Smart Growth Principles

Smart Growth promotes the creation of livable, sustainable and equitable communities. The Department of State (DOS) has established ten Smart Growth principles to achieve those aims. These principles guide and permeate all programs within the DOS Office of Planning, Development & Community Infrastructure. 

 

Smart Growth Principles: 

 

  1. Allow for and encourage neighborhoods with a mix of uses, such as residential, commercial and community spaces. Mixed-use neighborhoods encourage a range of diverse uses that allow people to easily access common needs and amenities. They are generally comprised of residential, commercial, civic, and recreational uses. These uses should be incorporated at a building, street, or neighborhood scale and should facilitate transportation options, like walking, biking, or public transportation. 

 

  1. Enable a diverse mix of housing types, providing opportunity and choice for people of all ages, abilities and incomes. A housing supply that meets needs of current and future residents regardless of income, ability, or age includes diverse types of housing, such as detached single-family, townhomes, apartments, accessory dwelling units, cooperative housing units, and other configurations of housing. Diverse housing types should be integrated into and across communities and neighborhoods. 

 

  1. Prioritize infill and redevelopment of existing buildings to revitalize neighborhoods and downtowns, including areas around public transit. Infill development prioritizes the use of underutilized or vacant sites in existing neighborhoods. Such development should complement the surrounding built environment and increase density, add diverse uses, and encourage reinvestment. 

 

  1. Provide well-planned, equitable, and accessible public spaces for people of all ages and abilities. Well-planned and designed public spaces, including parks, sidewalks, and buildings, should be designed to provide users of all ages and abilities with the opportunity to use and enjoy these community resources.  Age-friendly public spaces should be distributed equitably across the community, extend beyond basic ADA compliance, and provide a range of options and amenities that enable diverse programming and activities.  

 

  1. Encourage compact neighborhood design and concentrated development around existing infrastructure. Compact neighborhood design makes efficient use of existing infrastructure and enables easy access to common needs and amenities by locating development in existing neighborhoods. Development should facilitate walking, bicycling, and the use of public transportation. 

 

  1. Preserve open space, agricultural resources and natural resources. Land preservation directs development toward areas that are already developed, minimizing encroachment on open space and natural resources. Such efforts include actively protecting farms, forests, wetlands, and other sensitive areas from development. 

 

  1. Prioritize transportation options that are safe and accessible for everyone, including pedestrians, cyclists and public transit users. Safe, reliable, and diverse transportation options provide access to common needs and amenities for all ages and abilities.  Transportation investments should prioritize pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, as well as access to public transportation.    

 

  1. Promote climate resiliency and adaptation, preferably through nature-based solutions, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nature-based solutions that restore and enhance natural features in the built environment build climate resiliency and reduce the risks associated with extreme weather and a changing climate. Additionally, efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and promote clean energy and energy efficiency will contribute to long-term resilience 

 

  1. Build on unique traits to create an attractive and welcoming community with a strong sense of place. Each community has unique attributes, such as historic buildings, natural surroundings, local traditions, or small businesses. Highlighting and caring for these unique traits through good design and improvements to public spaces can create places that are welcoming, distinctive, and rooted in a local identity. 

 

  1. Engage in an inclusive, collaborative public planning process that considers the needs and character of the community. Successful community planning engages many different stakeholders, including historically underrepresented populations. Planning processes should be open, accessible, transparent, and welcoming, providing opportunities for public discussion.