Land Use
Smart Growth

Smart growth has become a popular catch phrase with many different people and organizations. For that very reason it is often misunderstood and misused.

In short, smart growth means ensuring quality and choice for the growth of our neighborhoods and our economy, by:

• maintaining and revitalizing existing communities,


• ensuring value from in-place public investment, and


• minimizing external costs such as congestion, pollution, and degradation of natural habitats.

Smart because it avoids the trap of allowing current growth to stymie the future through ill-considered negative impacts.

There are many ways in which smart growth can be achieved, from adaptive reuse to farmland preservation to new, quality mixed use development. There are also many examples of successful smart growth development in the Bay watershed, some old and some new - a few are cited below. The smartest tool for growth, however, is informed people taking action to promote a high quality of life for their communities and the Bay.

Examples:

Further information about Smart Growth

Sprawl | Maps | Explore Smart Growth

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