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Complete Streets approach integrates people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of our transportation networks. The National Complete Streets Coalition works to ensure streets prioritize safety over speed, balance the needs of different modes, and support local land uses, economies, cultures, and natural environments.

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Join us in advancing the Complete Streets initiative, a cause dedicated to making streets safer, more efficient, and accessible for everyone. Your active participation can significantly drive change.

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The National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, is a non-profit, non-partisan alliance of public interest organizations and transportation professionals committed to the development and implementation of Complete Streets policies and practices.
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Our mission is to make Complete Streets the default approach to building and managing transportation systems across the US. We uplift best practices and equip champions to support ending traffic violence and to create communities where all people have safe, accessible, and convenient ways to get to where they need and want to go.

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We believe that the streets of our cities and towns must allow all people, regardless of age, ability, income, race, or ethnicity, to safely, comfortably, and conveniently access everything they need by foot, bicycle, public transportation, or other preferred mode of transportation. A community’s street network should reflect the overall vision for its mobility future and support public health, environmental resilience, and economic development for all members.

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Prioritize street design: Elevate safe, accessible, and equitable street design as the primary tactic to reduce traffic deaths and support mobility independence.
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Challenge the norm: Hold decision-makers, with a focus on those who control our most dangerous streets, accountable to their commitment and efforts to shift the policies, systems, and funding structures from those that support divisive transportation to those that support Complete Streets as the default approach.
</li>
	<li class="ql-block" data-block-id="block-5666200c-6d62-4955-bac1-58906577edf5">
Highlight community success: Replicate local-level community-centered efforts to tackle traffic safety, public health disparities, climate challenges, economic vitality, and other intersecting issues.
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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. We consider it to be the backbone of a healthy community.

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<h3>About Smart Growth America (SGA)</h3>
Smart Growth America (SGA) is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, that helps create healthy, prosperous, and resilient places to live for all people through research, advocacy, and direct community support. Our work spans housing and land use, transportation, and economic development to find solutions to communities’ most pressing needs. Through technical assistance, advocacy, and thought 
leadership, we support communities in achieving livable places, healthy people, and shared prosperity.
<h3>Goals and objectives</h3>
SGA seeks an experienced fundraising consultant (either an individual or a small firm) to build and implement a strategy to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of high-capacity individual donors. The selected consultant will work closely with our leadership team to enhance SGA’s long-term fundraising capacity and impact.The primary goals for this engagement include:
<ul>
<li>Fundraising Systems Development</li>
<li>Prospect Identification and Cultivation</li>
<li>Donor Engagement and Solicitation Support</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true">Fixed-fee scope and deliverables</h3>
Scope includes:
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Assessment of current fundraising efforts and infrastructure</li>
<li>Major donor development strategy and tactical implementation plan</li>
<li>List of at least 30 potential high-capacity prospects with alignment rationale</li>
<li>Coaching and solicitation prep sessions with key staff/board members (at least 3)</li>
<li>Draft of donor cultivation and stewardship materials</li>
<li>Progress report and final strategy refinement</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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Deliverables include:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Plan for Major Donor Development</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Donor Prospecting List with Background Profiles</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Solicitation Coaching Materials</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Donor Communication Templates</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Progress Summary Report (Final)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Budget</h3>
SGA has budgeted up to $25,000-$40,000 for this job. SGA will take value and cost into account in assessing proposals.
<h3>Additional services: Hourly rate proposal</h3>
SGA may seek continued fundraising support beyond the initial scope. Additional services could include:
<ul>
<li>Event strategy and implementation (e.g., donor salons, briefings)</li>
<li>Donor communications and campaign copywriting</li>
<li>Continued prospect identification</li>
<li>Research and relationship mapping for new sectors or regions</li>
</ul>
<h3>Submission requirements</h3>
Proposals (maximum 10 pages) must include:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Background and relevant experience, particularly in developing individual major donors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Description of approach and proposed work plan, including a fundraising goal</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Two (2) references for similar fundraising work</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Fixed-price proposal for the deliverables described above</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hourly rates for any additional fundraising services</li>
</ul>
<h3>Application process and timeline</h3>
Please submit your proposal by August 29, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET via email to Ashley Heckstall, Senior Manager, Events and Development: <a href="mailto:aheckstall@smartgrowthamerica.org">aheckstall@smartgrowthamerica.org. </a>Subject line should read: Major Donor Fundraising RFP
Estimated project timeline:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">RFP Issued: August 1, 2025</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Proposal Deadline: August 29, 2025</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Finalist Interviews: Week of September 8, 2025</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Consultant Selected: September 19, 2025</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Project Kickoff: September 25, 2025</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Midpoint Check-in: Week of February 23,  2026</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Project Completion: September 24, 2026</li>
</ul>
<h3>Evaluation and selection</h3>
SGA is committed to full and open competition and encourages submissions from small, disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses. Proposals will be evaluated based on:
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li>Strength of experience and qualifications of key personnel</li>
<li>Experience working with nonprofit organizations at SGA’s size</li>
<li>Cost competitiveness and value</li>
<li>Proposed approach</li>
<li>Understanding of and alignment with SGA’s mission</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
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SGA will also consider other benefits associated with the procurement in the selection process including, but not limited to, the opportunity to use small, disadvantaged, and minority and/or woman-owned firms or individual consultants.
SGA would consider extending this contract into additional years, based on the success of the effort. SGA may discontinue this RFP at any time at its discretion and without explanation.
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Request for proposals: Fundraising consultant for major donor development

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The Smart Growth Network’s latest quarterly discussion explored how communities are using infrastructure to prepare for extreme weather. Participants learned about a community-led resilience hub and a stormwater credit trading program to promote green infrastructure in Washington, DC, and a holistic flood resilience project in Kansas City, MO.
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The <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/smart-growth-network/">Smart Growth Network (SGN)</a> is a national alliance of advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and local leaders working towards a shared vision for land use and infrastructure policies and actions that result in healthy, sustainable, and prosperous communities for all. SGN’s quarterly discussions cover a variety of topics related to smart growth, including <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/smart-growth-in-rural-communities-key-takeaways-from-the-latest-smart-growth-network-convening/">smart growth for rural places</a> and <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/march-smart-growth-roundtable-when-data-meets-community/">community data strategies</a>. Hosted by Urban Land Institute (ULI), this discussion focused on building resilience in the face of extreme weather, from blue green infrastructure to community infrastructure, and the partnerships necessary for this work.
[button type=&#8221;info&#8221; block=&#8221;true&#8221; size=&#8221;lg&#8221; link=&#8221;https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/resources/housing-for-havens/&#8221;]Learn more about building for resilience in Smart Growth America’s new Housing for Havens report [/button]
Rachel MacClery, Executive Director of the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate, kicked off the discussion with a presentation of ULI resources on resilience. She uplifted the work of the <a href="https://americas.uli.org/research/centers-initiatives/uli-randall-lewis-center-for-sustainability-in-real-estate/urban-resilience-program/drought-resilience/learn-more-about-water-wise-coalition/">Water Wise Development Coalition,</a> which supports conversations between the public and private sectors to advance policies and building strategies for drought resilience. Additionally, she shared information on convenings held by the <a href="https://americas.uli.org/research/centers-initiatives/uli-randall-lewis-center-for-sustainability-in-real-estate/center-leadership-and-center-wide-programming/lewis-center-sustainability-exchange/">Lewis Center Sustainability Exchange</a>, which cover sustainability topics ranging from innovative technology to building operations, as part of ULI’s Lewis Center.
The panel at the center of this discussion looked at how communities are using infrastructure to prepare for extreme weather. Moderated by Lindsay Brugger, vice president of resilience at ULI, the panel included:
<ul>
<li>Matt Johnson, a Supervisory Environmental Protection Specialist at Washington, DC’s Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE)</li>
<li>Dr. Estelle-Marie Montgomery, Executive Director of the FH Faunteroy Center &amp; Resilience Incubator; and</li>
<li>Andy Sauer, National Stormwater Management Practice Leader at engineering firm Burns &amp; McDonnell
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Matt Johnson presented Washington, DC’s <a href="https://doee.dc.gov/src">stormwater retention credit</a> market, a financing model that accelerates green stormwater infrastructure where it is needed the most. DC has significant challenges with stormwater, such as flooding, erosion, and pollution. To mitigate some of these impacts, DC’s stormwater rule requires redevelopment projects to manage stormwater with green infrastructure. Since not all locations are able to meet these requirements on site, while others may have the space to build more green infrastructure than is required, the city’s credit market turns this mismatch into a supply and demand solution. Landowners can voluntarily install green infrastructure to generate credits that can be sold to property owners who can’t meet their stormwater requirements on site. This innovative market structure can be a model for urban stormwater improvement elsewhere.
Andy Sauer focused on one particular effort in Kansas City, MO: the <a href="https://www.burnsmcd.com/projects/westport-stormwater-improvements">stormwater improvement project</a> in the historic Westport neighborhood. Flooding is common in this neighborhood, as <a href="https://blog.burnsmcd.com/from-flooding-to-flourishing-upgrading-westports-stormwater-management">Mill Creek</a> was buried into the sewer system and paved over as Mill Street when the area was developing. The solution to this flooding challenge is holistic systems planning and design that connects resilience and sustainability. Looking at the whole system, Sauer’s team designed infrastructure that would “capture, control, and convey” stormwater. This approach holds runoff underground during a storm and then slowly releases it, mitigating flooding and erosion. The Westport project includes green infrastructure and large underground cisterns to store stormwater beneath Dr. Jeremiah Cameron Park. When designing the system, engineers on Sauer’s team created a model of the flood events and then calibrated the model with photos of flooding from the community. This both validated the model and helped build buy-in and trust with the neighborhood.
Dr. Montgomery brought in the social component of resilience by sharing the development of Washington DC’s first community-led resilience hub: the <a href="https://faunteroycenter.org/">FH Faunteroy Center &amp; Resilience Incubator.</a> According to the <a href="https://doee.dc.gov/service/community-resilience-hubs">DOEE</a>, these hubs are “public-serving facilities that provide information and services to build resilient communities before, during and after emergency events.” In 2017, DOEE approached Ward 7, an area of the city where 87 percent of single-family homes are in the floodplain, and the community not only liked the idea, but decided the best way to build trust with DOEE was to take the process over. The community coalition identified a community-based organization to lead the planning process, which resulted in constructing 7,000 square feet of programmable space that includes maker spaces, community gathering areas, a business center, and a health &amp; wellness center—all built to withstand potential floods in this flood-vulnerable area while building community resilience.
After the panel, attendees had the opportunity to engage with the panelists and learn more about their organizations’ efforts. A key theme discussed was strategies to build coalitions around these projects that include public and private actors as well as community buy-in. Panelists noted that public initiative was crucial, as it sends a message to the private sector and to communities that threats from extreme weather are serious—and so are efforts to address them. Panelists also highlighted the need to emphasize the impacts of extreme weather on all stakeholders. For community members, that means listening to what their top concerns are and being willing to let their input guide the project vision. For the private sector, that means discussing the costs that preparing for and recovering from extreme weather may impose on their activities and the benefits of collaborating to address them.
In closing statements, panelists again emphasized a need to work holistically, looking beyond traditional approaches to resilient infrastructure by incorporating green components and advancing community social resilience. New and innovative solutions, although they may garner negative feedback, can also sometimes be the best approach to creating more resilient communities.

Smart Growth Network

June Smart Growth Roundtable: Building community through climate resilience

Climate Change

Resilience

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Smart Growth America brought the Complete Streets Leadership Academy to Kentucky in 2025. This program built partnerships between Bowling Green, Morehead, and Winchester and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to design quick-build demonstration projects on state-owned roads. Our new report details how each city worked with KYTC districts, community members, and regional staff to develop processes for conducting quick builds in Kentucky.
<h3>Background</h3>
<a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/programs-and-coalitions/national-complete-streets-coalition/quick-build-demonstration-projects/">Quick-build demonstration projects</a> are temporary installations that can be used to test safer road designs, grow partnerships, and build momentum for long-term change. With state-owned routes being the <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/">most deadly</a> to people walking, coordinated efforts between local jurisdictions and states are key to improving safety. Building partnerships and processes through quick builds is an important strategy in this effort.
This Complete Streets Leadership Academy (CSLA) built on KYTC’s ongoing Complete Streets work, as the state’s current <a href="https://transportation.ky.gov/BikeWalk/Pages/Complete-Streets.aspx">Complete Streets Program</a> includes a state-wide policy and a guidance manual, both adopted in 2022. Soon after the policy was passed, KYTC conducted a series of trainings for district staff and local jurisdictions to learn about the program, which introduced some of the CSLA participants to Complete Streets. This CSLA was also a homecoming for SGA: the first 2018 cohort included <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/lexington-ky-demonstration-project-bryan-avenue-intersections/">Lexington, KY.</a>
The Academy combined virtual workshops and an in-person convening for participants to learn about design strategies as well as how to build relationships and support each other’s projects. These trainings supported teams in developing a process to design, install, and evaluate quick builds, with the aim of KYTC and the local teams being able to continue these partnerships and replicate the process elsewhere in the future. Our new report describes the processes and observations throughout the KY CSLA, as well as ideas for how to apply lessons from the program to future quick builds on state routes, in Kentucky and beyond.
[button type=&#8221;info&#8221; block=&#8221;true&#8221; size=&#8221;lg&#8221; link=&#8221;https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SGA-KY-CSLA_final.pdf&#8221;]Read the report! [/button]
<h3>Key takeaways</h3>
1. Quick-build demonstration projects can be more successfully implemented when teams have a strong understanding of Complete Streets and related topics. This was the first quick build that all participants had worked on, but prior familiarity with Complete Streets varied across the cities and the KYTC district partners. The different starting points for participants led to each team pursuing different goals in their projects.
2. Existing levels of coordination influence the scope of a quick-build project. Bowling Green’s strong existing partnerships allowed the team to develop two projects. In Morehead and Winchester, the team leads worked to bring people in and build support for more Complete Streets and quick-build projects in the future.
3. The size and capacity of a community greatly impact how a local team can participate in a quick-build project. KYTC was eager to work with smaller jurisdictions in this program, to learn about what support and resources they would need to do this work. State DOTs have a large impact in small communities, and lessons learned from this program can be applied across Kentucky and beyond.
4. Temporary quick-build projects can lead to lasting change. By selecting locations and designing projects likely to receive broad support for future projects or using the focus on the project sites to install small permanent improvements, like curb ramps and even sidewalks, these quick builds were designed with the long term in mind.
<a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SGA-KY-CSLA-handout_final.pdf">Find a summary of the report here.</a>
<h3>Case studies</h3>
<h4>Bowling Green</h4>
The Bowling Green team’s goal for this program was to try their first quick-build project. Many members of the team were eager to try this approach to address known safety concerns and to build momentum for more quick builds in the future. The team’s strong internal coordination was key to the successful process of this group and the large project scope they were able to pursue: one project at the intersection of Smallhouse Road and KY-231/Scottsville Road and another on KY-231/Morgantown Road. The Smallhouse Rd project will update crossings to a higher safety standard and the Morgantown Rd project will turn the existing shoulder into a protected multi-use path to bridge a gap in the sidewalk, in anticipation of a future permanent project. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SGA-KY-CSLA_final.pdf#page=21">Read the case study here &gt;&gt;</a>
<h4>Morehead</h4>
The Morehead team’s goals in this project were to improve safety for people crossing US 60 and build the relationships needed to do so. Navigating different levels of buy-in while building relationships around the shared goal of safety led to a project that tests a temporary change for a turn radius on US 60 and Bridge St and also additional safety improvements along Bridge St. The team is planning on making adjustments to the Bridge St component of the installation to respond to community input, but hopes to keep the project in as long as possible to maintain the safety benefits. The team made decisions throughout the project with an eye on their shared long-term goals, to continue to work together for more robust Complete Streets work in the city and the district. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SGA-KY-CSLA_final.pdf#page=25">Read the case study here &gt;&gt;</a>
<h4>Winchester</h4>
The Winchester team’s goals were to improve safety through a demonstration project, learn and improve on the processes to do so, and build support for this work, especially from elected officials, city staff, and the public. The team selected KY-627/Boone Avenue and College Street as the project site, a wide street in a residential neighborhood with heavy truck traffic, though it’s a primary route to the nearby schools. The team gathered public input on the project at a meeting near the site, which emphasized a long-standing need for safety improvements on Boone Ave. The project aims to improve safety at the intersection by slowing speeds and marking space through crosswalks, bumpouts, and bike lanes, and the momentum around this site has already led to the city installing permanent curb ramps. <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SGA-KY-CSLA_final.pdf#page=29">Read the case study here &gt;&gt;</a>
These projects are scheduled for installation in late summer 2025, so stay tuned to learn more about the quick-build project outcomes!
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.

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A <a href="https://dc.citycast.fm/podcasts/ddot-answers-our-burning-transportation-questions">recent interview</a> in which DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum discussed transportation in DC set off numerous alarm bells for us at Smart Growth America. The remarks are disappointing on their own and suggest a shocking lack of understanding of (or interest in) street safety. They also call into question her credibility and highlight a lack of strong local leadership.
DC is a great city for walking, biking, and taking transit, but the opinions expressed in the interview, as well as some of the actions we are seeing on the ground, worry us that DDOT is caving to political pressures and the city is stepping back from some of the key things that make it great. Unfortunately, this is all too common when local leaders fail to rise to the challenge of shepherding their communities to a brighter future, and instead settle for a car-oriented status quo.
<h3>On Complete Streets</h3>
“There&#8217;s been a shift in thinking over the past few years. There used to be a real push for Complete Streets. And that concept was &#8216;we need streets to be all things to all users.&#8217; I believe the reality is the roads just don&#8217;t have the dimensions to be all things to all users.&#8221; &#8211; DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum
This makes Complete Streets sound like an unrealistic luxury–a red carpet on every street. This is not what the Complete Streets approach proposes, and as the stewards of the Complete Streets movement, we should know. What <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/programs-and-coalitions/national-complete-streets-coalition/about/">Complete Streets</a> actually means is that we think about the different ways people get around and make sure they can do it safely. If they need to walk, bike, take transit, or use a mobility device, they shouldn’t have to risk their lives or be horribly inconvenienced. We have designed and built our streets with drivers in mind, the Complete Streets approach simply asks that we extend that same level of priority and protection to everyone who uses them.
DC has had a <a href="https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/50-2381">Complete Streets policy</a> for the past 15 years, and DDOT has operated under this paradigm (sometimes more, sometimes less) since then. We also know that when transportation departments decide that they don’t have the “dimensions” to accommodate all users, the default is ALWAYS to accommodate cars first and foremost.
<h3>On Vision Zero</h3>
&#8220;Every single fatality is a tragedy. There are very little tools that we have in our toolkit to address the nature of these fatalities. Whether it&#8217;s an impaired driver, a distracted, or a reckless driver. The fatalities tend to be based on extreme antisocial behavior. Incredibly high speeds, and there is no engineering tool, or even traffic cameras that can solve this problem&#8230;This is not something that, as a transportation department, we can get down to zero.&#8221; &#8211; DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum
Here, the director attempts to shift blame for dangerous roads and essentially throws up her hands. What can be done when people insist on behaving recklessly and irresponsibly? My immediate reaction to these statements is to ask, if zero is an unrealistic number, what would be an appropriate target for road deaths and serious injuries in DC? What is the reasonable amount of tragedy and pain we should accept? Furthermore, the claim that DDOT has no “engineering tool” to address this issue is an odd take. There are tons of proven <a href="https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven-safety-countermeasures">strategies to make roads safer.</a> And we at SGA point to numerous, clear, and identifiable patterns that make our roads <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/signature-reports/dangerous-by-design/">dangerous by design.</a>
Here, the director gives an anecdote about a recent fatality involving an unlicensed, reckless driver in a stolen vehicle on I-295 to show the inevitability of road deaths. As long as we are cherry-picking cases to illustrate arguments, let me tell you about a fatality that happened in my neighborhood. In April 2025, a 74-year-old woman was crossing the street at 6th and M Street SW (in the crosswalk with the signal) when she was hit and killed by an SUV making a left turn. Unfortunately, this was an event foretold—residents had been <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/traffic/residents-demand-action-deadly-pedestrian-crash-southwest-dc/65-841a5e17-1f74-4bfa-85ce-7056b94a833c">raising concerns about this dangerous intersection for years</a>. Furthermore, at the time of the crash, there had been two other fatalities and 19 others injured at the same intersection. The intersection’s wide dimensions, with multiple lanes in each direction, as well as permitted left and U-turns, mean that cars frequently travel at high speeds and make fast, sweeping turns.
I’ve personally had two close calls at this intersection in the past two months. In both cases, SUVs turned left right in front of me while I was in the crosswalk without even slowing down. DDOT is now apparently <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/ddot-dc-washington-southwest-intersection-pedestrian-killed/65-fe60f93d-1384-4f19-9170-b304df146323">working on improvements</a> like adjusting bike lanes and removing parking in the area, but there are other tactics that have proven effective, <a href="https://dcist.com/story/19/01/17/d-c-hopes-these-pylons-will-reduce-crashes-during-left-hand-turns/">including here in DC</a>. It is just a shame that it took a tragedy to spur action.
<figure id="attachment_106919" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106919" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-106919" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/unnamed-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/unnamed-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/unnamed-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/unnamed-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/unnamed-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/unnamed.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-106919" class="wp-caption-text">Intersection at 6th and M Street SW.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>What does this all mean?</h3>
In the current political context, local leadership is more important than ever. At SGA, we have seen <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/local-champions-are-what-drives-the-change-we-need-in-our-communities/">strong examples of bold local champions</a> who push against the status quo and hold firm on the things that will make their communities safer, stronger, and healthier. Unfortunately, those qualities are lacking in DC leadership. Just how much blame to give Kershbaum, and how much to her boss—a mayor whom critics argue <a href="https://ggwash.org/view/94038/do-something-the-week-of-june-17-2024#:~:text=Transportation%20is%20not%20and%20has%20never%20been%20a%20concern%20for%20Bowser%2C%20and%20I%20don%E2%80%99t%20delude%20myself%20into%20thinking%20that%20she%E2%80%99ll%20care%20about%20it%2C%20ever.">does not prioritize transportation</a>—is debatable. But in any case, the remarks above not only validate <a href="https://www.smartergrowth.net/better-public-transit/csg-testimony-director-of-the-district-department-of-transportation-sharon-kershbaum-confirmation-resolution-of-2024-dc/">concerns about Director Kershbaum’s appointment</a>, they also signal worrying directions for the department going forward.
I wish I could say that they were just words, but her actions as director seem to match them. Kershbaum repeatedly makes decisions that show that safety is not a top priority, and she prefers the status quo over actions that would make our streets safer. She seems to be either unable or unwilling to educate herself on some of the established and emerging best practices in transportation safety. For example, in the interview, she dismisses the danger of right-on-red turns (now somehow <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/08/16/culture-war-traffic-lights-republicans-00174179">a matter of national debate</a>) simply because soft left turns are more dangerous. This is like the surgeon general declaring that we shouldn’t worry about cancer because heart disease kills more people. However, <a href="https://transweb.sjsu.edu/press/Safer-Intersections-Reassessing-RTOR-Policies">right turns are in fact dangerous</a> for everyone, but especially for pedestrians and bicyclists. The DC city council has banned right-on-red turns, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/11/25/dc-right-on-red-ban-dispute/">but DDOT will not enforce the rule.</a>
Furthermore, Director Kershbaum has shown that the safety of bicyclists is not a priority. Prior to her appointment as director, Kershbaum served as acting director of DDOT and played an important role in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2024/09/17/ddot-director-confirmed-sharon-kershbaum/">killing the Connecticut Avenue bike lane project</a>. And just last month, she justified the removal of infrastructure to protect bicyclists on Arizona Avenue because <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/06/12/arizona-bike-lane-dc/">it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing</a>. The director of DDOT is a demanding job, and anyone in this role will face pressures, from car drivers who don’t want to share the road to members of the federal government flexing their power and pressuring local governments to do things that are against common sense and will cause harm (e.g., the plans to <a href="https://usa.streetsblog.org/2025/03/12/breaking-u-s-dot-orders-review-of-all-grants-related-to-green-infrastructure-bikes">review and halt transportation investments</a> based on concerns about DEIA or climate). We need officials who will stand up for the things that work. What we have seen from Director Kershbaum proves that she lacks the knowledge, or backbone, for this.

Bad leadership from DDOT will result in more dangerous streets 

Press-Release

Washington, D.C. (July 29) — Late last week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs introduced the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, a sweeping bipartisan proposal aimed at addressing the nation’s housing crisis.
Set for committee consideration today, the bill aims to remove barriers to housing development through zoning and land use reforms, pre-approved housing designs, and incentives for pro-housing policies along transit corridors. The bill reflects many of Smart Growth America’s core priorities: reducing regulatory barriers, advancing zoning reform, promoting housing near transit, and ensuring communities of all sizes have the tools to support their needs.
<blockquote>
“The U.S. is facing its greatest housing affordability crisis in generations. Federal leadership is essential to building more homes in the places people want them, financing them more effectively, and creating communities where everyone can thrive. By removing red tape and supporting new programs, this bill helps create the conditions needed for people to find a home in a place that works for them, at every stage of life.” &#8211;Beth Osborne, interim President and CEO, Smart Growth America
</blockquote>
This bipartisan bill represents the most significant effort in decades for Congress to take a proactive role in shaping local land use policy. The ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 includes provisions to reduce red tape, deliver new tools and programs to support housing development, and help communities direct growth to well-connected areas.
“We applaud Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Warren, and the Senate Banking Committee for their historic leadership in taking on zoning and land use—issues that have long been neglected at the federal level,” Osborne added. “This is a critical signal that Congress recognizes the role it can play in helping states and communities support housing development that improves affordability and expands access to opportunity.”
While the bill’s future beyond committee consideration is still uncertain, Smart Growth America urges Congress to build on this momentum and advance policies that expand housing access and affordability, support connected communities, and meet the scale of the housing crisis with bold action.
[alert type=&#8221;info&#8221;]<a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/the-100-year-wait-the-federal-government-returns-to-land-use-policy-in-full-force-with-the-introduction-of-sweeping-bipartisan-housing-package/">Learn more about the smart growth priorities included in this bill.</a>[/alert]

Housing

Housing and Development

Press Release

Smart Growth Legislation

Press release: Smart Growth America applauds bipartisan Senate housing package, a step toward pro-housing federal leadership

Advocacy

Land Use and Development

Zoning

Capitol for Chapter Cover

A new sweeping bipartisan housing package aimed at removing barriers to housing development is set for action in a key Senate committee. What’s in the bill, and can it pass?
Late last Thursday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs released a <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/minority/scott-warren-announce-markup-of-landmark-bipartisan-housing-legislation-from-banking-committee-members">sweeping bipartisan housing package</a>, entitled the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, and announced their plans to consider it in committee on Tuesday, July 29th. The package includes SGA priority legislation that would promote best practices for zoning and land use, support the streamlining of local housing production through the adoption of pre-approved housing designs, and incentivize pro-housing policies along transit routes. In addition, the expansive legislation would modify or create a number of new programs, implement new provisions to streamline various regulations to remove red tape that limits housing production, and institute a suite of accountability and transparency-focused reforms.
The U.S. is facing its greatest housing affordability and access crisis in generations, and federal leadership is essential to building more homes, supporting affordability, and creating communities where everyone can thrive. New federal programs and resources should seek to reduce regulatory barriers, introduce innovative programs to deliver much-needed housing, and support states and cities to direct housing development to well-connected locations that boost both economic opportunity and quality of life.
<a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Smart-Growth-Provisions-in-road-to-housing-act-of-2025.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-106906 aligncenter" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Smart-Growth-Provisions-in-road-to-housing-act-of-2025.png" alt="" width="600" height="503" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Smart-Growth-Provisions-in-road-to-housing-act-of-2025.png 940w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Smart-Growth-Provisions-in-road-to-housing-act-of-2025-300x251.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Smart-Growth-Provisions-in-road-to-housing-act-of-2025-768x644.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></a>
The significance of the conscious focus on land use and zoning in the legislation can’t be overstated. The federal government helped shape decades of land use and planning via the 1920s-era Standard State Zoning Enabling Act, but has since played a much less proactive role in influencing land use decision-making at the local level. While there have been forays into the policy space in the interim at the federal level such as the recent creation of the <a href="https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/CPD/documents/FY24_PRO_Housing_Summary%20Sheet.pdf">Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing)</a> grant program, the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 is the first time in decades that Congress has stepped up and embraced the federal role in supporting pro-housing local land use regulations in a sweeping, bipartisan nature. While the future of the package beyond committee consideration is unclear, the bipartisan agreement and momentum for federal land use leadership that incentivizes unlocking housing production through zoning reform is a win in and of itself.
[alert type=“info”] Your voice matters. Building momentum for this historic and urgently needed bipartisan legislation will require direct action from pro-housing stakeholders, and particularly smart growth advocates.
<a href="https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member">Contact your members of Congress</a> to share your support for the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, or the provisions you think will have the biggest impact in your community. Let them know how this legislation can help your community build more homes in the right places, improve affordability, and create thriving communities for people to call home. [/alert]
<h2>Land use and zoning provisions</h2>
The bill includes versions of three SGA-endorsed bills, two of which were our top land-use priorities for this Congress. The first priority bill, the <a href="https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/senators-crapo-blunt-rochester-fetterman-and-tillis-introduce-bipartisan-bicameral-housing-supply-frameworks-act">Housing Supply Frameworks Act</a>, originally introduced by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), John Fetterman (D-PA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Representatives Mike Flood (R-NE) and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), would provide resources to communities to help overhaul their local zoning regulations and provide best practices and guidelines for state and local zoning frameworks to reduce regulatory barriers to housing production.
The second priority bill included in the package, the <a href="https://www.bluntrochester.senate.gov/press-releases/news-senators-blunt-rochester-and-moreno-introduce-bipartisan-bill-to-streamline-housing-construction/">Accelerating Home Building Act</a>, was originally introduced by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and would help communities cut through red tape and open new pathways for development by supporting community-driven efforts to create pre-reviewed building designs.
A version of the <a href="https://blakemoore.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-moore-peters-reintroduce-legislation-to-help-tackle-americas-housing-crisis-boost-public-transit-use">Build More Housing Near Transit Act</a> was also endorsed by SGA and included in the package. That provision would encourage pro-housing policies along transit lines by providing a score boost for applications for federal transit funding that include efforts like reducing or eliminating parking minimums and minimum lot sizes or increasing the number of homes permitted to be constructed under a by-right approval process for areas along the route. That freestanding legislation was introduced by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Jim Banks (R-IN), and Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and Scott Peters (D-CA).
In other positive land use news, the legislation would also create a new innovation fund, authorized at $200 million per year, that is available to communities that have increased their local housing supply. These funds can be used to support basic infrastructure investments as well as initiatives “that facilitate the expansion of the supply of attainable housing”, which explicitly includes increasing by-right uses, revisions or eliminations of parking requirements, density incentives, streamlining regulatory reviews, and zoning reform more broadly.
Lastly, the bill includes a provision to significantly ease environmental review requirements for infill housing and certain other housing development. To qualify as infill development, this provision explicitly requires that the land be within the geographic limits of a municipality, adequately served by existing utilities and public services, and located on a site of previously disturbed land of not more than 5 acres and substantially surrounded by residential or commercial development to qualify as an infill project. It provides the strongest exclusions for projects that rehabilitate or build 1-to-4 unit residential buildings generally, but also includes exemptions for any infill construction or rehabilitation project, the rehabilitation or construction of projects with 5 to 15 homes, certain office to residential conversions, and acquisitions of open space or residential property for conversion to open space to support the relocation of residents living in high-risk areas. Further reforms to the environmental review process, in future legislation or administrative action, would be a beneficial supplement to the legislation as drafted and would ensure larger-scale housing projects also see some regulatory relief.
<h2>Modifications to existing programs and creation of new programs</h2>
Beyond the land use-focused provisions, the legislation also includes a wide range of changes and reauthorizations of existing programs and creates new programs focused on investing in existing communities, makes permanent an existing program that assists communities in recovering from disasters, and modernizes a number of important legacy programs such as the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.
Among the new programs are two focused on investing in housing for existing communities and preserving existing homes: a new pilot program that looks to stabilize households and neighborhoods by funding basic home repairs, and a pilot program to convert vacant and abandoned buildings into much-needed housing. If funded, these pilots would support smart growth by helping existing homeowners stay in safe and stabilized homes in their neighborhoods and incentivizing the redevelopment and return to productive use of vacant properties.
The bill also provides tools to help communities recover from disasters and prepare for future risks—a key smart growth objective—by permanently authorizing the Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, creating the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency to administer CDBG-DR, and creating a Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund to provide grants to communities to support disaster recovery efforts. In addition, the bill tasks HUD with promoting best practices in mitigation and resilient land-use planning.
Other provisions focused on making changes to existing programs include:
<ul>
<li>Adjustments to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, including removing the cap on the number of units the program can include</li>
<li>A provision enabling the HUD Secretary to give additional weight to competitive grant applications that are located in or primarily serve a designated Opportunity Zone</li>
<li>Reforms on the banking and capital side of housing finance, including increases to the Public Welfare Investment cap at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal</li>
<li>Reserve from 15% to 20% in an effort to expand the capacity of banks to invest in affordable housing; an assessment of and potential reworking of multifamily loan limits;</li>
<li>A provision that seeks to incentivize housing production by adjusting CDBG allocations to provide a bonus for housing production and a 10 percent decrease in CDBG allocations for jurisdictions “below the median housing growth improvement rate.”</li>
<li>An authorization of HUD’s Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Program, which provides grants to local jurisdictions to support the preservation and stabilization of manufactured housing communities.</li>
<li>Reauthorizes the HOME Investment Partnerships Program with a collection of reforms</li>
<li>A provision based on the bipartisan <a href="https://www.rounds.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/rounds-smith-reintroduce-bipartisan-rural-housing-legislation">Rural Housing Service Reform Act</a> that would help preserve affordable housing in rural areas by reforming requirements for certain USDA-supported homes</li>
<li>Authorization for a new Moving to Work cohort, intended to allow an additional 25 public housing agencies to join the flexibility program</li>
<li>Provisions aimed at reducing homelessness, including adjustments to standing homelessness assistance programs and the creation of a demonstration program to support collaborations between housing providers and healthcare organizations to provide housing-related supportive services</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
<h2>Streamlining and removing red tape</h2>
In addition to addressing the way land use regulations limit housing, the legislation also includes a number of provisions aimed at further streamlining different kinds of projects and removing red tape. These include allowing for state assumption of responsibility for environmental review for certain HUD-funded projects, updating the federal definition of manufactured housing, making adjustments to federal housing finance regulations to support the financing of manufactured and modular housing, and provisions aimed at spurring more small-dollar mortgage lending. They also include reforms aimed at expanding the pool of qualified appraisers, streamlining HUD’s inspection process, and provisions to encourage better inter-agency collaboration to improve the efficiency of the delivery of housing programs.
SGA’s take: A key priority of smart growth is removing barriers to what can be built and where. We support efforts to streamline the development process because making it easier and more efficient to build homes lowers costs and ensures more people can benefit from new housing investments sooner.
<h2>Accountability and transparency provisions</h2>
The final collection of provisions included in the bill is broadly focused on government accountability and transparency. On the program implementation side, these include adjustments to the oversight of housing counseling agencies and counselors, a study of the benefits and challenges of work requirements on public housing agencies, provisions intended to improve veterans awareness of housing financing programs available through the Veterans Administration, and new requirements aimed at supporting consumer-requested second appraisals. On the broader reporting and accountability side, the bill would require annual congressional testimony from specific housing regulators and the Interagency Council on Homelessness as well as create an Inspector General for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (also known as NeighborWorks).
SGA’s take: Accountability is essential to ensure that programs funded with taxpayer dollars deliver on their promises and provide real benefits to households in need of assistance. We support transparency and oversight measures that help track impact, protect community members, and make sure the housing programs work as intended.
<h2>Next steps</h2>
The unveiling of the bipartisan legislation and the scheduled markup are significant steps forward for housing policy broadly and the bill specifically, but a long path remains before it is signed into law. After committee consideration, the legislation would need to pass the House and Senate floors, either as a freestanding bill or as an addendum to a larger piece of legislation. Through this process, it could be amended or trimmed down significantly. In addition, the bill doesn’t contain any funding for the grant programs it authorizes–that would instead have to come through a different vehicle, likely either a yearly appropriations bill or a reconciliation bill. The one-two punch required to stand up some of the new programs (authorize, then appropriate) can delay their implementation. Thus, even if passed in committee, the bill will require a sustained push from stakeholders and advocates and further Congressional action to become a reality. Stay tuned to SGA newsletters for updates on the package and <a href="https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member">reach out to your legislator</a> to highlight the legislation and lay the groundwork for future engagement.
While the path forward remains complex, the introduction and Senate hearing on the legislation is a serious win for smart growth advocates focused on supporting changes in local land use policy and spurring equitable growth in their communities.
&nbsp;

The 100-year wait: The federal government returns to land use policy in full force with the introduction of sweeping bipartisan housing package 

Just Blue (1)

<a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/services/cc-application-form/">Smart Growth America is now accepting applications for the second round of our Community Connectors program,</a> a national initiative helping small and mid-sized cities repair the damage caused by divisive and dangerous roads. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this program supports locally led efforts to reconnect communities and improve street safety—particularly in neighborhoods harmed by past infrastructure decisions.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-106781" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Community-Connectors-202526-1024x576.png" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Community-Connectors-202526-1024x576.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Community-Connectors-202526-300x169.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Community-Connectors-202526-768x432.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Community-Connectors-202526-1536x864.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Community-Connectors-202526.png 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Across the country, neighborhoods have been split apart by highways and high-speed roads that were built through the heart of communities—especially Black and Brown neighborhoods—under the guise of progress. These roads disconnect families, harm local economies, and make it dangerous or impossible for people to walk, bike, or access daily needs safely without a car.
While Congress recently rescinded over $2.4 billion from the <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/reconnecting-communities">Reconnecting Communities program</a>—including funding already promised to local projects—this moment demands that we keep pushing forward.
Communities can still work at the local and state levels to repair the harm. Our second year of the Community Connectors program will help cities and community-based organizations plan and implement people-centered road redesigns, such as <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/programs-and-coalitions/national-complete-streets-coalition/quick-build-demonstration-projects/">Complete Streets and quick builds</a>, as well as strengthen relationships between city leaders and community members.
[button type=&#8221;info&#8221; block=&#8221;true&#8221; size=&#8221;lg&#8221; link=&#8221;https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Yfn4hlzKRhOAsreWdFnQEQ#/registration&#8221;]Register for our upcoming webinar on August 13th to learn more about the program! [/button]
We’re seeking three teams from cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000 to join a yearlong cohort (Sept 2025–June 2026) focused on transforming divisive or dangerous arterial roads. Each team—which must be made up of a local government and a community-based organization—will receive:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">$25,000 to implement a temporary safety demonstration project,</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Up to $20,000 in expert design support, and</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Full travel costs to a required in-person convening in fall 2025. 
</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
Don’t miss an opportunity to join a peer learning cohort and gain hands-on experience making people-centered, equity-driven changes, setting the stage for longer-term transformation.
Applications are due by August 31, 2025. <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/services/cc-application-form/">Click here to apply.</a>

Community Connectors

quick-build projects

Call for applications for the Community Connectors program

Advancing Racial Equity

harrisonburg 2

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>
&nbsp;

Reconnecting Harrisonburg, VA

Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), Smart Growth America (SGA) is seeking proposals from qualified firms or individuals to provide technical expertise on designing and implementing quick-build street safety demonstration projects. Services will run from fall 2025 to June 2026 and include workshop facilitation, technical advice, and design services. The deadline to submit is August 22, 2025, at 5 p.m. Eastern.
[alert type=&#8221;info&#8221;] Want to know more about this work or the program you would be supporting? <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/services/community-connectors-2/">Learn more here!</a> [/alert]
<h3>Background</h3>
Smart Growth America helps create healthy, prosperous, and resilient places to live for all people through research, advocacy, and direct community support. Our work spans housing and land use, transportation, and economic development to find solutions to communities’ most pressing needs. The Thriving Communities team advances this vision by supporting communities as they tackle issues related to transportation, public health, and equity. One strategy available to achieve this is through <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/programs-and-coalitions/national-complete-streets-coalition/quick-build-demonstration-projects/">quick-build demonstrations</a>, temporary installations to test new street designs that improve safety and accessibility. 
In 2025, Smart Growth America, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will bring together three communities to repair damage from divisive infrastructure. This program will build on SGA’s previous <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/services/grants/overview/">Community Connectors program</a> and the organization’s experience with the <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">Complete Streets Leadership Academy</a>. The program consists of virtual capacity-building sessions, a 2-day in-person workshop, and community support as participants work together to design and implement a quick-build demonstration to improve safety and reconnect divided neighborhoods. Making tangible changes to streets, even if temporary, is a powerful way to demonstrate that people’s lives matter and that solving the crisis of traffic fatalities and severe injuries needs creativity, immediate action, and commitment. 
<h3>Project goals and scope of services  </h3>
Smart Growth America will launch this effort in the fall of 2025, with three participating communities selected through a competitive application process. The successful technical expert will be expected to participate in and support the virtual capacity-building sessions, a 2-day in-person workshop, and coaching of the individual communities as they come together to successfully implement a quick-build demonstration. 
Essential responsibilities for this role include the following tasks and deliverables:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Participate in planning calls with the local points of contact throughout the program, as well as internal planning calls with SGA.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Work closely with SGA to refine the overall workshop curriculum. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Develop, present, and facilitate trainings within virtual sessions on specific topics identified in collaboration with SGA. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Travel to one of the participating communities for a 2-day workshop and serve as a co-facilitator of the workshop with Smart Growth America. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Attend up to six 2-hour virtual workshop sessions and other meetings as needed (whether presenting or not) to support the facilitation of breakout exercises.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Provide occasional direct support and guidance to the participating community teams on an as-needed basis as they plan the quick-build projects.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Provide design and technical services, including providing concept drawings and/or reviewing design plans, advising on design standards, sharing research and existing specs for multimodal treatments/infrastructure, and other design services as requested by the client. Proposals should include the rate and number of hours available within the budget for these services.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Review written deliverables (project case studies and brief recommendations) produced by SGA at the conclusion of the program.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
<h3>Budget</h3>
Work is planned to begin upon selection and conclude by June 15, 2026. The budget for the technical experts for this project is between $50,000 and $70,000 for the consultant to develop and implement the project deliverables. Consultant travel, lodging, and meals to participate in the in-person workshop must be included in the maximum budget.  Outside of the in-person workshop, it is expected that all work will be completed remotely. Payment will occur on a monthly basis upon receipt of invoices submitted for payment and reimbursement. The budget should include a breakdown of costs demonstrating the amount requested for support for the full cohort (i.e. virtual session facilitation) and support for individual teams (i.e. time for individual design support). 
SGA will kick off a second year of the program in July 2026 with at least 3 more cities. SGA and the selected technical expert may discuss extending the existing agreement into year two based on how the first year goes. 
<h3>Evaluation criteria</h3>
SGA is seeking a diverse pool of proposals. Black, Indigenous, and people of color-led and women-owned companies are encouraged to apply. Applicants will be selected based on the following desired criteria:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Substantial experience and thought leadership around topics related to Complete Streets and quick-build demonstrations, including designing for activity-friendly routes, community engagement, data collection, and advancing projects through all stages from development to installation;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Meaningful experience working in and with transportation agencies (experience with state departments of transportation preferred);</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Experience working and trust-building in and/or with community-based organizations and advocates working to advance Complete Streets and activity-friendly routes; </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Proposed budget.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
<h3>Proposal submission</h3>
Interested applicants should submit their proposal via email to Heidi Simon (<a href="mailto:hsimon@smartgrowthamerica.org">hsimon@smartgrowthamerica.org</a>) by August 22, 2025, at 5 p.m. Eastern.
Proposals should be formatted as a single PDF and include: 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Overview: A letter of interest of no more than one page, describing your interest and relevant experience in this opportunity. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Background: Brief biographies of key staff, descriptions of three past projects relevant to this RFP and Smart Growth America that have been completed in the past five (5) years, and other knowledge the organization should have in the selection process. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Proposed budget and rates: Proposers are encouraged to submit a proposed budget at their best terms, including hourly rate(s) and the estimated cost breakdown to produce the tasks and deliverables described above. Actual contract hours will be determined in collaboration with SGA after selection. </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">References: A list of three professional references. At least one reference should be a current/former client.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
<h3>Anticipated selection timeline</h3>
If interviews are necessary, the shortlisted firms or individuals will be invited to participate in an interview process with an evaluation committee, to be scheduled during the week of September 1, 2025 (tentative). SGA reserves the right to award this contract based on initial proposals received without formal interviews and to award all or part of this project to one or more firms. 
SGA will make a selection by the week of September 12, 2025, and will notify candidates after selection is complete. Questions regarding the RFP should be sent to Heidi Simon (<a href="mailto:hsimon@smartgrowthamerica.org">hsimon@smartgrowthamerica.org</a>) by August 15, 2025.

Request for Proposals

Request for proposals: Quick-Build Demonstration Technical Experts

green streets 2

Over the past decade, more communities have introduced policies that integrate both Complete Streets and Green Streets. These approaches offer a range of environmental benefits while reinforcing the goals of the Complete Streets movement. These efforts show how streetscapes can be designed not only for safety and mobility, but also to enhance sustainability and climate resilience.
<h3>What are Green Streets? </h3>
Roads are a major source of <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/pollution-and-the-pavement/">pollution</a> in urban environments: asphalt releases <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abb9785">compounds</a> linked to asthma and car tires are increasingly <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/tire-pollution-toxic-chemicals">linked</a> to microplastics and toxic chemicals in waterways. Pavement is a well-known contributor to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/what-are-heat-islands">heat island effect</a>, where urban areas are significantly hotter on average than the vegetated surrounding areas, and to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/expanding-paved-areas-has-an-outsize-effect-on-urban-flooding1/">urban flooding</a>, since water can’t soak into the ground when it’s covered. Green Streets not only reduce the area of paved surfaces, but actively mitigate many of the harmful environmental and public health impacts of roads, while improving people’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/social-benefits-green-infrastructure">health and wellbeing</a>.
Using the public right-of-way for stormwater infrastructure, street trees, and other environmental strategies makes a street a Green Street. Some other examples include: planted bump outs and chicanes, bioswales along the curb, parklets, and more. These components are designed to work with the ecosystem, such as the soil type and natural flow of water, for the greatest benefit to habitats, air and water quality, and public health and wellbeing. Green Streets bring an ecological component into transportation planning, making the impact of our cities on the natural environment more careful, thoughtful, and restorative.
<figure id="attachment_106700" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106700" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-106700" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-1-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-1-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-1-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-1-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-1-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-1.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-106700" class="wp-caption-text">Trees and vegetation along this street in Washington, DC provide shade and other benefits.</figcaption></figure>
[alert type=&#8221;info&#8221;] Want to learn more? Check out EPA’s <a href="https://www.epa.gov/G3/learn-about-green-streets">Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns Initiative</a> and NACTO’s <a href="https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-stormwater-guide/">Urban Street Stormwater Guide</a>. [/alert]
<h3>Complete and Green Streets go hand-in-hand</h3>
Green Streets and Complete Streets work in tandem, helping to ensure that  streets are designed to serve people and the planet. Building a Complete Streets network requires accommodating all road users in every project. Green Streets offer a sustainable way to build this network without worsening environmental impacts. Integrating green infrastructure into Complete Streets policies delivers measurable benefits. Planted buffers can protect bike lanes, while bioswales within chicanes help slow traffic. Street trees add visual friction to reduce vehicle speeds and offer essential shade for pedestrians and cyclists. Using Green Streets as part of Complete Streets policies brings even more benefits to all users and improves the surrounding environment for everyone.
<figure id="attachment_106701" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106701" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-106701" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-2-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-2-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-2-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-2-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-2-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-2.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-106701" class="wp-caption-text">Trees and other vegetation provide environmental and road safety benefits in this Washington, DC neighborhood.</figcaption></figure>
<h4>Green Streets in Nashville</h4>
Nashville’s Executive Order Number 045: Green and Complete Streets Policy stands out as <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/nashville-tn-building-on-the-foundation/">one of this year’s top-scoring examples in SGA&#8217;s 2025 Best Complete Streets Policies report.</a> This policy weaves together environmental, public health, and well-being objectives with Green Streets strategies, ensuring that sustainability is central to every project. Guided by its <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/metro-clerk/legal-resources/executive-orders/mayor-freddie-oconnell/fo045#:~:text=ENVIRONMENT%20AND%20HEALTH">“Environment and Health” principle</a>, the policy targets improvements in air quality, stormwater management, and urban heat reduction through initiatives like planting shade trees and vegetation—all while promoting active transportation. By embedding green infrastructure at the core of its project selection, Nashville offers a compelling model for building healthier, more resilient communities. 
<figure id="attachment_106702" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106702" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-106702" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-3-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-3-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-3-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-3-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/green-streets-3.png 1396w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-106702" class="wp-caption-text">A Complete Streets project <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/transportation/projects/bikeways/12th-avenue-south">under construction in Nashville</a> that includes bioswales that help water management while also protecting cyclists and sidewalk users.</figcaption></figure>

Best Complete Streets Policies

Green streets

Nashville

Complete Streets and Green Streets

TN 3

Tennessee’s participation in the <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">2023 Complete Streets Leadership Academy</a> sparked a wave of lasting change. From local safety demonstrations to statewide research and implementation, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has been partnering with decision-makers in Chattanooga, Memphis, and Nashville to continue the momentum in making safer streets for everyone.
<h3>Background</h3>
SGA’s <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/signature-reports/dangerous-by-design/">Dangerous by Design</a> report found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ys0g8gvFUk&amp;t=1s">Memphis</a> to be the deadliest metro area for pedestrians, based on fatality rates from 2018 to 2022, and Tennessee the 11th most dangerous state. In 2023, TDOT worked with the city governments of Chattanooga, Memphis, and Nashville to install quick-build demonstration projects on state–owned roads with support from Smart Growth America’s CSLA. Prior to the CSLA, TDOT had been implementing a <a href="https://www.tn.gov/tdot/multimodal-transportation-resources/bicycle-and-pedestrian-program/pedestrian-road-safety-initiative.html">Pedestrian Road Safety Initiative</a> (PRSI) to address dangerous crossings with safety countermeasures like pedestrian hybrid beacons, refuge islands, and other interventions. These projects took around three years to design and install, and Tennessee communities urgently needed safety improvements with a faster turnaround, making quick-build demonstration projects a good fit for TDOT’s safety effort toolkit.
[alert type=&#8221;info&#8221;] Quick-build demonstration projects are temporary installations that test new strategies to improve safety and access for people traveling, particularly people walking, biking, and rolling. They can also be used to pilot Complete Streets strategies. <a href="http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/programs-and-coalitions/national-complete-streets-coalition/quick-build-demonstration-projects/">Learn more about quick builds here &gt;&gt;</a>
Pedestrian hybrid beacons are a traffic control device to help people cross mid-block. The beacons above the roadway are dark until someone crossing the street pushes a call button, then the lights flash yellow to catch the attention of drivers, then red to require drivers to stop. <a href="https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven-safety-countermeasures/pedestrian-hybrid-beacons">Learn more here &gt;&gt;</a>
Refuge islands are medians between lanes of traffic built for people to feel more comfortable when crossing. Islands reduce the exposure of pedestrians to moving traffic and can help people cross multiple lanes. <a href="https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven-safety-countermeasures/medians-and-pedestrian-refuge-islands-urban-and-suburban-areas">Learn more here &gt;&gt; </a>[/alert]
<h3>CSLA quick-build demonstration projects</h3>
Through the CSLA, the city teams chose temporary projects that held promise for long-term, permanent improvements, like corridors slated for PRSI improvements, while developing pathways for other demonstration projects. In <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/chattanooga-tn-csla/">Chattanooga</a>, improved crossings, a temporary refuge island, and paint on sidewalks made it safer for people to cross the road by catching the attention of drivers and demonstrated that a quick-build project can be effective on a small state road. <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/memphis-tn-csla/">Memphis’s</a> project site was anticipating a permanent pedestrian hybrid beacon through PRSI, so their quick-build project used a plastic pedestrian refuge island as a temporary improvement. Once the permanent island was installed, the city would be able to reuse the plastic refuge island elsewhere for future quick-build projects.
<figure id="attachment_106661" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106661" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-106661" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-1-1024x768.png" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-1-1024x768.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-1-300x225.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-1-768x576.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-1-1536x1152.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-1.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-106661" class="wp-caption-text">Participants at the in-person workshop for the 2023 TN CSLA.</figcaption></figure>
The <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/nashville-tn-csla/">Nashville</a> team selected Dickerson Pike as their project site because it was the most dangerous corridor in Tennessee for people walking and biking, based on TDOT data. A lot of organizations were already aware of the safety issues at this site and were ready to work together on this project. Nashville and TDOT worked with the <a href="https://www.civicdesigncenter.org/">Civic Design Center</a> for quick build experience,  <a href="https://www.walkbikenashville.org/">WalkBike Nashville</a> for design concepts, the artist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jamersonsgc/?hl=en">Charles Key</a> for murals, and the Tennessee Department of Health for additional funding to support the project. Marking crosswalks, adding a pedestrian island, and delineating driveway entrances through the quick build reduced speeds and crashes at the site and improved the yield rate of drivers waiting for pedestrians to cross, based on data collected by the city. This demonstration project is still in the ground today as the city completes designs for permanent improvements. 
<figure id="attachment_106660" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106660" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-106660" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-2-1024x767.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="767" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-2-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-2-768x575.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-2-1536x1150.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-2.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-106660" class="wp-caption-text">Neighborhood paint day for Chattanooga’s quick build. Source: Brandon Sutton.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>Building on the momentum</h3>
TDOT, Nashville, and other partners are keeping the momentum going from the 2023 quick builds in a variety of ways. TDOT is working with researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, part of the <a href="https://www.pedbikesafety.org/">Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety</a>, to develop <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/research/2023-24-25-one-pagers/2025---revised-one-pagers/RES2025-07%20Summary.pdf">statewide guidelines</a> for quick-build projects. These guidelines will be based on best practices identified from a literature review and from ongoing demonstration projects by the city of Knoxville. Knoxville’s quick-build projects are part of the city’s <a href="https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/engineering/transportation_engineering_division/visionzero">Vision Zero</a> program and the safety outcomes will be included in the statewide guidelines, as a way of front-loading data collection. The statewide guidelines will be for city staff to navigate two tracks: one to install quick builds on local roads and another for quick builds on state roads. The state road guidelines will use TDOT’s existing approved materials list to provide an easy reference point of materials and designs for safety improvements. The local road guidelines will be more flexible for cities to install creative safety projects and will be especially helpful for smaller cities without transportation staff. This guide will also be a useful reference for TDOT engineers to feel confident in knowing what to do when a city proposes a quick-build project on a state route. As quick-build projects are installed, the guide can be updated to reflect lessons learned in the process.
Nashville is continuing their pedestrian safety work by installing permanent safety improvements at the Dickerson Pike intersection. The permanent project will include a pedestrian signal for safer crossings and artistic sidewalks that catch the attention of drivers and keep the celebratory feeling of the quick build art. The quick-build project helped city engineers estimate the cost of a permanent project, which allowed the city to quickly identify funding opportunities for the full build. Nashville’s ongoing work includes a Complete Streets <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/nashville-tn-building-on-the-foundation/">policy update</a> and <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/NDOT-Complete_Streets_Implementation_Guide.pdf?ct=1713458758">implementation guide</a>, which scored second in SGA’s 2025 <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/signature-reports/best-complete-streets/">Best Complete Streets Policies Report</a>, a series of <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/transportation/projects/complete-streets">trainings</a> on Complete Streets topics, and quick-build projects in <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/transportation/projects/school-zones">school zones</a> and <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/transportation/projects/high-injury-network">high-injury intersections</a>.
<figure id="attachment_106659" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106659" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-106659" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-3-1024x576.png" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-3-1024x576.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-3-300x169.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-3-768x432.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-3-1536x864.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/TN-3.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-106659" class="wp-caption-text">Complete Streets project at Nashville’s Madison Station Boulevard. Source: Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure.</figcaption></figure>
The quick-build action doesn’t stop there, as regional organizations have gotten involved as well. The Greater Nashville Regional Council (<a href="https://www.gnrc.org/">GNRC</a>) supports local communities across fourteen counties in central Tennessee with planning and program development, including transportation. GNRC received a 2024 USDOT <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/grants/ss4a/cumulative-awards">Safe Streets and Roads for All</a> planning and demonstration grant to conduct quick-build demonstration projects and develop a safety action plan for the region. The structure of the action plan and the lessons learned from the quick builds can be used by smaller jurisdictions in implementing their own safety improvements. Between GNRC, Nashville, Knoxville, and TDOT, Tennessee has many more quick builds to come!
[alert type=&#8221;info&#8221;] Learn more about the 2023 Complete Streets Leadership Academy quick-build projects <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/complete-streets-leadership-academies-report/">here</a> and the 2025 Best Complete Streets Policies <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/signature-reports/best-complete-streets/">here</a>. Stay tuned for updates on this year’s CSLA quick-build projects in <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-center/2025-complete-streets-leadership-academy-launches-in-kentucky-this-spring/">Kentucky</a>! [/alert]
Thanks to Anna Dearman from Nashville Department of Transportation &amp; Multimodal Infrastructure, Daniel McDonnell and Will Rogers III from Greater Nashville Regional Council, and Dr. Chris Cherry from University of Tennessee, Knoxville for their insights.
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.

Chattanooga

Complete Streets Leadership Academies

Knoxville

Tennessee

Tennessee’s quick-build demonstration projects have lasting impacts

Transportation

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The Complete Streets approach prioritizes infrastructure that serves all users, and a strong Complete Streets policy specifies that vulnerable community members, including people with disabilities, are equitably considered throughout planning, design, and implementation.
Regardless of how people move through or process the world around them, they should be able to do so with few or no barriers. This is the meaning of accessibility. There are a wide range of mobility, visual, and cognitive disabilities that impact individuals in different ways and in varying degrees. For example, a disability can be permanent or temporary, visible or invisible, mild or severe.
One way to ensure streets are accessible is by providing clear language in Complete Streets policies about including and considering people with disabilities throughout the planning, design, and implementation phases of transportation projects. Overall, a majority of this year’s Complete Streets policies mention accessibility and/or persons with disabilities in some way. However, it is not enough to simply mention them; A strong policy must ensure that inclusion is mandatory and that there is no room for neglect or loopholes. This year’s batch of policies could have been strengthened by not only prioritizing these road users, but including more specifics on which organizations should be consulted on projects, how the disability community will be engaged, the performance measures that will track progress, and which specific design guidelines are required when designing projects.
There are some key policy components that foster improved accessibility. The following elements are taken directly from our <a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Complete-Streets-Policy-Framework.pdf">Complete Streets Policy Framework</a> and exemplify different ways accessibility can be integrated in a policy.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Element #1: Establishes commitment and vision
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">People with disabilities should be explicitly identified as a priority group.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Element #2: Prioritizes underinvested and underserved communities
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Criteria related to disability (such as proportion of residents with disabilities) can be used in project selection. </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Element #6: Adopts excellent design guidance
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Adopt Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) and other accessibility-focused materials to inform design choices. </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Element #9: Sets criteria for choosing projects 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Incentivize projects that improve accessibility. </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
In the policies reviewed for this report, there were several good examples of how ensuring accessibility and Complete Streets go hand in hand. Noting that disability is an important area to focus on is a great place to start when strengthening a Complete Streets policy. Clyde, Ohio, for example, noted “people with limited mobility and physical challenges” as a group that should be prioritized. 
When creating a policy, it’s important to coordinate with relevant advocates and community members to make accessibility a priority at every step of the Complete Streets process. In San Antonio, the city’s Complete Streets Coalition is made up of a number of organizations, including <a href="https://www.disabilitysa.org/">disABILITYsa</a>, which participated in the policy drafting. The policy itself ensures consistent collaboration through a Disability Access Office representative on their Complete Streets task force and project prioritization which specifically includes strategies that resolve barriers to engagement associated with disability. 
There are many ways that accessibility can be integrated into a Complete Streets policy, with the above examples only scratching the surface. Disability is not a monolith, so accessibility should not be one either. In all cases, though, engagement with the disability community and advocates is crucial when drafting and implementing a Complete Streets policy.

Complete Streets are accessible streets 

CZS ZEST Cohort 2025

Smart Growth America, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is proud to announce the inaugural cohort for our new national technical assistance program: Zoning for Equitable Solutions and Thriving Communities (ZEST). ZEST marks a pivotal step in our work to dismantle the structural inequities embedded in land-use policy. Through this program, we’re building a national network of community-based organizations focused on zoning reform for health equity, helping create healthy and prosperous communities across the country. 
Why focus on zoning reform to improve health equity? Health inequities didn’t appear out of thin air; they’re a <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/health-equity-and-the-built-environment/">direct result of zoning codes</a> that have dictated who gets to live where, who has access to healthy food, who has access to safe and affordable housing, and even a <a href="https://www.rwjf.org/en/insights/our-research/interactives/whereyouliveaffectshowlongyoulive.html">person’s life expectancy</a>. This is especially true for vulnerable groups like children, older adults, and communities of color. Because zoning codes are implemented at the local level, and many health inequities are a direct result of the restrictions that zoning places on communities, we believe community-based organizations are well-positioned to drive meaningful changes that can benefit their communities now.
To move the needle on health equity, we’re launching the ZEST technical assistance program, a national network of community-based organizations, and equipping them with the tools, knowledge, and technical support needed to drive zoning reform and create healthier, more prosperous communities. Many of these organizations are already leading the charge to improve health equity, we’re providing them with the zoning lens and tools to connect the dots and shift outcomes.
<h3>Program goals</h3>
ZEST empowers community-based organizations to tackle health inequities by providing education and capacity-building support to reform local land-use policies and strengthen community health. In addition to receiving education materials and conducting policy analysis, examples of the types of projects for this program include:
<ul>
<li>Expanding access to fresh, healthy food in underserved neighborhoods by supporting zoning changes that allow for local grocery stores, community gardens, and corner markets.</li>
<li>Developing a practical advocacy guide to help community members push for zoning policies that promote health, such as adopting “complete streets” policies and organizing events to showcase the benefits of walkable, bike-friendly spaces.</li>
<li>Working to change zoning laws so that everyone has access to affordable and suitable housing.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CZS-ZEST-Cohort-2025.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-106603" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CZS-ZEST-Cohort-2025-1024x576.png" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CZS-ZEST-Cohort-2025-1024x576.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CZS-ZEST-Cohort-2025-300x169.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CZS-ZEST-Cohort-2025-768x432.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CZS-ZEST-Cohort-2025-1536x864.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CZS-ZEST-Cohort-2025.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
<h3>The ZEST Technical Assistance Model</h3>
Recognizing that communities vary in readiness and capacity, we have organized the ZEST cohort into groups based on shared missions, focus areas, and zoning reform goals. 
The first cohort of seven organizations will receive in-depth technical support and strategic guidance to advance their active zoning reform and healthy equity efforts. The first cohort will receive tailored work plans, hands-on implementation support, and funding to attend our national convening on zoning and health equity dedicated to shared learning and collaboration. 
The list of organizations in the first cohort includes:
<ul>
<li>Elevated Chicago, Chicago, IL</li>
<li>Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Richmond, VA</li>
<li>Houston Land Bank, Houston, TX</li>
<li>IMPACT Community Action, Columbus, OH</li>
<li>Metropolitan United Methodist Church, Montgomery, AL</li>
<li>Partnership for Smarter Growth, Richmond, VA</li>
<li>Requity Foundation, Baltimore, MD</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
To round out the ZEST program, twelve additional organizations will receive lighter-touch technical assistance, resources, and support as they begin their journey into the zoning reform and health equity. The second cohort will benefit from educational tools tailored to groups new to the intersection of land use and health, along with virtual learning opportunities,  dedicated office hours, curated resources, and an invitation to the national convening. 
The list of organizations in the second cohort includes:
<ul>
<li>Blue Zones Project Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL</li>
<li>Connections for the Homeless, Evanston, IL</li>
<li>Downwinders at Risk Education Fund, Dallas, TX</li>
<li>Freedom Org, Tarboro, NC</li>
<li>Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah), Salt Lake City, UT</li>
<li>Local Initiatives Support Corporation &#8211; Puget Sound, Puget Sound, WA</li>
<li>Organized Uplifting Resources &amp; Strategies, McCormick, South Carolina</li>
<li>SAJE, Los Angeles, CA</li>
<li>The Clean Air Coalition of WNY, Buffalo, NY</li>
<li>The Rooted East Knoxville Collective, Knoxville, TN</li>
<li>Verde, Portland, OR</li>
<li>Women’s Resource Center, Newport, RI</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
All participating organizations will be invited to a national convening in Baltimore, MD, to share lessons, build momentum, and strengthen the growing movement for equitable zoning.
Zoning is more than a land use issue—it’s a public health issue. By rewriting the rules that shape where we live, what we build, and who benefits, ZEST is working to address long-standing inequities and support communities to create healthier, more prosperous, and more resilient places for everyone.
This isn’t just about changing policies on paper. It’s about building a coordinated, community-led movement to dismantle exclusionary zoning and advance justice, equity, and well-being from the ground up.

Equity

health

Announcing the Zoning for Equitable Solutions and Thriving Communities (ZEST) TA cohort 

New_MU_Development (2)

With generous support from the Gates Foundation, Smart Growth America (SGA) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) launched and completed the second cohort of the Counties for Housing Solutions (C4HS) initiative, continuing our commitment to helping counties spur economic development through actionable, locally-driven housing strategies.
Over the course of 13 weeks, a cohort of elected officials, planners, and stakeholders from eight counties—Baltimore City/County, MD, and Grafton County. NH, Cheshire County, NH, Chesterfield County, NH, Sullivan County, VA, Genesee County, MI, Honolulu City/County, HI, Mecklenburg County, NC, and Pierce County, WA—collaborated to create implementable affordable housing development plans in their communities.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-106592" src="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Counties-for-Housing-Solutions-1024x576.png" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Counties-for-Housing-Solutions-1024x576.png 1024w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Counties-for-Housing-Solutions-300x169.png 300w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Counties-for-Housing-Solutions-768x432.png 768w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Counties-for-Housing-Solutions-1536x864.png 1536w, https://wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Counties-for-Housing-Solutions.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Housing affordability is an issue that is top of mind for most Americans. In recent months, solutions that can lower housing costs and increase the supply of permanently affordable housing stock<a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/permanently-affordable-housing-has-support-both-republican-and-democratic-voters"> have received bipartisan support.</a> As local governments look to drive economic mobility in their communities, housing production offers a means to make progress for residents and local fiscal objectives. Housing construction has a positive ripple effect in communities—it <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/Housing-is-Critical-Infrastructure-Social-and-Economic-Benefits-of-Building-More-Housing-6-15-2021.pdf">creates new employment opportunities, provides new tax revenue for local governments, and increases consumer spending in local businesses.</a>
Through a mix of expert-led sessions, peer exchange, and hands-on technical support in both pre-development and development stages, cohort members explored how to repurpose vacant or underutilized county-owned land to meet urgent housing needs while also unlocking economic development wins. 
Sprint #2 provided a blend of educational sessions, one-on-one office hours, and collaborative peer learning opportunities. To walk teams through the housing development process, the program touched upon the following topics:
<ul>
<li>Finding your land: Selecting the perfect site for housing development.</li>
<li>Development barriers: Determining if zoning is preventing your community from developing housing and how to eliminate zoning barriers.</li>
<li>Building support: Understanding the importance of creating a community engagement strategy to overcome potential opposition to sorely needed housing for all. 
</li>
<li>Funding and resources: Paying for affordable housing projects without mortgaging the future of their community. 
</li>
<li>Finding the right partners: Finding and selecting the right developer for the right housing project on county-owned land. 
</li>
<li>Measuring results: Evaluating project results to ensure success. 
</li>
<li>Make a lasting impact: Scaling and leveraging a development project to gain a return on investment.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
With support from subject matter experts and cross-collaboration opportunities, the cohort developed a variety of mixed-use developments and housing typologies while also addressing significant social and economic barriers presented in their respective county (aging in place, affordability, and vacancy, to name a few). Additionally, all teams focused on developing affordable housing on county-owned land, leveraging cost savings from land acquisition to enhance unit affordability. Each project also emphasized the importance of integrating community into the development process—honoring local history and identity—while positioning housing as a catalyst for broader economic development. At the conclusion of the program, each county emerged with a tailored, ready-to-implement affordable housing strategy designed to reflect their community’s unique needs and opportunities. Below is a recap of each county’s initiative: 
<ul>
<li>Baltimore City/County, MD: This team identified a site in a food and health desert located 5 miles from Johns Hopkins University. They proposed a redevelopment of the site into a mixed-income, mixed-use project focused on luxury, affordable, and market-rate housing with retail and community amenities on the ground floor. Units will be available at the 30-80 percent AMI income ranges.</li>
<li>New Hampshire Coalition of Counties: A group of three neighboring counties facing similar challenges joined forces as a coalition to participate in the cohort together. Their goal was to leverage shared experiences to support one another in actively advancing affordable housing across the region.</li>
<li>Grafton County: Drafted a plan to develop tiny houses across 10 acres, with a focus on workforce housing as a recruitment tool.</li>
<li>Sullivan County: Drafted a plan to develop a mix of tiny houses and single-family homes across five acres.</li>
<li>Chesterfield County, VA: Their project centered on rezoning a parcel of land to enable both affordability and the development of desired housing types (multifamily, affordable, and diverse housing typologies). The plan includes constructing 25–30 single-family detached homes arranged around a central multifamily building. Several of the single-family homes are designated as LIHTC-funded units specifically for seniors.</li>
<li>Genesee County, MI: This team focused on deploying 56 single-family units on a 16-acre site.</li>
<li>Honolulu County, HI: This team developed a plan to develop three residential high-rise towers with up to 522 units on a parcel located downtown in a transit-oriented development district</li>
<li>Mecklenburg County, NC: This project was about repurposing a historic school property into a mixed-income project of up to 80 Affordable townhome units at 60-80 percent AMI while honoring the historic nature of the project. There is potential to include senior condos and community amenities such as a community center as part of the project.</li>
<li>Pierce County, WA: This team drafted a plan to develop up to 28 affordable homeownership units on a four-acre site.</li>
</ul>
<div class="wp-block-spacer" style="height: 20px;" aria-hidden="true"> </div>
If fully realized, these projects will result in the development of hundreds of housing units—spanning a range of income levels and housing types—successfully deployed across the country with support from the program.
[alert type=&#8221;info&#8221;] Applications for our Fall 2025 Counties for Housing Solutions initiative are now open! Applications are due by Friday, August 1, 11:59 p.m. ET. Apply <a href="https://naco.sharefile.com/d-s8da51200b379464e86adce94c7d0411b">here</a>. [/alert]

Housing Affordability

Unlocking economic development in counties across America

Economic development

4P7A7894

Communities across the U.S. are facing unprecedented challenges to meet the mobility, housing, and social needs of their residents, often struggling to do so with limited funding, staffing, and government support. Local elected officials serve not only to help navigate these challenges but to champion their community’s vision of a more healthy, prosperous, and resilient future. Smart Growth America works with these champions to find solutions to communities’ most pressing needs.
Smart Growth America recently wrapped up its <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/celebrating-the-2025-complete-streets-champions-institute-cohort/">2025 Champions Institute</a>. For over three months, I had the privilege to work with 14 local elected officials to develop their skills and knowledge around Complete Streets. These individuals, each busy with the responsibilities of their office—and for many, day jobs as well—showed up to actively participate in virtual sessions by sharing their experiences, cheering on their peers, and being open to learning from national experts on new strategies to implement in their communities. One thing quickly became clear to me—as communities face increasingly compounding challenges in transportation, housing, civic and social engagement, and more, these local elected officials are serving as stalwart champions for the overall future of the places they call home and the neighbors they represent.  
<h3>Now is the time to step up</h3>
Mayors, city council members, and other elected officials can leave their mark on a community in a myriad of ways. From the policies they enact to the projects they fund, these individuals bear a huge responsibility in determining their communities future. But they also have the ability to shape the places they lead in less tangible ways. They often serve as ambassadors of their community to state and federal government, provide encouragement and guidance to city staff, and act as important allies to advocates on a wide range of issues.  As chaos and uncertainty reigns over funding, policies, and priorities at the federal level, these local leaders can offer some level of continuity and provide steadfast direction for local efforts. 
<h3>Complete Streets need local leadership</h3>
Like so many issues facing communities, Complete Streets and transportation need strong, local leadership. There are a variety of ways we see elected officials standing with and standing for safer, more accessible, and more enjoyable ways to travel through their communities:
-Highlighting necessary changes and bringing swift action. Elected officials can lend their voice and their position to the lived experience of those they represent. This can look like taking part in <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/improving-transportation-and-road-safety-for-all-in-monroe-la/">walk audits</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/nyregion/bike-bus-cycling.html">joining bike buses,</a> or <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-center/week-without-driving-has-arrived-heres-why-it-matters/">regularly using non-motorized transportation for their own daily lives</a>. Armed with these firsthand experiences and community connections, they can call for and implement the changes that need to happen to make sure people walking, biking, and taking transit have the systems they need to make it safe and convenient.
-Challenging outdated norms at the state and federal level. State and federal policies can at times be in conflict with strategies a community knows are needed. Local elected officials can work with state legislative partners to push back on <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/roadblocks-to-safety-how-state-preemption-puts-pedestrians-at-risk/">unnecessary preemption</a> or find opportunities to collaborate on joint projects. Showing up in Washington, DC to share their experiences can unlock important policy or funding decisions.
-Finding opportunities for progress. It’s easy to keep doing things the way they have always been done. A local elected official can be a catalyst for doing things differently, whether it’s signing a <a href="https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hub/news/nashville-tn-building-on-the-foundation/">strong Complete Streets policy</a> or challenging existing practices around quick-build demonstrations. That momentum and energy gives a boost to advocates and city staff who might otherwise feel on their own.
<h3>Recognizing and supporting local champions</h3>
Local leaders are in a position to see the real-life consequences of outdated transportation systems—which means they can be the first to act. As pedestrian fatalities rise and communities across the country call for safer, healthier ways to get around, the role of local government in driving transportation reform has never been more critical. Smart Growth America is proud to stand with these changemakers, offering tools, training, and a national network of support. In a challenging political climate, the path forward demands courage, collaboration, and persistence—and that’s exactly what we see in communities leading the way. There’s not just an opportunity to keep advancing this work—there’s an urgent need to do so.
&nbsp;

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