Smart growth is generally defined by 10 principles developed in 1996 by the Smart Growth Network, a partnership of real estate and development, environmental, historic preservation, affordable housing, public health, government, and other organizations. The network used the experiences of communities around the country to develop the principles, which are intended to be broad enough to apply to communities of all sizes and contexts.

While the principles describe smart growth, pictures can communicate ideas about density, design, walkability, and housing and transportation choices better than words alone. Smart Growth Illustrated provides visual examples of smart growth techniques being used in real places.

While every example illustrates several smart growth principles, each one was chosen to highlight one specific principle. Together, these case studies show how the 10 smart growth principles have helped 20 communities around the country build and support healthy, prosperous neighborhoods with a high quality of life for people of all income levels.

Find more examples of smart growth projects.