Over the past 15 years, Madeline Fraser Cook has helped shape Smart Growth America as a member of its Board of Directors. In her six-year tenure as board chair, she helped guide the organization through major challenges and periods of transformation, setting it up for future success.

Madeline brought decades of experience in community development, affordable housing, climate resilience, and organizational leadership to SGA, most recently serving as a senior vice president at LISC. As Madeline passes the torch to new Board Chair Camille Manning Broome, we sat down to reflect on her years of service and why she remains optimistic about the future of the smart growth movement.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What first drew you to Smart Growth America?

Madeline Fraser Cook: I’ve always had this split in my life: I love being in rural places and in nature, and I see the value of protecting open spaces and helping those communities thrive. But I also get so much energy from cities, and I can’t imagine not living in one.

Smart growth brings those two passions together. It showed me that you can promote development that makes sense in rural communities—development that supports economic activity while protecting what makes those places so special—and at the same time, champion vibrant urban places that bring people together and foster innovation.

Smart Growth America was bringing those ideas together in a way I hadn’t seen implemented elsewhere. It wasn’t focused on just one piece of the puzzle—it was thinking about how all of these decisions work together to create stronger communities.

Over the years, the conversation has evolved. It now includes affordability, housing, equity, climate, and so many of the issues SGA represents today. That’s what’s kept me engaged.

Looking back on your six years as board chair, what are you most proud of?

Madeline: I’m most proud that we’re still here and growing stronger.

This organization weathered an incredible amount over the last six years. We navigated a global pandemic. We worked through major leadership transitions. We entered a much more difficult political and financial environment for this work.

Today, SGA has strong leadership, great morale, and a solid financial foundation to move forward. That’s a testament to everyone who cares about this organization—the staff, the board, and our supporters. I’m incredibly proud of where SGA is today.

How has Smart Growth America changed during your time on the board? What evolution stands out to you most?

Madeline: One of the most remarkable things is how many organizations with deep subject-matter expertise have become part of Smart Growth America over the years.

I think bringing organizations like the National Complete Streets Coalition, the Form-Based Codes Institute, and others under one umbrella has made Smart Growth America much stronger.

Today, SGA can walk into almost any community and say, “Yes, we have expertise in transportation. We have expertise in housing. We have expertise in zoning. But these issues all work together.”

Communities shouldn’t think about these challenges in isolation. They need integrated solutions.

We’ve gone from talking primarily about preventing sprawl to investing in downtowns, supporting housing, transportation, and all of these interconnected issues.

Madeline: Exactly. It’s become a much more inclusive conversation.

Smart growth isn’t just for people in big cities or places creating urban growth boundaries. It has room for rural communities, too.

I spend a lot of time in Jackson, New Hampshire, and it’s amazing to see how that community thinks about development in the context of a small village—supporting economic growth while remaining deeply committed to environmental protection.

Do you have a favorite project or memory from your time on the board?

Madeline: I have to say the return of the Mardi Gras Service.

I know it took years and years to make it happen, but it’s such a perfect example of what Smart Growth America can accomplish. People often throw up their hands and ask why passenger rail is so difficult in this country.

The fact that SGA helped make that happen—that’s a huge accomplishment.

And beyond the policy victory, think about the joy it has brought people. That’s a really big deal.

What gives you the most hope about the future of Smart Growth America—and the smart growth movement more broadly?

Madeline: I think people are increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change firsthand, and that’s creating opportunities for more productive conversations about how we build our communities.

At the same time, conversations around health, walkability, bikeability, and transportation choices are becoming much more mainstream.

We’ve spent years demonstrating these ideas through pilot projects, technical assistance, and communications. Those efforts are paying off.

I’m now serving on my local planning board, and people there are talking about form-based codes and Complete Streets. They have heard of Dangerous by Design, and it didn’t come from me! That’s encouraging because it shows these ideas are reaching communities.

Most importantly, I think smart growth gives people of all political perspectives a way into the conversation. These aren’t seen as fringe ideas anymore. They’re practical solutions everyone can connect with and work to implement.