813654-1024x768.jpg" alt=" width=" height="768" /> 
From the 2017 Cool &amp; Connected workshop in Erwin, TN
Smith: In many ways, Erwin was ahead of the curve, investing in a growing fiber optic network, and having forward-looking groups like RISE Erwin focused on reinvigorating downtown. Smart Growth America's Cool &amp; Connected workshop had a strong foundation to build upon:
Brown: The Cool &amp; Connected planning assistance grant really helped us further solidify the things that we need to focus on as a priority in downtown Erwin. It helped to raise awareness to a lot of different stakeholder groups in the community and was another shot in the arm to help push us and reenergize us and push us towards our destination of trying to make our downtown great again and to encourage the use of broadband and make that available and affordable to every resident of our community.
Engle: And I would just say we have a lot of folks who are looking forward to the last leg of the Cool &amp; Connected process where we're going to help people get training through co-starters—a nine week course where they can formulate a basic business plan. We’re going to get them plugged into the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and then they’re gonna have the opportunity to pitch to an independent panel and win a year of Erwin Fiber connectivity, a year of free membership in the Unicoi County Chamber of Commerce and up to $4,000 for point of sale or connected equipment. So we feel like that grant is going to really help folks get started in their new business downtown.
Smith: Erwin is one of many rural communities across the country using broadband to help spur infill development and reinvent their economies for the 21st century without compromising the historic nature of their town. We’re grateful for the generosity of Tyler Engle, Lee Brown, and Jamie Rice in telling a little bit of Erwin’s story. And we want to thank the EPA, USDA, and the Appalachian regional commission for their support in this project and thank you for listening.

Erwin, TN: Evolving from railroads to fiber optic cables

<img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-61044" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/18268362_1552658808077756_175216309148579724_n.jpg" alt=" width=" height="540" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/18268362_1552658808077756_175216309148579724_n.jpg 960w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/18268362_1552658808077756_175216309148579724_n-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/18268362_1552658808077756_175216309148579724_n-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
An influx of visitors to Oklahoma's Osage Nation and the City of Pawhuska has spurred an opportunity to establish a robust tourism industry. Building on this momentum, the community teamed up with Smart Growth America to identify strategic investments that would maximize the unique culture, history, and arts of the Osage. Since the Smart Growth 101 workshop, Osage Nation has embraced placemaking and streetscaping initiatives in Pawhuska's historic downtown; learn more about these efforts below.
Two unlikely phenomenons have captured the country's attention and are drawing droves of tourists to Osage Nation. The first is Ree Drummond, a Food Network star better known as the <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/">Pioneer Woman</a>, who opened a <a href="https://www.themercantile.com/">restaurant and store</a> in the historic Mercantile building in downtown Pawhuska, bringing up to 6,000 visitors per day to the city. The second is the release of a massively popular book, <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/208562/killers-of-the-flower-moon-by-david-grann/9780385534246/">Killers of the Flower Moon</a> by David Grann, that chronicles the true story of the mysterious killing of dozens of members of the Osage Nation in the 1920s.
To maximize this period in the spotlight, the Osage Nation and the City of Pawhuska came together and enlisted the help of Smart Growth America to find ways to spur additional revitalization in their downtown. On May 2 and 3, 2017, John Robert Smith, Senior Advisor to Smart Growth America, and Emiko Atherton, Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, delivered a <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/implementing-smart-growth.pdf">Smart Growth 101 workshop</a> to the community.
The Osage Nation has a wealth of unique art, culture, and history that's primed to become a robust tourism economy. The workshop focused on leveraging these assets to create an aspirational vision for the community's future, and prioritize goals for growth and development. Participants took part in large and small group discussion to create a structured action plan; goals included placemaking and streetscaping in Pawhuska's historic downtown. The group also identified broadband internet access as a critical infrastructure for the community to generate economic development and job growth. Participants noted that this was the first time they could remember the community coming together to plan their future. <img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-61045" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/19243247_1613909521952684_592278059857208594_o-1024x683.jpg" alt=" width=" height="683" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/19243247_1613909521952684_592278059857208594_o-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/19243247_1613909521952684_592278059857208594_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/19243247_1613909521952684_592278059857208594_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/19243247_1613909521952684_592278059857208594_o.jpg 1269w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Since the workshop in May, the Osage Nation has enthusiastically jumped in to implement the next steps produced from the SGA workshop. The Chamber of Commerce is assessing the ownership and condition of vacant properties in downtown Pawhuska. Benches and trash receptacles provide new amenities for downtown visitors to encourage them to linger. The community is deciding what to do with a theater and other historic buildings downtown — and is actively seeking broadband internet access. The Pioneer Woman is opening a new hotel in Pawhuska, and the City of Pawhuska and Osage Nation, each a unique governmental body, have been working more closely together than before the workshop.
The Pawhuska community has also been accepted into the <a href="http://stateofcreativity.com/occ/">Oklahoma Creative Communities (OCC) Initiative</a>, which engages citizens to solve issues in their community creatively. In November, the organization held a town hall in Pawhuska to begin this process. SGA's work and the OCC's efforts in Pawhuska complement each other well; together, they provide tools to help Pawhuska and the Osage Nation face their shared challenges.
The Osage Nation, now equipped with a more coordinated, unified effort for downtown revitalization, is laying the foundations for a more prosperous future. For more information on Smart Growth America’s Technical Assistance program and how your community can request assistance from SGA on a variety of land use, development and transportation challenges, <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/work-with-us/why-smart-growth-america-technical-assistance/">please visit this page to learn more</a>.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/implementing-smart-growth.pdf">Implementing smart growth tool description &gt;&gt;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Osage-Nation-Next-Steps-Memo-FINAL-rev.pdf">Osage Nation: next steps memo &gt;&gt;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/P1_OsageNation.pdf">Osage Nation: Progress report – one month &gt;&gt;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/P6_OsageNation.pdf">Osage Nation: Progress report – six month &gt;&gt;</a></li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/P12_OsageNation-FInal-Report.pdf">Osage Nation: Progress report – twelve month &gt;&gt;</a></li>
</ul>
Photo credits: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/osagenation/">Osage Nation</a> via Facebook
[alert type="info"] If you find this information to be helpful, consider making a small donation today to support Smart Growth America's work in the new year. <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/thank-you/">Donate &gt;&gt;</a> [/alert]

Since the workshop: Osage Nation uses tourism boom to generate economic redevelopment

Smart growth stories: New York City Councilmember Brad Lander on building better neighborhoods with community participation

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-15894" title="Downtown Kimberly, ID" src="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/smartgrowthusa/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/kimberly-id-.png" alt=" width=" height="302" />Next week, Smart Growth America will meet with staff from the City of Kimberly, ID as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program aimed at assisting the City of Kimberly implement a cool planning program.
Residents are invited to attend the meeting, which will take place on Monday, March 12, 2012 from 6–8 PM at the new Rock Creek Fire Station.
The presentation and discussion will highlight how Kimberly can best plan for growth while enhancing community livability and economic sustainability. Staff will discuss how Kimberly can: Get Centered (creating a vibrant and attractive town center), Grow Compact (avoiding sprawl and minimizing vehicle miles traveled) and Make Streets Complete (making city roads safe for pedestrians and cyclists).
"We are very excited to have been selected for this incredible opportunity," said Kimberly City Administrator, Polly Hulsey. "This assistance will allow professionals from around the country to converge on Kimberly and to meet with City leaders, business owners, builders, realtors and our citizens to help us maximize our resources, while helping guide us in the right direction for our future. We invite anyone interested to attend the program to provide input and join us in planning Kimberly's future."
In September 2011, Kimberly was one of 15 communities nationwide selected by Smart Growth America to participate in its <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/leadership-institute/free-technical-assistance">annual free technical assistance program</a>. Stretching from Maine to Washington State, the 15 communities selected represent major cities, suburban centers, and rural towns alike.
"Smart Growth America is committed to providing the tools and training to help community leaders keep their cities and towns livable, sustainable and vital places," said Roger Millar, Director of Smart Growth America's Leadership Institute. "Kimberly is focused on supporting existing businesses by providing safe and inviting settings for commercial activity that are close to housing and schools. They have requested assistance in framing a community conversation to allow all stakeholders to see the community in its entirety rather than just focusing on the impact of growth on their specific business or property."
The annual free technical assistance program, made possible through a five-year Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities, seeks to develop local planning solutions that help communities grow in ways that benefit families and businesses, while protecting the environment and preserving a sense of place. Three other nonprofit organizations — Forterra, Global Green USA and Project for Public Spaces — also received competitively awarded grants this year to help communities get the kinds of development they want.
As a national leader in the field, Smart Growth America has accumulated extensive experience working with communities to help them use land strategically, make the most of existing resources and invest strategically to catalyze private development. To learn about the next opportunity for free technical assistance, <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/take-action/subscribe/">join Smart Growth America's mailing list</a>.
Photo of downtown Kimberly, Idaho from <a href="http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv32087.php">City Data</a>.
Workshop Materials:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/cool_planning.pdf">Cool Planning Tool Description</a> (PDF)</li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Next-Steps_-Kimberly-Idaho-Cool-Planning-Next-Steps-Report.pdf">Kimberly: Next Steps Memo</a> (PDF)</li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/progess-report-1-month_Kimberly_cool-planning_060412.pdf">Kimberly: Progress Report - 1 month</a> (PDF)</li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/progess-report-6-month_Kimberly_cool-planning_112712.pdf">Kimberly: Progress Report - 6 months</a> (PDF)</li>
</ul>
Evening Presentations
<ul>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Kimberly-Council-Presentation.pdf">How Cool is Your Town - Council Presentation</a> (PDF)</li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Kimberly-presentation-1.pdf">How Cool is Your Town Part I</a> (PDF)</li>
<li><a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Kimberly-presentation-2.pdf">How Cool is Your Town Part II</a> (PDF)</li>
</ul>

Kimberly, Idaho aims to implement cool planning program with aid from Smart Growth America’s technical assistance

<img decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-15818" title="Downtown Notasulga, AL" src="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/smartgrowthusa/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/notasulga3-.png" alt=" width=" height="348" />"I've been in this town 10 years, and I love this little town," said Juanita Syljuberget, a resident of Notasulga, Alabama, who works as a contract and grant specialist at nearby Auburn University. "There's nothing fancy about it, but it's a quiet little place, and everyone is very nice."
"But it's going to dry up and go away unless we do something."
The plight of Notasulga and its 850-some residents in rural Macon County is not unlike hundreds of other small communities across the country. Years of changing economic and development patterns limited growth opportunities, and the very nature of remote towns left local businesses and municipal services more vulnerable than their counterparts in busy urban centers.
But while the story of a "Small Town USA" grappling with tough financial decisions has been played out countless times nationwide and even in emotional books and films, there is something that sets Notasulga apart: strong local leadership.
From the vantage point of Syljuberget and the likes of her close friend at the city's court office, Hester Hamby, listening to residents and their individual aspirations is the key to unlocking Notasulga's potential. By encouraging residents to take an interest in improving their hometown from the ground up, Syljuberget and Hamby are leading a charge that will gain added momentum later this month, when Smart Growth America will talk with local leaders about "Smart Growth 101" during a two-day technical assistance session.
"Notasulga has a strong sense of community pride and wants their plans for the future to advance their goals of family, affordable living, and protecting their natural surroundings," said Roger Millar, Vice President of <a href="/leadership-institute">Smart Growth America's Leadership Institute</a>.
The Leadership Institute's <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/leadership-institute/free-technical-assistance">free technical assistance program</a>, made possible through a five-year Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities, seeks to develop local solutions that help communities grow in ways that benefit families and businesses, while protecting the environment and preserving a sense of place.
"When we first got started, we were actually looking at an EPA Brownfield grant application," Hamby said. Over time, though, that interest in revitalizing a specific property grew to resemble a more all-encompassing desire on residents' parts to, as Syljuberget said, "just figure out how we could make where we live better."
"To be honest, some of these things are so small," she adds. "It was getting the community involved. Things like...I wanted a website for the town. Residents don't even know when there's a town meeting, there's no way to post that, and so there's no way to get folks involved."
From addressing a rash of burglaries to hosting small town gatherings, Hamby and Syljuberget have engaged neighbors and acquaintances to grow a sort of community-focused grassroots movement called FUNN – Friends Understanding Notasulga's Needs. Slowly but surely they're getting buy-in from important and well-recognized local voices, like Notasulga's sheriff and a supportive town council member and his wife.
<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/images/notasulga-plan.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-15844" title="Notasulga Overall Development Plan - Click to enlarge" src="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/smartgrowthusa/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/notasulga4-.png" alt=" width=" height="452" /></a>"We don't have lots of manpower and we don't have lots of money, but there are ways we can still do things," Syljuberget said. "We have a beautiful lake...and I was reading, we used to have this watermelon festival. I've been here a decade, I've never seen or heard of a watermelon festival."
Hamby and Syljuberget, meanwhile, aren't the only people in recent years to notice the potential of Notasulga to emerge as a more dynamic, economically strong community. In 2009, <a href="http://apps.cadc.auburn.edu/urban-studio/">Auburn University's Urban Studio</a> team developed a plan for the town that capitalized on this area's equestrian interests as well as the natural beauty of the area. Students recommended Notasulga take advantage of its excellent location (within easy distance to both Auburn and Tuskegee University), unique and historic small town character, and potential to capture a piece of the rural-agricultural business market.
"Notasulga is in a good spot near the border of Macon County and between the two [universities], so they have opportunities because of their location for growing a rural economy," said Cheryl Morgan, a professor who heads Auburn University's Urban Studio. "We've really found in our work that the towns with the most success are the ones with the strongest local community participation."
With a deep understanding that the most successful plans tend to begin as ideas from local citizens, FUNN participants are actively redefining what it means to be "local leaders."
"We're looking to make the most of what we have," Hamby said, a point Syljuberget echoes as she lists FUNN's modest but attainable goals, like joining a regional partnership along the I-85 highway or getting the town to be named an Alabama Scenic Byways Site.
Working together, they see a bright future for places like Notasulga so long as residents take advantage of opportunities to claim ownership in how their town adapts and matures in coming years.
"We can't reinvent the wheel," Syljuberget said. "We don't have to."

Community involvement, local leadership lead Notasulga, Alabama's comeback

Residents of Deerfield Beach, FL are invited to meet with representatives from Smart Growth America later this week as part of a free program aimed at helping the City of Deerfield Beach develop a "complete streets" policy.
On Wednesday, February 15, from 6:30-8:30 PM, the public is invited and encouraged to attend a reception and presentation to learn more about smart growth and complete streets principles. The reception will be held at the Wyndham Deerfield Beach Resort, at 2096 NE 2nd Street, and is sponsored by the Deerfield Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). Complimentary parking will be available in the Wyndham's parking lot, located just south of the hotel, at the corner of NE 20th Terrace and NE 1st Street.
Complete Streets are designed to allow safe access for all users. Complete streets are easy to cross, enjoyable to walk along and safe to bicycle on. They allow buses to run on time, allow drivers to move through easily and make it safer for everyone, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation.
"The City of Deerfield Beach is in undergoing a revitalization in terms of infrastructure projects," said Mayor Peggy Noland. "A complete streets policy will assure that the city's roadway objectives are kept in the forefront with every new project, making Deerfield Beach a better place to live."
"Smart Growth America is committed to providing the tools and training to help community leaders keep their cities and towns livable, sustainable and vital places," said Roger Millar, Director of Smart Growth America's Leadership Institute. "Turning the City's existing streets into 'complete streets' will enable safe, attractive, and comfortable access and travel for commuters of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transit riders."
In September 2011, Deerfield Beach was one of 15 communities nationwide selected by Smart Growth America to receive <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/2011/11/16/15-communities-selected-to-receive-free-smart-growth-technical-assistance/">free technical assistance workshops</a>. Stretching from Maine to Washington State, these 15 communities represent major cities, suburban centers, and rural towns alike.
The technical assistance workshop program is made possible through a five-year Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities, which seeks to develop local planning solutions that help communities grow in ways that benefit families and businesses, while protecting the environment and preserving a sense of place. Three other nonprofit organizations - Forterra, Global Green USA and Project for Public Spaces - also received competitively awarded grants this year to help communities get the kinds of development they want.
Interested in learning more about Smart Growth America's free technical assistance? <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/take-action/subscribe/">Join our mailing list to learn about the next opportunity.</a>
Photo of Deerfield Beach by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/infrogmation/4725990696/">Infrogmation</a>.

Deerfield Beach aims to implement 'complete streets' with help from Smart Growth America

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<td><a href="https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5184/t/1623/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=2046">Help SGA become a sponsor of American Makeover with a small donation</a>.</td>
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The makers of a viral sensation from last year (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/1standMain#p/u/2/VGJt_YXIoJI">Built to Last</a>) are back with a new video series that takes a hard look at America's collective frustration with sprawl and the smarter alternatives for growth and development happening in communities across the country.
<blockquote>Today, the average American spends about three hours per day driving — three hours stuck in traffic, emitting carbon, burning oil, wasting time. The harmful effects of sprawl are well chronicled in recent news stories, books, and documentaries. With ugly sprawl everywhere you look in America, it's time for a national makeover. So what's the alternative?</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.americanmakeover.tv/">American Makeover</a> is a new web-exclusive series that explores those alternatives in communities across America, looking at what can be done to help our communities grow in such a way that gives us the kind of neighborhoods and choices we're increasingly looking for.
Episode One, which just launched last week, "sounds the alarm bell on Atlanta's sprawl." No one who has ever been to Atlanta will argue their status as poster child of sprawling growth, but it's encouraging that the filmmakers spend most of the short episode taking a closer look at the alternatives. Or as they say, the "transformational possibilities of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood design" in Atlanta — focusing on those growing millions of people who are looking for places to live that are walkable and connected and don't entail hour-long car commutes to work, school, or the local market.
In Atlanta, they focus on an intown new urbanist project called Glenwood Park, just a short distance east of downtown Atlanta, where Charles Brewer, a motivated and inspired developer, sought to break the cycle of the same old car-oriented development in Atlanta and build a coherent community rather than just a smattering of homes or businesses. It's not perfect, and Brewer's company faced an uphill battle all the way with outdated zoning codes and legal barriers that get in the way of exactly the kind of development that the city desperately needs, but Glenwood Park made a powerful statement in Atlanta about the pent-up demand for walkable neighborhoods and desire for real community.
Dr. Chris Elisara, producer of the series for First+Main Media, told me that the series was born out of the desire to see CNU and other advocates for smart growth or new urbanism reach the masses with this message they're ready for — but aren't regularly hearing in a compelling way or with language that makes sense to them.
"There's a lot of content out there, but people need to see it; connect with it," he said. "They need to not only read the books and understand the theory, they need to see it in practice and hear about it from people living it."
A chapter in a book with some facts about how our streets are unwalkable and unforgiving for pedestrians is good, but using video to illustrate the dangerous obstacles that a grandmother in Atlanta has to overcome just to get around her community hits our hearts on a whole different level.
"We saw it all firsthand. We were stuck in the traffic, stuck on those streets. Those pedestrians shots of people crossing those boulevards, it was terrible. That grandmother, Cookie, we filmed her on her walker walking across four lanes of traffic. There wasn't a sidewalk so she'd walk into the street, then onto a grass berm, back into the street — all the way up to the light. Then she crossed at the light, and we interviewed her. That was sad."
American Makeover is still very much in the works, with plans to visit 4-5 more cities in the coming months, but they're looking for support from everyday folks and like-minded organizations to bring the project to fruition. Enter <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2055198976/american-makeover-an-online-series-about-new-urba">Kickstarter.com</a>.
"<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2055198976/american-makeover-an-online-series-about-new-urba">Kickstarter.com</a> is a funding platform to directly link creative people, great ideas and ambitious endeavors with the scores of potential supporters and followers who could 'kickstart' such projects into reality. Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands," reads the description on the American Makeover press release.
American Makeover is trying to raise $15,000 to complete the project, and they're a little more than halfway to their goal. They only have a few days (until May 8, 2010) to hit their mark and the way that Kickstarter works, they need to hit their target or they don't get any of the money. Financial backers get a stake in the project depending on how much they give, ranging from a thank you in the credits up to an organization's logo in each video and DVD packaging.
<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2055198976/american-makeover-an-online-series-about-new-urba">Will you consider helping them out with a donation to see this project through to the end</a>? Smart Growth America is happy to support their efforts and we're looking forward to using the final products to help communicate our message far and wide.

Forget home and plastic surgery makeovers, new online video series promotes an "American Makeover"

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