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Effects of Complete Streets Policy

Dangers of Incomplete Streets

Steps to Adopting a Complete Streets Policy

About Complete Streets

What does a Complete Street look like?

Complete Streets is a design approach that adapts to the unique needs of each community rather than adhering to a single design formula.

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Typical elements that make up a Complete Street include:

Complete Streets is a process and approach, not just a product or a single type of street.

Structure of a Complete Street

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	<li>Sidewalks</li>
	<li>Bicycle lanes (or wide, paved shoulders)</li>
	<li>Shared-use paths</li>
	<li>Designated bus lanes</li>
	<li>Safe and accessible transit stops</li>
	<li>Frequent and safe crossings for pedestrians, including median islands</li>
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	<li>Comfortable and accessible public transportation stops</li>
	<li>Accessible pedestrian signals</li>
	<li>Curb extensions</li>
	<li>Narrower travel lanes</li>
	<li>Roundabouts</li>
	<li>and more</li>
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Over 1,700 Complete Streets policies have been passed in the United States, including those adopted by 35 state governments, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

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The National Complete Streets Coalition is <a href="/programs-and-coalitions/national-complete-streets-coalition/">a broad collection of advocates and transportation professionals</a> working to enact Complete Streets policies across the country. Joining as a Coalition Partner, an Individual Partner, or a Non-Profit Partner is easy.

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Dangerous by Design

Complete Streets: The Backbone of a Healthy Community

Our principles stem from our commitment to actionable, measurable change. It's high time our federal transportation programs deliver on their promise.

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Complete Streets is an approach to planning, designing, and building streets that enables safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities.

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The Structure of a Complete Street: Find Out More

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Complete Streets are universal. They are designed for everyone: pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and public transit users of all ages and abilities.
This strategy also considers older adults, people living with disabilities, people who don’t have access to vehicles, and Black, Native, and Hispanic or Latino/a/x communities.

Who is it for?

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Incomplete Streets Cause Fatalities: Learn More

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We're solving the crisis of Incomplete Streets, roads designed with only cars in mind that are inconvenient and fatal for non-drivers.
This approach also emphasizes the needs of those who have experienced systemic underinvestment or those whose needs have yet to be met through a traditional transportation approach.

What does it solve?

Create a policy that can be implemented at any level of governance, in any type of place

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Requires jurisdictions to define who are their most underinvested and underserved communities and prioritize them throughout.

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Instead of a limited set of projects, the policy applies to all new projects, retrofit or reconstruction projects, maintenance projects, and ongoing operations.

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Any exceptions must be specific, with a clear procedure that requires high-level approval and public notice prior to exceptions being granted.

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Requires private developers to comply, and interagency coordination between government departments and partner agencies.

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Directs agencies to use the latest and best design criteria and guidelines, and sets a time frame for implementing this guidance.

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Considers every project’s greater context, as well as the surrounding community’s current and expected land-use and transportation needs.

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Establishes specific performance measures that match the goals of the broader vision, incorporate equity considerations, and are regularly reported to the public.

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Creates or updates the criteria for choosing transportation projects so that Complete Streets projects are prioritized.

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Part of our mission is to make this the default across the country.

Advocating for a systems change

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Find out how Complete Streets drives racial equity by prioritizing communities that have been historically underserved.

Serving Historically Marginalized Communities

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Complete Streets Policy

Complete Streets is the product of more than a decade of work by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. Find out more about our affiliate.

Over 1,600 Complete Streets policies have been adopted nationwide. Yet, the fight for uniform safety standards is far from over. Find our more about the effects of policy.

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More Complete Streets: Stories from Communities

Tucson transformed from a speed-first city to a safety-first one. Learn how a policy can become a lifesaver.

Meet Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson, a Complete Streets champion.

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Complete Streets

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 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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Even the best-planned cities have a few hidden alleys.

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Dylan Garritano

SGA’s Community Connectors is a year-long program that supports teams in three small and mid-sized communities as they work to repair divisive infrastructure, improve safety outcomes, and advance lasting community reconnections. The program centers collaboration by bringing together community-based organizations with local government partners in learning sessions and hands-on workshops for quick-build demonstration projects.
At its core, Community Connectors is about people. Our new blog series highlights the participants leading this work, offering a glimpse into how their journeys began and how deeply their commitment now runs. In this second round of participant profiles, we are featuring Connectors who work in city government.
Get to know Dylan Garritano, a co-lead for Akron, OH, in this year’s <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-center/three-communities-selected-to-learn-about-and-design-quick-build-demonstration-projects/">Community Connectors</a> program. Dylan is a city planner at the City of Akron Department of Planning and Urban Development.
<figure id="attachment_113848" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-113848" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-113848 size-large" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Dylan-Garritano-1024x768.jpg" alt="Man wearing a helmet appearing to ride a bike down a street lined with trees. " width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Dylan-Garritano-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Dylan-Garritano-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Dylan-Garritano-768x576.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Dylan-Garritano.jpg 1188w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-113848" class="wp-caption-text">Photo courtesy of Dylan Garritano.</figcaption></figure>
The conversation below has been condensed and lightly edited.
<h3>What got you interested in transportation, planning, and reconnecting your community?</h3>
It's really been a nice time working in and actively trying to improve the place that I grew up in and will continue to live in. I went to school for political science, but then shifted into planning in grad school, and spent some time in Minneapolis. I was excited to take the things I learned in school back home, and I've been here for nine years now.
Summit Lake has been an area of my focus from the very beginning. The Civic Commons project through the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition were big on re-emphasizing that Summit Lake is an asset. With our industrial background, lakes weren't necessarily an asset for recreation. With the pollution and some of the decisions that were made, Summit Lake really became an eyesore. Over the years, we've been trying to resurrect the natural beauty of the lake. With the investment that we've seen over the last decade, it's completely transformed. Now, the next step is really getting the neighborhood up to that level. This project is one way that we're investing in the community over there.
<h3>What are you excited to bring to the cohort? What past experience do you want to share that your team can learn from?</h3>
One of the things that I've noticed over the years is that Rust Belt cities sometimes get a bad rap. I think this is an opportunity for us to show off what's here.
Some grant programs are set up as one-size-fits-all. One of the challenges for Akron is that we don't necessarily have the population growth and the economic momentum, so I think we have to work a little bit harder. Cities like us are a little bit scrappy sometimes. We do the best that we can with what we have. Having that energy, I think other cities and other communities can learn from us a little bit.
<h3>What is something you’ve learned so far from this program that you want other people to know?</h3>
Being flexible and willing to try new things is always an important lesson. Sometimes we get bogged down a lot by the reality of things. Our engineering division drives a lot of the decision-making in terms of what can get funded and what we can maintain, and their answer to both of which is often: not a lot. I think they're sometimes a little bit more unwilling to try new things. But this tactical, temporary approach allows us to try stuff at a lower risk. I think if done right, maybe it opens some minds a little bit more, at least internally within the city of Akron, to be a little bit more flexible and try new things in the future.
<h3>What advice would you have for someone looking to start a temporary project like this in their own community?</h3>
Know your strengths and know your networks to figure out who is going to be best suited to do what. Now that we're looking at planning the implementation and an event around that, this is a time for me to take a little bit of a step back and let other voices lead the way. I'm happy to jump back in when it's something much more suited to my strengths, like transportation planning. We’re tapping into those networks and figuring out who those voices are that we want to lift, who we want to invite, and how we want to get everybody on board.
<h3>For this project, what does success look like to you?</h3>
I think we’ll be successful if we can get something to last for more than four weeks. One of the last tactical urbanism projects we did was a temporary cycle track through our university campus on one of our main thoroughfares, and there were some issues, but I think we were quick to pull it. If it would have been on the street for a little bit longer, maybe people would have adapted and become more flexible in their travel patterns. So, if this current project causes traffic armageddon, I hope that we're a little bit more willing to allow for that to happen at least temporarily, and then see what happens beyond that.
<h3>What sort of legacy do you have to leave with the work that you're doing?</h3>
I think what's really important and what I like to focus on is getting people to think a little bit differently about the way that we've done things for so long. Akron is a medium-sized city, but we're pretty spread out. I think people's default is “Where am I going to park?” Improving the options that we have, between biking, transit, and walking, is what I want long-term to be the legacy that I leave behind. At least getting the needle just to shift in that direction would be great.
<h3>What’s one go-to resource every person doing this work should have in their toolbox?</h3>
An openness to allowing the project to develop as it unfolds. I think having a preconceived idea of what you want to implement sometimes is the wrong way to get there. Obviously, you want to have a goal, and if the goal is flexible enough to allow for that, then you're going to have a really good project.

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Community Connectors spotlight: Dylan Garritano, city planner in Akron, OH

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Data center development is accelerating across the country as AI drives demand, but zoning and land-use rules haven’t kept pace. We break down the tradeoffs, what communities are doing today, and how policies need to evolve to keep up.
For decades, data centers have quietly powered the information age, supporting everything from websites and cloud computing to streaming and online services. While they have long existed as critical infrastructure for the information age, their role is now rapidly expanding. Over the past three to four years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become deeply embedded in daily life, underpinning many of the platforms, services, and tools we rely on.
This surge in AI demand is accelerating the expansion of data centers, driving a corresponding increase in the infrastructure required to support it. These power-hungry facilities <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/confronting-and-addressing-rising-energy-bills-linked-to-data-centers/#:~:text=As%20the%20artificial%20intelligence%20(AI,the%20development%20of%20new%20generation">require massive amounts of energy to operate</a> and, in many cases, are already contributing to rising electricity bills for nearby households, placing additional pressure on communities at a time when housing affordability is already severely strained.
Underpinning this newest era of the information age, data centers are emerging as one of the most pressing land use challenges of the decade. They are here to stay, and we are still in the early stages of a massive expansion in their scale and distribution. Communities across the country are already grappling with this in real time.
Where should data centers go? Where have they been built thus far? How should they be classified as a land use?
Most importantly, are our nation’s zoning ordinances equipped to guide data center development in ways that most benefit the communities where they are being placed? Right now, the answer is no.
<figure id="attachment_113826" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-113826" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1200px_data_center_asburn_loudoun_wod_trail_drone_4-10-23_credit_hugh_kenny_pec-33-jpg-scaled.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-113826" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1200px_data_center_asburn_loudoun_wod_trail_drone_4-10-23_credit_hugh_kenny_pec-33-jpg-1024x683.png" alt="Aerial pic of Data Center in Asburn, VA" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1200px_data_center_asburn_loudoun_wod_trail_drone_4-10-23_credit_hugh_kenny_pec-33-jpg-1024x683.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1200px_data_center_asburn_loudoun_wod_trail_drone_4-10-23_credit_hugh_kenny_pec-33-jpg-300x200.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1200px_data_center_asburn_loudoun_wod_trail_drone_4-10-23_credit_hugh_kenny_pec-33-jpg-768x512.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1200px_data_center_asburn_loudoun_wod_trail_drone_4-10-23_credit_hugh_kenny_pec-33-jpg-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1200px_data_center_asburn_loudoun_wod_trail_drone_4-10-23_credit_hugh_kenny_pec-33-jpg-2048x1366.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-113826" class="wp-caption-text">Data Center in Ashburn, VA. Photo credit: Hugh Kenny, Piedmont Environmental Council</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Where should data centers go?</h2>
Modern (Euclidean) zoning ordinances are structured around regulating distinct land use categories—typically residential, commercial, and industrial, with various subcategories of each. Most local governments have classified data centers as a form of industrial use. On paper, this makes sense, since data centers typically are large, warehouse-like buildings, often located in industrial areas, with limited public-facing activity. But that is where the similarity largely ends.
In practice, data centers do not fit neatly within traditional industrial definitions, and this is where much of the regulatory friction begins. They operate continuously, twenty-four hours a day, often with minimal on-site staff beyond occasional maintenance. They require enormous amounts of electricity, and their cooling systems can consume significant quantities of water. And unlike traditional industrial uses, they generate very few jobs relative to their size. So while they may look like warehouses, they function more like major pieces of energy infrastructure.
This mismatch creates a fundamental land use challenge. Zoning frameworks designed around 20th-century assumptions (e.g., daytime operations, truck traffic, and employment density) are now being applied to a modern use that does not follow those rules. As a result, data center siting decisions are often reactive rather than intentional, leading to tension between local governments, developers, and community members. In many cases, data centers are being developed in locations that are not well aligned with infrastructure capacity or community priorities.
<h2>Polarization: the pros and cons of data centers</h2>
One of the biggest concerns about data centers is the massive amount of energy they require to operate. This demand is already placing significant strain on local electrical grids, particularly in places like <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/">Loudoun County in Northern Virginia, home to “Data Center Alley,”</a> where regional utility companies are quickly needing to reinvest in new generation and transmission infrastructure. Without appropriate regulatory safeguards, the significant costs of these upgrades are passed on to ratepayers in the form of higher household electricity bills, raising concerns about affordability and equity at a time when overall housing costs are already high nationwide.
The environmental impacts of data centers are just as significant. Energy demands are immense, cooling systems can require substantial water use for cooling, and backup generators contribute to air pollution and <a href="https://weather.com/news/climate/news/2026-04-14-artificial-intelligence-heat-island-warming">localized heat emissions.</a>
These impacts are not just systemic—they are felt on the ground. Data centers are typically large, windowless structures with little architectural or street-level appeal. They generate persistent noise (often described as a constant mechanical hum) from cooling systems and generators. For nearby residents, this is not abstract; it is a daily quality-of-life issue.
In response, some jurisdictions are beginning to require stronger mitigation measures, including noise testing, setbacks, and visual screening (such as tree buffers). <a href="https://reimagineappalachia.org/turning-a-byproduct-into-a-community-asset-why-data-center-waste-heat-matters/">Some are also exploring opportunities to reuse waste heat</a>, such as through district energy systems that could benefit surrounding communities.
At the same time, the growing demand for data centers has created strong incentives for states to attract their development. As of April 2026, at least <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/fiscal/subsidizing-servers-how-states-are-competing-to-attract-data-centers#:~:text=Table_title:%20Table%201:%20State%20Tax%20Incentives%20for,receive%20local%20tax%20abatements%20to%20qualify%20%7C">38 states are offering tax breaks and other benefits to bring data center investment into their jurisdictions.</a> For states, the appeal is clear: data centers can generate substantial property tax revenue, strengthen local tax bases, and signal competitiveness in the digital economy. They are also often framed as long-term infrastructure investments that can anchor broader economic growth.
This dynamic is driving increasing tension between state and local governments. States are competing to attract data centers as an economic development priority, while local governments are left to manage the land use impacts and on-the-ground regulatory complexities.
[alert type="info"]In 2025, lawmakers in West Virginia passed legislation to incentivize statewide data center development, including provisions that limit local regulatory authority, create Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions, and establish special tax valuations. [/alert]
<h2>What communities are doing right now</h2>
At this point, there is no clear set of best practices for regulating data centers. Given the speed of their recent expansion, local governments are experimenting with new approaches in real time.
Some communities have gone as far as to hit the pause button on data center development altogether; <a href="https://www.aei.org/technology-and-innovation/the-political-backlash-to-data-centers/">temporary moratoria</a> are being used to create space and time for more thoughtful regulatory updates. In April 2026, lawmakers in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/us/maines-moratorium-data-centers.html">Maine passed legislation to ban new data center development through November 1, 2027</a> (pending approval by Governor Janet Mills). At the federal level, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/data-centers-ai-electricity-sanders-aoc-65651bd28c3d911d18eeb46cd54f4c75">a proposed pause from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a> signals growing concern over the pace of expansion and awareness of the need for broader oversight and regulatory clarity.
<h3>Beyond a full-on pause, three general patterns are emerging:</h3>
<h4>1. Case-by-case approval: the most reactive approach.</h4>
Many municipalities now require conditional or special-use permits, meaning each data center proposal is reviewed individually. Anchorage (Alaska), for example, <a href="https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/anchorage-adopts-framework-for-data-8900865/">passed an ordinance in March 2026 requiring conditional use review for data centers.</a> While this allows flexibility, it can also lead to inconsistent outcomes and places significant pressure on local decision-makers to evaluate highly technical proposals without clear standards, often in loud, crowded and contentious public meetings.
<h4>2. Impact mitigation and regulation: a first step toward structure.</h4>
Communities are adopting requirements around noise, setbacks, buffering, and design. In Chandler (Arizona), for example, <a href="https://www.chandleraz.gov/news-center/chandlers-data-center-ordinance-now-effect#:~:text=Jan.,the%20data%20center%20is%20complete">a 2023 ordinance</a> requires baseline and ongoing noise studies, along with mitigation measures to ensure operational noise does not exceed pre-construction levels. It also mandates community notification, neighborhood meetings, and on-site liaisons.
Some jurisdictions are also exploring how to regulate energy and water use—for example, requiring developers to provide their own power sources rather than relying on the local energy grid. However, these solutions can introduce additional challenges, particularly when they rely on fossil fuel-based generation.
<h4>3. Zoning reform: where this is all heading.</h4>
Data centers are increasingly, and correctly, being treated as a distinct land use rather than a traditional industrial use. Some jurisdictions are creating new definitions, establishing overlay districts, or limiting where data centers can be located. Frederick County, Maryland, for example, has created a <a href="https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/9128/Critical-Digital-Infrastructure-Overlay-">Critical Digital Infrastructure Overlay zone </a>that limits data center development to a specific part of the county. Loudoun County (the aforementioned “Data Center Alley”) is developing <a href="https://www.loudoun.gov/5990/Data-Center-Standards-Locations">new use-specific zoning standards</a> for data centers that are more reflective of their scale and infrastructure demands.
<h2>What it means to be data center-ready</h2>
As things stand, data centers do not fit neatly into existing zoning categories, and their impacts are too significant to be managed through outdated frameworks. They are a new type of land use, and our zoning needs to catch up, fast.
The stakes are rising, as data centers are already reshaping local economies and energy systems in real time. Without clear regulatory guardrails, communities risk higher energy costs, growing infrastructure burdens, and increasing dependence on a single industry tax base—limiting long-term flexibility and economic resilience.
Being “data center-ready” means getting ahead of those risks. At a minimum, communities should:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Define where data centers are appropriate</li>
<li aria-level="1">Align siting decisions with infrastructure and energy capacity</li>
<li aria-level="1">Establish clear expectations for environmental performance and community impact, including protections to ensure that nearby households are not saddled with the high cost of upgrading the infrastructure needed to support these facilities</li>
</ul>
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A stronger approach may also include:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Completely eliminating by-right data center development and requiring a dedicated discretionary review process that includes land use experts, environmental specialists, economists, and industry stakeholders</li>
<li aria-level="1">Requiring developers to cover infrastructure costs</li>
<li aria-level="1">Establishing clear, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-community-benefit-agreements-are-necessary-for-data-centers/">measurable community benefits</a> tied to workforce development, sustainability, and resource use</li>
</ul>
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Ultimately, being “data center-ready” means ensuring that the benefits of development—especially tax revenue—translate into real, tangible outcomes for communities, without raising costs or lowering quality of life.
Data centers are here to stay. The question is whether communities and their planners can shape their development in a way that works for residents—and remains workable for the companies driving the nation’s rapid expansion of digital infrastructure.
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