Complete Streets Policy Action Guide

Webinar Recap: The State of Transportation and Health Equity

Smart Growth America recently released The State of Transportation and Health Equity, a field scan looking at the intersection of transportation and health equity in the U.S. today....

Transportation, Health Equity, New Reports, Webinars

How three communities integrated arts & culture with transportation—and how you can too

As part of the State of the Art Workshop, Bozeman’s participants ride the local Streamline bus to experience first-hand the challenges riders face. (Image: staff photo) Last week...

Creative Placemaking, Transportation, arts and culture, Bozeman, Buffalo, creative placemaking, streamline

Webinar recording: Three toolkits for smart growth in rural places

In late April Smart Growth America released three new toolkits for smart growth in rural places. Our Community Facilities Location toolkit helps communities make the most of new...

Rural Development, affordable housing, Community facilities, Fiscal Impact Analysis, Toolkits, webinar, Webinars

Best Complete Streets 2023 webinar

Not all Complete Streets policies are created equal—our Best Complete Streets Policies 2023 report spotlights the strongest ones. This panel of advocates and practitioners from across the country...

Webinar, Complete Streets

Dangerous by Design 2026 Webinar: Solutions at work

Dangerous by Design underscores the urgent need for policymakers at every level to help implement street design changes that reduce speeds, improve visibility, and increase accessibility for people...

Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design, Safety

Dangerous by Design: Orlando Metro Area — Slightly less dangerous is not the same thing as safe

In past editions of Dangerous by Design, Orlando consistently ranked among the top 20 deadliest cities for pedestrians. But in Dangerous by Design 2026, the city fell to...

Dangerous by Design 2026: Understanding America's pedestrian safety crisis

Smart Growth America’s 2026 edition of Dangerous by Design documents the ongoing pedestrian fatality crisis, which claimed more than 7,000 lives in 2024, one of the highest numbers...

Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design

Getting to World-Class American Transit

What would it take to deliver world-class transit in the U.S.? Transportation for America’s new World-Class American Transit report answers that question by setting a clear benchmark and...

Celebrating progress: A closer look at our Community Connectors program

Our Community Connectors program is a capacity-building program that supports 15 teams from small to mid-sized cities to with reconnecting communities separated or harmed by transportation infrastructure. In...

Complete Streets, Technical assistance, Community Connectors

Advocating for safe streets in Oklahoma City

From 2016-2021, 143 pedestrians, 13 bicyclists, 531 drivers and passengers died in traffic crashes in Oklahoma City, and 1,296 more were seriously injured, showcasing the need for a...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Tailored solutions for a safer, more accessible San Diego

This video explores the impact of Complete Streets in San Diego County and AARP California’s role in driving these changes. Learn about AARP’s commitment to safer, accessible streets...

Video Series, Complete Streets

From resolution to evolution in Missoula

Since adopting a Complete Streets resolution in 2009, Missoula, Montana's population has grown significantly, highlighting the need to upgrade its transportation policies to better meet residents' needs. Featuring...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Funding safe streets for all

Road design has a huge impact on how people are connected to everyday destinations like work, the grocery store, and recreational spaces. Versailles, Kentucky is a small town...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Community-led progress in Fort Wayne

Since adopting a resolution in 2016, advocates, city officials, and residents in Fort Wayne, Indiana have been working to make streets safer for people of all ages and...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Center for Zoning Solutions Webinar: Advancing racial equity through planning

The Center for Zoning Solutions is Smart Growth America's new program that works to advance the zoning reform movement through technical assistance to local governments and communities, reports,...

Webinar, Advancing Racial Equity, Zoning

Tampa Heights CommUNITY

Our Healing our Highways program inspired creative ideas and activities to build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. As...

Arts and Culture, Healing our Highways

Walk audit training in San Diego

On September 26, 2024, AARP California, North Park Main Street, America Walks, and Smart Growth America hosted a walk audit training in North Park, bringing together 30+ participants...

Transportation, Complete Streets

Webinar: Executive orders & reauthorization. Navigating the future of federal transportation funding

Federal transportation funding is at a crossroads, with executive orders and USDOT directives reshaping priorities and halting projects, not to mention federal surface transportation program planning already underway....

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Eliminating zoning barriers to healthy communities

Smart Growth America's Center for Zoning Solutions is on a mission to help communities across the nation implement equitable land use policies that can support people to live,...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, Zoning, Center for Zoning Solutions, ZEST

Smart Growth Network Quarterly Discussion, March 2025

The Smart Growth Network gathered this spring at the Urban Institute to explore how community organizations and researchers can partner to turn data into action. This Smart Growth...

Smart Growth Network

Smart Growth America 2025 Equity Summit

At Smart Growth America, we know that the heart of our work is to create healthy, prosperous, and resilient communities. But how do we ensure that economic opportunities...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

2025 Equity Summit Keynote speaker: Jerusalem Demsas

Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic and thought leader on housing, urban policy, and economic equity, gave the keynote speech for the 2025 Equity Summit. Jerusalem is...

Event, Events

Community-led zoning reform: Changing hearts, minds, and policies

America faces compounding housing access and affordability crises. Addressing these challenges requires action at the federal, state, and local levels to overcome obstacles that have been decades—if not...

Event, Events

Funding equity: New avenues to address historic inequities

As our new political reality shifts federal grantmaking and limits opportunities for nonprofits to prioritize initiatives focused on creating equitable and accessible communities, we must find new ways...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

A shared movement: Collective insights to advance thriving communities

Real change doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s built by people from all backgrounds, generations, and geographies—coming together to demand better and create lasting impact. As we close out...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

Federal, state, and local advocacy: Threading the needle to advance smart growth

With each administration change, there are significant shifts at the federal level in terms of priorities and approaches to transportation, land use, and other aspects of smart growth....

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

Road to reconnections: Turning Reconnecting Communities plans into progress

Low-income communities and communities of color have been and continue to be disproportionately harmed by our approach to transportation in the United States. To address the longstanding inequities...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

Webinar: Climate-informed zoning

During this session, members of Smart Growth America and the Center for Zoning Solutions explore how zoning regulations can impact a community’s climate resilience efforts. Solutions we talk...

Webinar, Climate Change, Resilience, Zoning

Webinar: Understanding the federal environment for brownfields policy and advocacy in 2025

It’s a time of change and disruption in Washington and in the midst of it all, Congress and the administration are actively considering the future of federal support...

Webinar, Advocacy, Land Use and Development, Brownfields, National Brownfields Coalition

Webinar: Paving the way to accountability and a fix it first federal program

Despite spending $1.5 trillion over the last 30 years, the federal transportation program has failed to deliver results. This session will take a closer look at whether the...

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Utilizing the Opportunity Zone tool for residential development

With Congress poised to potentially extend the federal Opportunity Zone (OZ) tax incentive, it is a critical time for developers and communities to revisit successful uses of the...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, LOCUS

Webinar: Shifting priorities for a safer transportation system

Despite listing safety as a key priority, our roads are much more dangerous than the rest of the developed world. Our transportation system continues to prioritize and reward...

Webinar, Transportation, Safety over Speed

Reauthorization 201: Influencing the process

This webinar will build on Reauthorization 101: Understanding the Process. Reauthorization 201 provides a deeper analysis on how advocates, organizations, and individuals can influence the upcoming Surface Transportation...

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Approaches to building small scale and missing middle housing

From missing starter homes for young families to a dearth of homes available for seniors hoping to downsize but stay in their communities, the impacts of so-called “missing...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, LOCUS

Webinar: Federal transportation reform for the 21st century

It’s time to bring our federal transportation program into the 21st century. In this webinar, Smart Growth America’s Interim President & CEO, Beth Osborne, and Transportation for America's...

Webinar, Transportation

Smart Growth Network Quarterly Discussion: Building community through climate resilience

The Smart Growth Network’s June quarterly discussion explored how communities are using infrastructure to prepare for extreme weather. Participants learned about a community-led resilience hub and a stormwater...

Climate Change, Smart Growth Network

Webinar: Innovative approaches to housing development

Alternative approaches in financing or project development can be slow to move from one community to another. In this webinar, hear from leaders championing new models for funding...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, LOCUS

Informational webinar: Community Connectors 2

Divisive roadways have left lasting scars in communities across the country—separating neighborhoods, limiting access, and deepening inequities. Our Community Connectors program helps small and mid-sized communities take meaningful...

Webinar, Technical assistance, Community Connectors

Webinar: Unlocking the power of passenger rail

Smarter federal investment in passenger rail can support high-quality, high-ridership service—especially in corridors with strong public demand. In this webinar, our Chairman, John Robert Smith, and Policy Associate,...

Webinar, Transportation, Passenger rail

Join the National Brownfields Coalition!

The National Brownfields Coalition is a non-partisan alliance of public, private, and non-profit practitioners who develop and advocate for federal policies and practices that promote the cleanup, remediation,...

Testimonial, Land Use and Development, National Brownfields Coalition

Y'all Aboard! Celebrating the launch of the Mardi Gras Service

20 years after Hurricane Katrina, passenger rail is finally back between New Orleans and Mobile, AL. Our Transportation for America team played a critical role in shaping the...

Advocacy, Economic development, Transportation, Mardi Gras, Passenger rail

Webinar: Understanding the State of the System for better transportation advocacy

With Transportation for America’s interactive State of the System (SOS) data hub, you’ll learn how to use the foundational transportation data we’ve assembled and synthesized that answers these...

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Partnerships for brownfields redevelopment

During this webinar, our National Brownfields Coalition features experts from the Houston Land Bank, Montrose Environmental, and RMI, who together, highlight strategies to strengthen cross-sector collaboration and explore...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, National Brownfields Coalition

How Transportation for America Helped Restore Gulf Coast Passenger Rail

Since 2013, Transportation for America has partnered with the Southern Rail Commission and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker to restore passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast. The successful...

Transportation, Advocacy, Gulf Coast Rail, Passenger rail, Southern Rail Commission, Transportation for America

December 2024 Equity Forum: Centering community voice

This panel features Healing Our Highways and Community Connectors participants as they discuss strategies to ensure that residents’ needs are prioritized in order to foster more equitable and...

December 2024 Equity Forum: What is displacement, and how can we combat it?

During this presentation and panel discussion, panelists take a deep dive into the different types of displacement and what causes it, and share best practices for addressing displacement...

Fueling the Crisis Webinar | 12/07/2024

In this video, we discuss findings in our new report, Fueling the Crisis, which analyzes the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and its impact on transportation emissions. Author or...

Building for Florida’s tomorrow: Bridging climate resilience with economic opportunity

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...

Divided by Design 2023 Webinar

Our streets are #DividedByDesign. Smart Growth America's new report examines the racist roots of our current transportation system, revealing that flawed thinking continues to haunt our policies and...

Webinar

Smart growth in rural communities: Key takeaways from the latest Smart Growth Network convening

Rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to growth and development. At the recent Smart Growth Network quarterly meeting, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts,...

Flooding in Ft. Pierce: Building resilience in Florida

In 2004, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, all major hurricanes, wreaked havoc across large swaths of Florida, including the Treasure Coast region along Florida’s Atlantic shores, where St....

Extreme Heat & Smart Growth with the Smart Growth Network

This July, SGA hosted the Smart Growth Network (SGN), a national coalition of smart growth-oriented organizations, in its offices for the coalition’s Summer 2024 Quarterly Discussion. The discussion...

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

In this year’s Dangerous by Design report, Florida was ranked as the second most deadly state for people walking. From 2018-2022, Florida saw an average of 3,705 deaths...

Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design 2024

Equity Summit 2023

The Equity Summit is a virtual gathering of thought leaders and practitioners who come together to discuss insights and strategies to ensure that racial equity is a key...

Video Series

Dangerous by Design Champion Testimonies

Testimonial

Community Connectors Atlanta Convening Recap

Testimonial

Small Towns, Big Impact

For the past 20 years, Smart Growth America has perhaps done more work in smaller towns and rural places than anywhere else, offering technical assistance, workshops with local...

Testimonial, Land Use and Development, Rural Development, Rural

ATL Rising: Building resilience in the face of extreme heat

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,...

Testimonial, Climate Change, Resilience

The 2024 Equity Summit Recap Video

Event, Equity Summit, Events

A rural roadmap: Complete Streets for small towns

Long car trips don’t have to be a part of daily life for small towns and rural communities. Complete Streets are a vital tool for ensuring that rural...

Complete Streets

A rural roadmap: Aging in place with Complete Streets

A common misconception about investments that support walking, biking, rolling, and public transit is that the demand for these initiatives is limited to urban communities. Our new video,...

Complete Streets

Harnessing data and lived experiences for safe streets

To provide a practical response to the information presented in Dangerous By Design, a Smart Growth America report that identifies unsafe road design as the main culprit in...

A Community of Collaboration - The 2024 Champions Alumni Convening

Last month, we spent two days with Complete Streets Champion Institute alumni and community leaders to discuss strategies for implementing Complete Streets in our communities. The event served...

Complete Streets, Technical assistance, Champions Institute

Meeting the moment: The 2024 Equity Summit

We’re so thankful to have had nearly 300 people gather in Washington, DC at our first in-person Equity Summit. We spent two days unpacking how we can work...

Event, 2024 Equity Summit, Equity Summit, Racial Equity, Social Equity

Equity Summit 2024: Charles T. Brown

Charles T. Brown Equitable Cities LLC Founder & CEO Learn more about Charles Charles T. Brown, MPA, CPD, LCI, is more than a transportation expert—he is a catalyst...

Event, Advancing Racial Equity, Equity Summit

Equity Summit 2024 Keynote: April De Simone

April De Simone Practice of Democracy Founder, Managing Principal NOMA, Associate AIA Learn more about April At the intersection of social dynamics and spatial design, Ms. De...

Event, Advancing Racial Equity, Equity Summit

NEW VIDEO: Creating Thriving Communities Through Complete Streets: Wenatchee’s Story

Made in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, our new video tells the story of Wenatchee, Washington—a community that came together to make their streets safer....

Testimonial, Complete Streets

VIDEO: Pedestrian fatalities continue to rise. Here's why.

In a conversation with CBS Sunday Morning, SGA’s Vice President of Transportation and Thriving Communities Beth Osborne explains that our roads are dangerous by design. If you watch...

Transportation, Safe streets

VIDEO: How an obscure federal measure justifies the hefty price tag of destructive, divisive roadway projects

Our newest video, part of Divided by Design, helps explain how federal guidance known as value of time gets used every day to justify the cost of building...

Transportation, Divided by Design, Value of Time

How I-395/695 devastated Washington, DC - Divided by Design

This animation using historic satellite imagery to show before and after construction of Interstates 395 and 695 in Washington, DC was produced in partnership with @Segregation_By_Design. Learn more...

How I-20 devastated Atlanta, GA - Divided by Design

This animation using historic satellite imagery to show before and after construction of Interstate 20 in Atlanta, GA was produced in partnership with @Segregation_By_Design. Learn more about this...

How I-66 WOULD HAVE devastated Washington, DC - Divided by Design

This animation combines Google Earth imagery with a portion of the planned route of the Northern Leg (I-66) in Washington, DC to illustrate devastation avoided thanks to successful...

How I-485 WOULD HAVE devastated Atlanta, GA - Divided by Design

This animation combines Google Earth imagery with a portion of the planned route of I-485 through Atlanta, GA to illustrate the devastation avoided when the interstate was defeated....

Dangerous by Design 2022 - Presentation

This is the public briefing for Dangerous by Design 2022, the latest report from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition about the epidemic of preventable...

WATCH: Safety and vehicle speed are fundamentally opposed

Sometimes we have to see it to believe it. How would street design really look if we prioritized the safety of all road users? Smart Growth America and...

Transportation, Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design, Safe streets

VIDEO: “Not just a way to get from A to B”

Our newest video tells the story of how Tucson’s community is building both advocacy for and physical implementations of Complete Streets while putting equity at the center of...

Complete Streets, Transportation

VIDEO: “I think no matter what part of town you live in, you deserve a street that is safe”

Our latest video tells the story of how Louisville, Kentucky has committed to planning and designing streets that prioritize the most vulnerable and ensure that everyone has access...

Complete Streets

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

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...

Case Study, Complete Streets

Chat it up with our newest board member: Camille Manning-Broome

The newest board member of Smart Growth America brings expertise in resilience and adaptation planning to the smart growth movement. Wondering how? Join Camille Manning-Broome and Calvin Gladney...

Climate Change, Climate, Climate resiliency, Events

Dangerous by Design 2021 - Release and presentation

This is the briefing for Dangerous by Design 2021, a new report from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition about the epidemic of preventable pedestrian...

Jackson, MS is Dangerous by Design

Advocates Dr. Scott M. Crawford and Gladys Bunzy give a ground-level perspective on what it's like to rely on transit, walk and get around using a motorized wheelchair...

Latanya Byrd - Dangerous by Design in Philly

Latanya Byrd tells a personal story of loss and grief on Roosevelt Boulevard, the most deadly street in Philadelphia, PA. With 12 lanes through most of its length,...

Arts & Transportation Rapid Response

Hear from the artists and agencies who worked together to design and implement projects that address COVID-related transportation challenges and longstanding inequities. Read the report at: https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/arts-and-transportation-rapid-response-2/ Arts...

Unrealized Gains: Opportunity Zones and Small Businesses

Presentation on the new Smart Growth America report on 2020 10 29. Download it at: https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/unrealized-gains/

Driving Down Emissions: Transportation, land use, and climate change

Presentation about new Smart Growth America and Transportation for America report on October 28, 2020

The Congestion Con: How more lanes and more money equal more traffic

In an expensive effort to curb congestion in urban regions, we have overwhelmingly prioritized one strategy for decades: widening and building new highways. We added 30,511 new freeway...

Webinar recap: Parking reform for 21st century communities

“Parking reform for 21st century communities: getting more out of public space,” was a joint webinar between the Form-Based Codes Institute and the State Smart Transportation Initiative. Speakers...

Complete Streets, Economic development, Transportation, Parking minimums, Parking requirements, public space, Webinars

Webinar recap: the National Opportunity Zones Marketplace

LOCUS & Smart Growth America recently launched the National Opportunity Zones Marketplace, an online resource to help facilitate equitable development and information sharing. It's the latest evolution of...

Economic development, LOCUS, Technical assistance, equitable development, LOCUS Webinar, national opportunity zones academy, Opportunity Zones

Webinar Recap: The State of Transportation and Health Equity

Smart Growth America recently released The State of Transportation and Health Equity, a field scan looking at the intersection of transportation and health equity in the U.S. today....

Transportation, Health Equity, New Reports, Webinars

How three communities integrated arts & culture with transportation—and how you can too

As part of the State of the Art Workshop, Bozeman’s participants ride the local Streamline bus to experience first-hand the challenges riders face. (Image: staff photo) Last week...

Creative Placemaking, Transportation, arts and culture, Bozeman, Buffalo, creative placemaking, streamline

Webinar recording: Three toolkits for smart growth in rural places

In late April Smart Growth America released three new toolkits for smart growth in rural places. Our Community Facilities Location toolkit helps communities make the most of new...

Rural Development, affordable housing, Community facilities, Fiscal Impact Analysis, Toolkits, webinar, Webinars

Best Complete Streets 2023 webinar

Not all Complete Streets policies are created equal—our Best Complete Streets Policies 2023 report spotlights the strongest ones. This panel of advocates and practitioners from across the country...

Webinar, Complete Streets

Dangerous by Design 2026 Webinar: Solutions at work

Dangerous by Design underscores the urgent need for policymakers at every level to help implement street design changes that reduce speeds, improve visibility, and increase accessibility for people...

Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design, Safety

Dangerous by Design: Orlando Metro Area — Slightly less dangerous is not the same thing as safe

In past editions of Dangerous by Design, Orlando consistently ranked among the top 20 deadliest cities for pedestrians. But in Dangerous by Design 2026, the city fell to...

Dangerous by Design 2026: Understanding America's pedestrian safety crisis

Smart Growth America’s 2026 edition of Dangerous by Design documents the ongoing pedestrian fatality crisis, which claimed more than 7,000 lives in 2024, one of the highest numbers...

Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design

Getting to World-Class American Transit

What would it take to deliver world-class transit in the U.S.? Transportation for America’s new World-Class American Transit report answers that question by setting a clear benchmark and...

Celebrating progress: A closer look at our Community Connectors program

Our Community Connectors program is a capacity-building program that supports 15 teams from small to mid-sized cities to with reconnecting communities separated or harmed by transportation infrastructure. In...

Complete Streets, Technical assistance, Community Connectors

Advocating for safe streets in Oklahoma City

From 2016-2021, 143 pedestrians, 13 bicyclists, 531 drivers and passengers died in traffic crashes in Oklahoma City, and 1,296 more were seriously injured, showcasing the need for a...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Tailored solutions for a safer, more accessible San Diego

This video explores the impact of Complete Streets in San Diego County and AARP California’s role in driving these changes. Learn about AARP’s commitment to safer, accessible streets...

Video Series, Complete Streets

From resolution to evolution in Missoula

Since adopting a Complete Streets resolution in 2009, Missoula, Montana's population has grown significantly, highlighting the need to upgrade its transportation policies to better meet residents' needs. Featuring...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Funding safe streets for all

Road design has a huge impact on how people are connected to everyday destinations like work, the grocery store, and recreational spaces. Versailles, Kentucky is a small town...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Community-led progress in Fort Wayne

Since adopting a resolution in 2016, advocates, city officials, and residents in Fort Wayne, Indiana have been working to make streets safer for people of all ages and...

Video Series, Complete Streets

Center for Zoning Solutions Webinar: Advancing racial equity through planning

The Center for Zoning Solutions is Smart Growth America's new program that works to advance the zoning reform movement through technical assistance to local governments and communities, reports,...

Webinar, Advancing Racial Equity, Zoning

Tampa Heights CommUNITY

Our Healing our Highways program inspired creative ideas and activities to build knowledge, connections, and power within disadvantaged communities most harmed by transportation systems and climate change. As...

Arts and Culture, Healing our Highways

Walk audit training in San Diego

On September 26, 2024, AARP California, North Park Main Street, America Walks, and Smart Growth America hosted a walk audit training in North Park, bringing together 30+ participants...

Transportation, Complete Streets

Webinar: Executive orders & reauthorization. Navigating the future of federal transportation funding

Federal transportation funding is at a crossroads, with executive orders and USDOT directives reshaping priorities and halting projects, not to mention federal surface transportation program planning already underway....

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Eliminating zoning barriers to healthy communities

Smart Growth America's Center for Zoning Solutions is on a mission to help communities across the nation implement equitable land use policies that can support people to live,...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, Zoning, Center for Zoning Solutions, ZEST

Smart Growth Network Quarterly Discussion, March 2025

The Smart Growth Network gathered this spring at the Urban Institute to explore how community organizations and researchers can partner to turn data into action. This Smart Growth...

Smart Growth Network

Smart Growth America 2025 Equity Summit

At Smart Growth America, we know that the heart of our work is to create healthy, prosperous, and resilient communities. But how do we ensure that economic opportunities...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

2025 Equity Summit Keynote speaker: Jerusalem Demsas

Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic and thought leader on housing, urban policy, and economic equity, gave the keynote speech for the 2025 Equity Summit. Jerusalem is...

Event, Events

Community-led zoning reform: Changing hearts, minds, and policies

America faces compounding housing access and affordability crises. Addressing these challenges requires action at the federal, state, and local levels to overcome obstacles that have been decades—if not...

Event, Events

Funding equity: New avenues to address historic inequities

As our new political reality shifts federal grantmaking and limits opportunities for nonprofits to prioritize initiatives focused on creating equitable and accessible communities, we must find new ways...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

A shared movement: Collective insights to advance thriving communities

Real change doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s built by people from all backgrounds, generations, and geographies—coming together to demand better and create lasting impact. As we close out...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

Federal, state, and local advocacy: Threading the needle to advance smart growth

With each administration change, there are significant shifts at the federal level in terms of priorities and approaches to transportation, land use, and other aspects of smart growth....

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

Road to reconnections: Turning Reconnecting Communities plans into progress

Low-income communities and communities of color have been and continue to be disproportionately harmed by our approach to transportation in the United States. To address the longstanding inequities...

Event, Events, Equity Summit 2025

Webinar: Climate-informed zoning

During this session, members of Smart Growth America and the Center for Zoning Solutions explore how zoning regulations can impact a community’s climate resilience efforts. Solutions we talk...

Webinar, Climate Change, Resilience, Zoning

Webinar: Understanding the federal environment for brownfields policy and advocacy in 2025

It’s a time of change and disruption in Washington and in the midst of it all, Congress and the administration are actively considering the future of federal support...

Webinar, Advocacy, Land Use and Development, Brownfields, National Brownfields Coalition

Webinar: Paving the way to accountability and a fix it first federal program

Despite spending $1.5 trillion over the last 30 years, the federal transportation program has failed to deliver results. This session will take a closer look at whether the...

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Utilizing the Opportunity Zone tool for residential development

With Congress poised to potentially extend the federal Opportunity Zone (OZ) tax incentive, it is a critical time for developers and communities to revisit successful uses of the...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, LOCUS

Webinar: Shifting priorities for a safer transportation system

Despite listing safety as a key priority, our roads are much more dangerous than the rest of the developed world. Our transportation system continues to prioritize and reward...

Webinar, Transportation, Safety over Speed

Reauthorization 201: Influencing the process

This webinar will build on Reauthorization 101: Understanding the Process. Reauthorization 201 provides a deeper analysis on how advocates, organizations, and individuals can influence the upcoming Surface Transportation...

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Approaches to building small scale and missing middle housing

From missing starter homes for young families to a dearth of homes available for seniors hoping to downsize but stay in their communities, the impacts of so-called “missing...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, LOCUS

Webinar: Federal transportation reform for the 21st century

It’s time to bring our federal transportation program into the 21st century. In this webinar, Smart Growth America’s Interim President & CEO, Beth Osborne, and Transportation for America's...

Webinar, Transportation

Smart Growth Network Quarterly Discussion: Building community through climate resilience

The Smart Growth Network’s June quarterly discussion explored how communities are using infrastructure to prepare for extreme weather. Participants learned about a community-led resilience hub and a stormwater...

Climate Change, Smart Growth Network

Webinar: Innovative approaches to housing development

Alternative approaches in financing or project development can be slow to move from one community to another. In this webinar, hear from leaders championing new models for funding...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, LOCUS

Informational webinar: Community Connectors 2

Divisive roadways have left lasting scars in communities across the country—separating neighborhoods, limiting access, and deepening inequities. Our Community Connectors program helps small and mid-sized communities take meaningful...

Webinar, Technical assistance, Community Connectors

Webinar: Unlocking the power of passenger rail

Smarter federal investment in passenger rail can support high-quality, high-ridership service—especially in corridors with strong public demand. In this webinar, our Chairman, John Robert Smith, and Policy Associate,...

Webinar, Transportation, Passenger rail

Join the National Brownfields Coalition!

The National Brownfields Coalition is a non-partisan alliance of public, private, and non-profit practitioners who develop and advocate for federal policies and practices that promote the cleanup, remediation,...

Testimonial, Land Use and Development, National Brownfields Coalition

Y'all Aboard! Celebrating the launch of the Mardi Gras Service

20 years after Hurricane Katrina, passenger rail is finally back between New Orleans and Mobile, AL. Our Transportation for America team played a critical role in shaping the...

Advocacy, Economic development, Transportation, Mardi Gras, Passenger rail

Webinar: Understanding the State of the System for better transportation advocacy

With Transportation for America’s interactive State of the System (SOS) data hub, you’ll learn how to use the foundational transportation data we’ve assembled and synthesized that answers these...

Webinar, Transportation

Webinar: Partnerships for brownfields redevelopment

During this webinar, our National Brownfields Coalition features experts from the Houston Land Bank, Montrose Environmental, and RMI, who together, highlight strategies to strengthen cross-sector collaboration and explore...

Webinar, Land Use and Development, National Brownfields Coalition

How Transportation for America Helped Restore Gulf Coast Passenger Rail

Since 2013, Transportation for America has partnered with the Southern Rail Commission and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker to restore passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast. The successful...

Transportation, Advocacy, Gulf Coast Rail, Passenger rail, Southern Rail Commission, Transportation for America

December 2024 Equity Forum: Centering community voice

This panel features Healing Our Highways and Community Connectors participants as they discuss strategies to ensure that residents’ needs are prioritized in order to foster more equitable and...

December 2024 Equity Forum: What is displacement, and how can we combat it?

During this presentation and panel discussion, panelists take a deep dive into the different types of displacement and what causes it, and share best practices for addressing displacement...

Fueling the Crisis Webinar | 12/07/2024

In this video, we discuss findings in our new report, Fueling the Crisis, which analyzes the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and its impact on transportation emissions. Author or...

Building for Florida’s tomorrow: Bridging climate resilience with economic opportunity

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...

Divided by Design 2023 Webinar

Our streets are #DividedByDesign. Smart Growth America's new report examines the racist roots of our current transportation system, revealing that flawed thinking continues to haunt our policies and...

Webinar

Smart growth in rural communities: Key takeaways from the latest Smart Growth Network convening

Rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to growth and development. At the recent Smart Growth Network quarterly meeting, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts,...

Flooding in Ft. Pierce: Building resilience in Florida

In 2004, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne, all major hurricanes, wreaked havoc across large swaths of Florida, including the Treasure Coast region along Florida’s Atlantic shores, where St....

Extreme Heat & Smart Growth with the Smart Growth Network

This July, SGA hosted the Smart Growth Network (SGN), a national coalition of smart growth-oriented organizations, in its offices for the coalition’s Summer 2024 Quarterly Discussion. The discussion...

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

In this year’s Dangerous by Design report, Florida was ranked as the second most deadly state for people walking. From 2018-2022, Florida saw an average of 3,705 deaths...

Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design 2024

Equity Summit 2023

The Equity Summit is a virtual gathering of thought leaders and practitioners who come together to discuss insights and strategies to ensure that racial equity is a key...

Video Series

Dangerous by Design Champion Testimonies

Testimonial

Community Connectors Atlanta Convening Recap

Testimonial

Small Towns, Big Impact

For the past 20 years, Smart Growth America has perhaps done more work in smaller towns and rural places than anywhere else, offering technical assistance, workshops with local...

Testimonial, Land Use and Development, Rural Development, Rural

ATL Rising: Building resilience in the face of extreme heat

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,...

Testimonial, Climate Change, Resilience

The 2024 Equity Summit Recap Video

Event, Equity Summit, Events

A rural roadmap: Complete Streets for small towns

Long car trips don’t have to be a part of daily life for small towns and rural communities. Complete Streets are a vital tool for ensuring that rural...

Complete Streets

A rural roadmap: Aging in place with Complete Streets

A common misconception about investments that support walking, biking, rolling, and public transit is that the demand for these initiatives is limited to urban communities. Our new video,...

Complete Streets

Harnessing data and lived experiences for safe streets

To provide a practical response to the information presented in Dangerous By Design, a Smart Growth America report that identifies unsafe road design as the main culprit in...

A Community of Collaboration - The 2024 Champions Alumni Convening

Last month, we spent two days with Complete Streets Champion Institute alumni and community leaders to discuss strategies for implementing Complete Streets in our communities. The event served...

Complete Streets, Technical assistance, Champions Institute

Meeting the moment: The 2024 Equity Summit

We’re so thankful to have had nearly 300 people gather in Washington, DC at our first in-person Equity Summit. We spent two days unpacking how we can work...

Event, 2024 Equity Summit, Equity Summit, Racial Equity, Social Equity

Equity Summit 2024: Charles T. Brown

Charles T. Brown Equitable Cities LLC Founder & CEO Learn more about Charles Charles T. Brown, MPA, CPD, LCI, is more than a transportation expert—he is a catalyst...

Event, Advancing Racial Equity, Equity Summit

Equity Summit 2024 Keynote: April De Simone

April De Simone Practice of Democracy Founder, Managing Principal NOMA, Associate AIA Learn more about April At the intersection of social dynamics and spatial design, Ms. De...

Event, Advancing Racial Equity, Equity Summit

NEW VIDEO: Creating Thriving Communities Through Complete Streets: Wenatchee’s Story

Made in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, our new video tells the story of Wenatchee, Washington—a community that came together to make their streets safer....

Testimonial, Complete Streets

VIDEO: Pedestrian fatalities continue to rise. Here's why.

In a conversation with CBS Sunday Morning, SGA’s Vice President of Transportation and Thriving Communities Beth Osborne explains that our roads are dangerous by design. If you watch...

Transportation, Safe streets

VIDEO: How an obscure federal measure justifies the hefty price tag of destructive, divisive roadway projects

Our newest video, part of Divided by Design, helps explain how federal guidance known as value of time gets used every day to justify the cost of building...

Transportation, Divided by Design, Value of Time

How I-395/695 devastated Washington, DC - Divided by Design

This animation using historic satellite imagery to show before and after construction of Interstates 395 and 695 in Washington, DC was produced in partnership with @Segregation_By_Design. Learn more...

How I-20 devastated Atlanta, GA - Divided by Design

This animation using historic satellite imagery to show before and after construction of Interstate 20 in Atlanta, GA was produced in partnership with @Segregation_By_Design. Learn more about this...

How I-66 WOULD HAVE devastated Washington, DC - Divided by Design

This animation combines Google Earth imagery with a portion of the planned route of the Northern Leg (I-66) in Washington, DC to illustrate devastation avoided thanks to successful...

How I-485 WOULD HAVE devastated Atlanta, GA - Divided by Design

This animation combines Google Earth imagery with a portion of the planned route of I-485 through Atlanta, GA to illustrate the devastation avoided when the interstate was defeated....

Dangerous by Design 2022 - Presentation

This is the public briefing for Dangerous by Design 2022, the latest report from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition about the epidemic of preventable...

WATCH: Safety and vehicle speed are fundamentally opposed

Sometimes we have to see it to believe it. How would street design really look if we prioritized the safety of all road users? Smart Growth America and...

Transportation, Complete Streets, Dangerous by Design, Safe streets

VIDEO: “Not just a way to get from A to B”

Our newest video tells the story of how Tucson’s community is building both advocacy for and physical implementations of Complete Streets while putting equity at the center of...

Complete Streets, Transportation

VIDEO: “I think no matter what part of town you live in, you deserve a street that is safe”

Our latest video tells the story of how Louisville, Kentucky has committed to planning and designing streets that prioritize the most vulnerable and ensure that everyone has access...

Complete Streets

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

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...

Case Study, Complete Streets

Chat it up with our newest board member: Camille Manning-Broome

The newest board member of Smart Growth America brings expertise in resilience and adaptation planning to the smart growth movement. Wondering how? Join Camille Manning-Broome and Calvin Gladney...

Climate Change, Climate, Climate resiliency, Events

Dangerous by Design 2021 - Release and presentation

This is the briefing for Dangerous by Design 2021, a new report from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition about the epidemic of preventable pedestrian...

Jackson, MS is Dangerous by Design

Advocates Dr. Scott M. Crawford and Gladys Bunzy give a ground-level perspective on what it's like to rely on transit, walk and get around using a motorized wheelchair...

Latanya Byrd - Dangerous by Design in Philly

Latanya Byrd tells a personal story of loss and grief on Roosevelt Boulevard, the most deadly street in Philadelphia, PA. With 12 lanes through most of its length,...

Arts & Transportation Rapid Response

Hear from the artists and agencies who worked together to design and implement projects that address COVID-related transportation challenges and longstanding inequities. Read the report at: https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/arts-and-transportation-rapid-response-2/ Arts...

Unrealized Gains: Opportunity Zones and Small Businesses

Presentation on the new Smart Growth America report on 2020 10 29. Download it at: https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/unrealized-gains/

Driving Down Emissions: Transportation, land use, and climate change

Presentation about new Smart Growth America and Transportation for America report on October 28, 2020

The Congestion Con: How more lanes and more money equal more traffic

In an expensive effort to curb congestion in urban regions, we have overwhelmingly prioritized one strategy for decades: widening and building new highways. We added 30,511 new freeway...

Webinar recap: Parking reform for 21st century communities

“Parking reform for 21st century communities: getting more out of public space,” was a joint webinar between the Form-Based Codes Institute and the State Smart Transportation Initiative. Speakers...

Complete Streets, Economic development, Transportation, Parking minimums, Parking requirements, public space, Webinars

Webinar recap: the National Opportunity Zones Marketplace

LOCUS & Smart Growth America recently launched the National Opportunity Zones Marketplace, an online resource to help facilitate equitable development and information sharing. It's the latest evolution of...

Economic development, LOCUS, Technical assistance, equitable development, LOCUS Webinar, national opportunity zones academy, Opportunity Zones

Webinar Recap: The State of Transportation and Health Equity

Smart Growth America recently released The State of Transportation and Health Equity, a field scan looking at the intersection of transportation and health equity in the U.S. today....

Transportation, Health Equity, New Reports, Webinars

How three communities integrated arts & culture with transportation—and how you can too

As part of the State of the Art Workshop, Bozeman’s participants ride the local Streamline bus to experience first-hand the challenges riders face. (Image: staff photo) Last week...

Creative Placemaking, Transportation, arts and culture, Bozeman, Buffalo, creative placemaking, streamline

Webinar recording: Three toolkits for smart growth in rural places

In late April Smart Growth America released three new toolkits for smart growth in rural places. Our Community Facilities Location toolkit helps communities make the most of new...

Rural Development, affordable housing, Community facilities, Fiscal Impact Analysis, Toolkits, webinar, Webinars

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