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What is smart growth?

Smart growth is an approach to community design that connects housing, transportation, and land use to create healthy, prosperous, and resilient neighborhoods.

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Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.

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Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.

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Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.

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New tool: Complete Streets Story Map

Smart Growth America, in partnership with CityHealth, created a resource that takes a deep dive into all things Complete Streets.

By Rachel Ellis, February 8, 2024

Whether you’re a planner, engineer, advocate, or new to the smart growth space, the Complete Streets story map can serve as an interactive tool that breaks down what makes a Complete Street and why they’re important. The tool also features two case studies—Pittsburgh, PA and Milwaukee, WI—that demonstrate how these communities achieved their Complete Streets vision.

Bikers use a green painted bike lane on a Complete Street in Akron, Ohio.

Our streets are designed to quickly move a high volume of vehicles at the expense of safety for everyone who uses them. Our Dangerous By Design report reveals that the U.S. is experiencing a historic and alarming increase in the number of people struck and killed while walking. Complete Streets aim to reverse these deadly trends and prioritize traffic safety for all users.

“No one should have to pay with their life just to get to their destination.”
– Amy Cohen, Co-Founder, Families for Safe Streets

Complete Streets is not about a single or series of projects, it is an approach. And when it comes to road design, this is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It governs the design choices for all of our streets so that we can have a transportation network where, regardless of who you are or how you need or want to travel, you can get there in a safe, reliable, affordable, convenient, and comfortable way.

Reducing roadway injuries and fatalities is a major benefit of Complete Streets, but they can also improve the economy, promote better health, reduce environmental impacts, increase social connectivity, and address racial disparities.

Our definition of a Complete Street, what impact they have on cities across the country, and what actions you can take in order to advocate for and implement safer streets in your communities and more can be found in the story map.

EXPLORE THE STORY MAP