Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Project Summaries
This page summarizes the technical assistance projects conducted under the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program and links to reports from each project if they are available. This page also includes reports from the 2006 Smart Growth Implementation Assistance for Coastal Communities (SGIA-CC) projects, where the National Sea Grant College Program and NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research offered small grants to Sea Grant programs and EPA provided smart growth implementation assistance to the selected programs and community partners. These Sea Grant colleges and universities and local partners were selected from a nationwide application process. Eligible entities were Sea Grant programs that partnered with tribal, local, regional, or state governments, and nonprofit organizations that had a demonstrated partnership with a governmental entity. EPA and NOAA organized multidisciplinary teams to provide direct technical assistance as requested by Sea Grant and the community.
The projects dealt with a wide variety of topics. To find reports on a particular topic, search on this page for keywords related to the topic you are interested in, or go to our Smart Growth Publications page and click on the appropriate category.
Many of the older reports have been moved to the EPA Archive. To find them, click on the "Search EPA Archive" button that appears behind the report title and type or copy and paste the report title into the search box on the EPA Archive home page.
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, and Utah
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- Vermont
- Washington
- Washington, D.C.
- Wyoming
Arizona
Valley Metro Transit and the cities of Phoenix and Mesa
The Phoenix metropolitan area is the eighth fastest-growing region in the country. Communities comprising the metropolitan area are responding to growth by expanding transit service and enacting local ordinances promoting more compact, mixed-use, and transit-oriented development (TOD). Light rail opened in December 2008 in the most densely populated areas of the Phoenix metropolitan area with the expectation that it would alleviate congestion on heavily traveled commuter corridors.
Phoenix and Mesa requested assistance to explore options to encourage TOD along the light rail and future extensions under Arizona law. EPA funded a team of national experts to help the local team identify and analyze tools and incentives that Phoenix and Mesa could implement. The project illustrated the financial impact of implementing these tools in metropolitan Phoenix. The tools are universal and have worked in communities around the country.
Site visit: April 14-17, 2008
- Report: Transit Oriented Development and Proposition 207 in Metropolitan Phoenix Search EPA Archive
- Video: Smart Growth Implementation Assistance in Phoenix and Mesa, Arizona describes this technical assistance project. TOD is thriving in the corridor, partially as a result of financial incentives identified during the project. The Sustainable Communities Collaborative, Exit a group of government, private-sector, and nonprofit stakeholders from Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, launched a $20 million Sustainable Communities Fund in 2011 that has provided loans for about 800 new homes in the light rail corridor.
Arkansas
Mississippi County
Job opportunities are expanding in Mississippi County, but this growing workforce has few options for housing near workplaces. Long commutes are common. With a new steel mill planned in Osceola, the East Arkansas Planning and Development District (EAPDD) and partners had a renewed interest in developing well-located, affordable, and desirable housing options. Community representatives were especially interested in how infill and redevelopment of property could capitalize on existing infrastructure and revitalize traditional neighborhoods.
At the request of Mississippi County leaders and EAPDD, the consultant team worked with community members, businesses, and local government representatives to expand housing options and address the related challenge of encouraging young people to stay in Mississippi County. The work under this project built on EAPDD’s regional planning efforts through a 2011 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. No report was issued for this project.
Site visits: May 2014 and January 5-7, 2015
California
Association of Bay Area Governments
The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) requested assistance to help incorporate resilience to natural hazards and climate change into regional and local land use planning, decision-making, and implementation.
EPA's consultant team provided input on a region-wide vulnerability assessment for high-growth areas in the San Francisco Bay area, developed strategies to reduce vulnerabilities to sea level rise and earthquakes in planned high-growth areas, and compiled the process into a guidance document ABAG is using to help communities throughout the bay area.
Site visits: April 21 and June 17, 2014
California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) wants to help Californians get around more easily and cost effectively. Caltrans requested assistance to help develop a scorecard that would evaluate the transportation options available to urban, suburban, and rural residents. This guidebook creates a planning framework to help guide and assess how well plans, programs, and projects meet a definition of "smart mobility." Smart mobility principles include:
- Location efficiency.
- Reliable mobility.
- Health and safety.
- Environmental stewardship.
- Social equity.
- Robust economy.
Site visits: September 17-18, 2008, and June 16, 2009
- Report: Smart Mobility 2010: A Call to Action for the New Decade Exit
- Public Workshop Materials: Smart Mobility Framework Stakeholder Workshop Exit
California Strategic Growth Council
The state of California's landmark AB 32 legislation created ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that affect both public and private sectors. The state requested assistance to create a framework that will help local governments determine which combination of greenhouse gas reduction strategies, smart growth practices, and sustainability policies are best for their type of community.
The final product offers potential strategies, indicators to track progress, and resources for 10 community types ranging from major cities to rural communities. Communities of all sizes around the country can find helpful resources under their community type, and states could use the framework as a model for a similar tool that fits their context and needs.
Site visit: March 25-26, 2010
San Francisco
The city of San Francisco requested assistance to develop a citywide district energy plan with near-term pilot projects. EPA's consultant team helped San Francisco explore how the public sector could facilitate and provide incentives to establish district-scale energy systems that meet local goals.
The final report presents a four-phase process to help communities understand the options for, and benefits of, establishing district-scale energy systems in compact, mixed-use areas. San Francisco's project focused on two pilot neighborhoods: Central SoMa and the Transit Center district.
Site visit: May 21-22, 2013
- Report: District-Scale Energy Planning: Smart Growth Implementation Assistance to the City of San Francisco Search EPA Archive
Colorado
Denver
The city of Denver launched the Living Streets Initiative to transform arterials in the city into vibrant, active, pedestrian- and transit-friendly places. The city asked for assistance to better understand how the concept of living streets could apply to commercial corridors. It also sought to identify policies and actions that would help it better coordinate land use transportation planning and investments and implement the living streets effort.
The consultant team's report identifies policy options that could support living streets in Denver. The report presents three principles and design strategies to implement living streets along commercial corridors in the city and region:
- Reduce the number of lanes dedicated to cars.
- Create a pedestrian- and transit-friendly streetscape.
- Relate development to the street.
Site visit: July 30-August 2, 2008
- Report: Implementing Living Streets: Ideas and Opportunities for the City and County of Denver Search EPA Archive
Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Utah
Infrastructure Financing Options for Transit-Oriented Development
Transit-oriented development (TOD) is development within a quarter- to half-mile radius of a transit station that offers a mix of housing, employment, shopping, and transportation choices. Four applicants — Wheat Ridge, Colorado; Cobb County and the Cumberland Community Improvement District in Georgia; the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association in Illinois; and the Utah Transit Authority, Salt Lake City, and Sandy City in Utah — requested assistance with funding and financing infrastructure to support TOD.
The sites identified for TOD in each community had different assets and challenges; however, the issues they were confronting had many commonalities. To help meet their needs and the needs of many other communities across the country that are considering options for funding and financing infrastructure to support TOD, this project worked to:
- Develop model financing strategies for infrastructure investments located around transit-oriented development, land assemblage, parking garages, stormwater management, streets and sidewalks, facade improvements, infrastructure phasing, energy efficiency, and other necessary infrastructure components.
- Create an infrastructure financing toolkit around these strategies that addresses likely sources of funding, funding structures, and mechanisms for infrastructure investment that could be applied nationally.
- Cobb County, November 9-10, 2010
- Salt Lake City, October 27-28, 2010
- Wheat Ridge, October 26, 2010
- South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association, September 29-30, 2010
Connecticut
Capitol Region Council of Governments
In 2008, Connecticut's Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) recognized an opportunity to leverage state efforts to increase affordable housing with additional guidance to ensure that those investments result in sustainable, green development in the region's municipalities. Building on the state's Home Connecticut incentive housing program, CRCOG requested assistance to develop guidance for communities to site, plan, and develop housing that incorporates smart growth approaches and green building techniques.
As part of the assistance project, the consultant team held a community workshop to apply the guidelines to four model sites in urban, suburban, and rural contexts. This effort resulted in concept plans for mixed-use, mixed-income developments on a vacant shopping center site, an undeveloped rural parcel, and two other underperforming sites that both add affordable housing and show the benefits of incorporating a more sustainable, green approach to growth and development.
Site visit: May 14-16, 2009
- Report: Together We Can Grow Better: Smart Growth for a Sustainable Connecticut Capitol Region Search EPA Archive
- EPA turned materials from this project into a publication relevant to communities across the country, Smart Growth Guidelines for Sustainable Design and Development. The guidelines provide specific approaches that can be incorporated at each step of the housing development process from site selection to building design.
- EPA Region 1 worked with Manchester, one of the four target communities, to provide greater detail on how to integrate green infrastructure approaches into the concept plan for redeveloping the Parkade site. The publication, From Grey to Green: Sustainable Practices for Redeveloping a Vacant Shopping Center (PDF)Exit (30 pp, 24.6 MB, About PDF), walks users through incorporating green roofs, stormwater detention systems, street trees, constructed wetlands, and parks into mixed-use, mixed-income housing development. Manchester has since taken steps to implement the concept plan.
Delaware
Sussex County
Sussex County's Atlantic Ocean beaches draw millions of visitors annually, and agriculture contributes as much to the economy as tourism. The county has seen tremendous population growth, which could threaten both tourism and agriculture if it is not planned well. Sussex County and the Sea Grant program at the University of Delaware requested SGIA-CC assistance to help find development options that better protect water quality as the county grows.
This project gave county stakeholders a context for considering smart growth development in Sussex County. The report provided design concepts that incorporate smart growth and sustainable stormwater management approaches at the watershed, neighborhood, and site scales that the county can consider as it decides how to implement its plan for growth.
Site visit: Aug. 6-8, 2007
- Report: Protecting Water Quality With Smart Growth Strategies and Natural Stormwater Management in Sussex County, Delaware Search EPA Archive
Florida
Miami-Dade County
With growing concern about Miami's expansion into areas adjacent to Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade County sought to direct growth to already-developed areas. The county requested assistance with management and oversight of its Urban Development Boundary. The boundary was amended to accommodate growth, but officials wanted to investigate how to use it more effectively to guide development toward existing areas and protect sensitive environmental areas.
This project provided a key test for understanding how to balance development and conservation goals through smart growth principles. Through meetings with stakeholders and municipal staff, the consultant team presented options for growth management. The report focuses on Miami but is applicable to any community grappling with growth management.
Site visits: Summer 2009 and Fall 2010
- Report: Growing for a Sustainable Future: Miami-Dade County Urban Development Boundary Assessment Search EPA Archive
Georgia
Atlanta Regional Commission
As the Atlanta region grows, older adults are becoming an ever-increasing segment of the population. The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), a local organization working on growth and development issues, understands that the region needs a land use strategy that accommodates the needs of older adults as well as the general population. Part of this strategy includes compact, walkable neighborhoods where seniors can live near services and social opportunities.
ARC requested assistance to devise a housing-focused land use strategy that can provide additional opportunities for older adults. The city of Fayetteville and Fayetteville Senior Services were the local model for this process. The report from the project is no longer available, but ARC has many resources on its Lifelong Communities page. Exit
Site visit: January 10-17, 2009
Idaho
Driggs and Victor
The cities of Driggs and Victor, two small communities in Idaho's Teton County, partnered with Valley Advocates for Responsible Development, a local nonprofit organization concerned about growth issues, to request an analysis of the barriers and opportunities for infill redevelopment. The consultant team conducted a market overview for Teton County and the two cities to ground the discussion of the regulatory barriers to infill development.
Next, the team analyzed the existing policies, codes, ordinances, and design guidelines that provide the structure for new development and redevelopment. The team examined the policies and context related to the pedestrian environment, parking, and other transportation issues that influence land development patterns and conducted a visioning exercise for development in downtown Victor.
Site visit: October 23-26, 2006
- Report: Growing Our Own Communities Search EPA Archive
McCall
Concerned with growth pressures and the potential for development inconsistent with McCall's character along the new East-West Loop Road, the city requested assistance to create a vision for development at two sites along the road. Instead of allowing strip development that would detract from the city's character and possibly clog the road with traffic, the city sought to plan for attractive and functional development that could serve the surrounding neighborhoods.
EPA's consultant team worked with city officials, local leaders, community representatives, and others to create a vision for the development at two sites. As part of those meetings and consultations, the team prepared concept plans. Community leaders decided to adopt designs from this workshop in their comprehensive plan.
Site visit: October 24-27, 2005
- Report: Connecting McCall: Concept Plans for Lardo and West Valley Search EPA Archive
Indiana
Porter County
Porter County was working to approve a Unified Development Ordinance that would be the single point of reference for land development in the county. To help ensure developers, planners, and residents would know what to expect from development, the Plan Commission sought SGIA-CC assistance with a traditional neighborhood development design guideline to supplement the Unified Development Ordinance's text and information.
The consultant team worked with local stakeholders, developers, staff, and the public to develop the design guideline. The team produced renderings of a sample traditional neighborhood development site plan that could be built nearly anywhere in the county and developed a full description of what is expected from a developer. The report was submitted to the community as a set of elements to consider as elected officials approve the Unified Development Ordinance.
Site visit: Nov. 14-15, 2006
- Report: Building the Comprehensive Community: Traditional Neighborhood Development for Porter County, Indiana Search EPA Archive
Kentucky
Louisville
Louisville Metro is committed to accommodating growth and development that maintains the area's rural character and preserves its scenic and environmental benefits. Cornerstone 2020, the Louisville-Jefferson County comprehensive plan adopted in 2000, focuses on growth patterns that encourage mixed-use centers that create walkable, compact development while connecting new projects to existing development. Louisville Metro requested assistance to develop a public education campaign around its model for creating centers, the Centers Concept.
Along with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation, EPA and its consultant team worked with the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Division of Planning and Design Services and the municipal planning organization.
The team led a public workshop about the Centers Concept to illustrate how the centers could benefit the community and improve access for residents and businesses. The workshop explored tools, techniques, and implementation strategies that dealt with smart growth, town centers, affordable housing, transportation, and balancing the demands of growth with rural and scenic character in this growing exurban area. No report was issued for this project.
Site visits: November 2009 and Spring 2010
Sanitation District No. 1
Sanitation District No. 1 strives to find and use innovative practices for protecting and improving water quality. Faced with rapid growth pressures and a burdened combined sewer system that frequently overflows, the sanitation district has identified solutions that allow sustained economic growth without exacerbating overflows or harming water quality.
The district requested assistance to create a green infrastructure handbook to help Northern Kentucky communities manage and reduce their stormwater runoff while still allowing the region to grow and prosper. The handbook includes land use policies and strategies that both manage stormwater and create attractive, walkable neighborhoods. The handbook also illustrates innovative site-level design strategies that reduce runoff from development and how they could be applied in Northern Kentucky.
Funding partner: Sanitation District No. 1
Site visit: March 31-April 3, 2008
- Report: Stormwater Management Handbook: Implementing Green Infrastructure in Northern Kentucky Communities
Maine
Wells
Maine Sea Grant worked with the town of Wells to implement a community-supported initiative to protect the ecological integrity of a local trout stream, Depot Brook, while allowing growth and development in a proposed gateway area. The town requested SGIA-CC assistance to find options for developing and redeveloping the Route 109 Gateway Corridor, which includes a portion of the Depot Brook riparian corridor.
The consultant team led a workshop that gathered input from Wells' residents to develop potential redevelopment designs. The team explored:
- Stormwater management strategies that could be incorporated into different building types and land uses.
- Transportation and parking strategies that could help improve traffic flow and provide more transportation options.
- Possible building and land use designs for the Route 109 corridor and Wells Corner central area.
Site visit: Sept. 18-20, 2006
- Report: How Can Wells Grow and Protect Depot Brook? Search EPA Archive
Maryland
College Park
The city of College Park requested assistance to understand and remedy the disconnect between its vision for a walkable, bikeable, functional U.S. Route 1 corridor and the development that was actually being built. Drawing on best practices from around the country, the consultant team worked with local partners to develop options for the city and county to help move the Route 1 corridor toward the vision.
The team's report was approved by the City Council. Subsequently, the city implemented two of the options in the report: preparing a form-based code and undertaking a transportation demand management study to identify measures to reduce traffic congestion.
Site visit: January 19-21, 2006
- Report: Achieving the Vision: Options for the College Park U.S. Route 1 Corridor Search EPA Archive
Montgomery County
Montgomery County has been a leader among local governments in implementing land use policies that support compact, transit-oriented development in suburban cores while protecting rural agricultural areas. These approaches mitigate climate change by reducing vehicle miles travelled, preserving natural areas that sequester carbon, and creating more compact and energy-efficient buildings. Yet the lack of a coordinated methodological approach has prevented the county from measuring how these approaches help meet its climate protection goals.
The county requested assistance to develop an approach to estimate the greenhouse gas reduction impacts of various land use alternatives, thereby supporting local decision-makers' ability to approve projects that contribute to the community's climate protection goals. No report was issued for this project.
Michigan
Marquette
Michigan Sea Grant and the city of Marquette requested SGIA-CC assistance to help with a form-based zoning code for Marquette's Downtown Waterfront District. The community wants to attract and support vibrant, mixed-use development. The final report included a draft form-based code to help Marquette decide how to develop in the Downtown Waterfront District. Using the elements in the report, the city has developed and approved a form-based code for the district.
Site visit: Dec. 15-17, 2006
- Report: Downtown Waterfront Form-Based Code Workshop Search EPA Archive
Saginaw
Saginaw, Michigan, is a city in transition. During the last decade, the city has seen a decline in its population and an increase in vacant and abandoned properties. City and county officials requested assistance to develop a land use and infrastructure strategy that stabilizes neighborhoods through the sustainable reuse of abandoned properties, supports redevelopment of abandoned properties as green infrastructure, and creates opportunities for long-term economic growth.
This assistance identified policy options to help Saginaw — and other cities and regions that are experiencing population loss and property abandonment — develop in sustainable and economically resilient ways.
Site visit: July 18-20, 2011
Montana
Billings
The city of Billings, Big Sky Economic Development Authority, and the Billings School District 2 requested assistance to develop a model for collaborative planning that incorporates school siting policies with planning for infill and revitalization, affordable housing, and increased transportation choice.
The assistance is intended to help the city align its infill redevelopment efforts with school facility siting policies that support the revitalization of core neighborhoods. This project provides a model for how the EPA Voluntary School Siting Guidelines could be implemented at the local level.
Site visit: Spring 2013
- Product: The Smart School Siting Tool
New Hampshire
Laconia
A booming tourism industry and a strong market for vacation and retirement homes have put substantial growth pressures on the city of Laconia. At the same time, three existing neighborhood centers needed reinvestment and rejuvenation. In response, the city engaged the public in adopting a new master plan designed to protect water resources, create walkable neighborhoods, and strengthen the neighborhood centers.
The city requested assistance to generate a vision and supporting policy ideas for each of the three neighborhood centers. Laconia's goal was to encourage reinvestment in these neighborhoods while maintaining its small-town charm and keeping the new growth consistent with the goals of its master plan.
Site visit: December 11-13, 2006
- Report: Laconia, New Hampshire - Three Neighborhoods, One Vision Search EPA Archive
New Mexico
Las Cruces
The city of Las Cruces is committed to developing a robust public participation model that includes deliberative planning and visioning processes. The city requested assistance to develop strategies for community engagement, especially with ethnically diverse, low-income populations that have had limited or no previous involvement in community planning and design.
Creative outreach and participation strategies that focus more on pictures than words were tested in two visioning workshops for the El Paseo corridor, a 1.7-mile corridor that extends southeast from Main Street in downtown Las Cruces to the New Mexico State University campus.
The Public Involvement Plan and Toolkit includes many of the outreach and participation tools the project used to begin developing a vision for the El Paseo corridor. City staff in any community seeking to increase community participation could use these materials.
Site visits: September 30-October 2, 2010, and November 18-20, 2010
Taos
The town of Taos requested assistance to help make development along New Mexico State Highway 68, the Paseo del Pueblo Sur commercial corridor, economically stronger and more attractive. Through meetings with residents, town staff and officials, property owners, and others, a vision for the corridor emerged. Residents were particularly concerned about preserving Taos' distinctive character and making it easier to get around town.
Based on the community's goals, the consultant team developed several steps the town could take to transform the feel and the function of the corridor, including strategies to better manage traffic and establish a distinctive character. The town planned to use the report to work with the New Mexico Department of Transportation on its scheduled redesign of part of the Paseo and to educate the community about growth and development issues.
Site visit: December 7-9, 2005
- Report: Taos Smart Growth Implementation Assistance: Concepts for the Paseo del Pueblo Sur Corridor Search EPA Archive
New York
Madison County
Madison County is a rural area in upstate New York with a mix of small towns, large areas of farmland, two major colleges, and the small city of Oneida. The Madison County Department of Health, Planning Department, and other local partners requested assistance to develop a smart growth self-assessment tool specifically geared for a rural setting to help evaluate a community's codes, zoning regulations, programs, and policies in support of smart growth development.
Using Madison County as a pilot, local officials and an EPA team implemented the self-assessment in three communities—the small city of Oneida, the town of Brookfield, and the village of Chittenango. Through this effort, Madison County helped EPA further refine the tool and identify gaps in the local communities' plans, policies, and initiatives, allowing the county to better help each community reach its goals for future growth and development.
Site visit: February 2013
- Report: Smart Growth Self-Assessment for Rural Communities: Madison County, New York
- Tool: Smart Growth Self-Assessment for Rural Communities
New York City
New York City's vision for urban sustainability, PLANYC Exit, creates a framework for advancing comprehensive green development in communities throughout the city. While the plan provides general guidelines for accomplishing smart growth and green building, the city wanted to develop specific criteria and guiding principles to help residents, city staff, and entrepreneurs address the intersection between environmentally conscious and economically sound building principles.
The city requested assistance to identify ways to implement the sustainability strategies outlined in PLANYC in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. The project examined neighborhood-based, innovative practices and policy strategies that support green building techniques and smart growth approaches to affordable housing and community revitalization. No report was issued for this project.
Site visit: Summer 2009
North Carolina
Greensboro
Greensboro requested assistance to engage local colleges and universities in a collaborative effort to improve economic and community development. Presidents, chancellors, and deans from all seven institutions, along with representatives of economic development agencies, neighborhood groups, historic preservationists, and local government officials, participated in a University Roundtable, led by the mayor, to begin the collaboration.
The participants came to consensus around five approaches for Greensboro to better leverage its colleges and universities, including better collaboration, enhancing the colleges and universities' role in neighborhood stability, and becoming more environmentally sustainable.
Site visit: May 2, 2008
- Report: Collaborating on Greensboro's Future: The University Roundtable and Next Steps Search EPA Archive
Pamlico County
Pamlico County is a rural, estuarine, coastal county in eastern North Carolina with environmentally sensitive habitats. The county's economy is heavily agricultural and water-resource based. Pamlico County requested SGIA-CC assistance to develop a community vision for managing the Highway 55 corridor, which was being widened, while protecting the county's character.
The EPA team identified strategies that the county could consider to facilitate development along the highway corridor while protecting the cultural and environmental resources that residents cherish and that contribute to the county's sense of place. The assistance presented development scenarios for the corridor and smart growth techniques that could be applied at the county and site levels to capture the benefits of development while protecting the county's rural heritage.
Site visit: Dec. 5-7, 2006
- Report: Retaining Our Sense of Place by Managing Our Highway Search EPA Archive
Rhode Island
Aquidneck Island
In 2005, the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC) released the Aquidneck Island West Side Master Plan. The plan was produced by a broad stakeholder coalition and was meant to support important, common interests in shaping the future of the West Side. As one of the first steps to implement the plan's vision, AIPC and Rhode Island Sea Grant applied for assistance to help develop options and tools.
The consultant team developed approaches for mixed-use zoning standards, design guidelines, and review processes in three communities, including options for growth in specific sites in each community. The team also developed strategies to improve the West Main Road corridor, shared by all three communities. For each site, and for development review in general, the team emphasized how good design and a mix of uses could create the lively, compact village centers envisioned in the master plan.
Site visits: December 7-9, 2005, and March 6-7, 2006
- Report: Implementing the Aquidneck Island West Side Master Plan Search EPA Archive
Rhode Island Division of Planning
Rhode Island recognizes the challenge of building resilience to climate change-related hazards into its economic planning. The state asked for assistance in developing a framework to analyze major climate-related impacts on economic activity and bringing together stakeholders to identify actions to build resilience for employers and economic assets.
The consultant team developed a framework, which the town of North Kingstown helped test and refine, that can help communities ask the right questions to recognize their economic vulnerabilities and identify ways to be more climate resilient, with a focus on helping the business community prepare for and adapt to projected changes and think creatively about ways to prosper in a changing climate.
Site visits: April-May 2014 and Spring 2015
Rhode Island Housing
Rhode Island's KeepSpace Advisory Committee is the coordinating body for several of the state's government agencies and statewide nonprofits engaged in smart growth implementation. The KeepSpace partners requested assistance to develop a statewide approach to project funding. KeepSpace wanted a set of metrics for use in funding decisions to ensure that state dollars leverage investments across transportation, housing, and infrastructure and achieve statewide planning goals.
The consultant team analyzed statewide funding sources and tools from across the country. The team solicited feedback throughout the process from KeepSpace partners, other state agencies and nonprofits, and KeepSpace pilot communities through interviews and a workshop. The project selection tool is intended to help funding agencies review different aspects of a proposed project across six categories that contribute to its sustainability and cost-effectiveness.
Site visits: November 2010 and June 13-14, 2011
- Report: A Project Selection Tool for the State of Rhode Island: Leveraging State Transportation, Housing, and Infrastructure Investments Search EPA Archive
Texas
Houston
To help Midtown Houston envision how to take advantage of demand for homes around its transit stations, the Gulf Coast Institute, Main Street Coalition, and Texas A&M partnered to apply for SGIA-CC assistance. The Ensemble/HCC station area was selected as a prototype of Midtown development opportunities. The local team wanted to provide more riders for the light-rail system, create housing options for young professionals, and build strong neighborhoods.
The consultant team held a workshop to examine transit-oriented development market opportunities in Midtown and around the Ensemble/HCC station. The team suggested a conceptual development plan for transit-oriented development around the Ensemble/HCC station and discussed challenges and strategies to implement transit-oriented development in Midtown.
Site visit: July 11-13, 2006
- Report: Building Houston's Competitive Edge: Transit-Oriented Development for the Ensemble/HCC Station Search EPA Archive
Vermont
State of Vermont
The state of Vermont experienced major damage to roads, houses, and businesses due to flood impacts from Hurricane Irene in fall 2011. Vermont's Agency of Commerce and Community Development, along with the Agency of Natural Resources, Agency of Transportation, and the Mad River Valley Planning District, requested assistance with recovering from flood impacts and planning for long-term resilience to future disasters.
This project focused on how to coordinate recovery across several small villages in the Mad River Valley and helped state agencies review their program structure and state policies to improve floodplain management and plan for more responsible future growth.
Site visit: October 23-25, 2012
- Report: Planning for Flood Recovery and Long-Term Resilience in Vermont: Smart Growth Approaches for Disaster-Resilient Communities
- Tool: Flood Resilience Checklist
Washington
Kelso
The South Kelso neighborhood wants to redevelop and revitalize infill areas in ways that offer economic opportunity to the city’s ethnically diverse population. The neighborhood has experienced widespread poverty and disinvestment, and residents face challenging conditions that affect their educational attainment, economic security, housing stability, and health. These challenges include a high concentration of rundown, vacant, and boarded-up homes; high volumes of rail and truck traffic; industrial pollution; and high crime rates.
The Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments requested assistance to develop a policy toolkit addressing land use, transportation, health, and economic and workforce development policies that will help steer infill development and redevelopment to existing communities, creating a diversified economic base. The toolkit will offer strategies that could translate these policies into initiatives that could be implemented in a cohesive fashion. Other communities across the country facing similar challenges could also find this toolkit helpful.
Site visit: September 9-11, 2014
- Report: Using Smart Growth Strategies to Foster Economic Development: A Kelso, Washington, Case Study
Spokane
The city of Spokane adopted the University District Master Plan in August 2005. The plan focuses on creating greater bicycle and pedestrian opportunities, encouraging infill development, restoring the Spokane River, and improving accessibility within the district and to adjacent neighborhoods and downtown. The city requested assistance to identify market opportunities for smart growth development in the district and policy options that could implement the master plan.
EPA assembled a team to complete a market analysis of the University District and work with city officials, local leaders, community representatives, and others to explore development opportunities for the Riverpoint campus, a key development opportunity site in the University District. The team's analysis revealed significant market potential to develop the Riverpoint campus as a pedestrian-friendly place. The report presents the market analysis and identifies policy options for a vibrant and pedestrian-friendly Riverpoint campus.
Site visit: January 17-20, 2007
- Report: Spokane's University District: Policy Options for a New Urban Center Search EPA Archive
Spokane Tribe of Indians
The Spokane Tribe of Indians in eastern Washington requested assistance to create a comprehensive water infrastructure plan for sewer, waste, and drinking water. The project focused on water and sewer system challenges in the community of Wellpinit, including water shortages in summer, drinking water delivery, recurring pipe and pump failures, and design and maintenance of sewage management systems.
EPA's assistance linked to a HUD Community Challenge Planning Grant the tribe received in 2010. The water plan forms the foundation for future housing, transportation, and economic development planning.
Site visit: October 10-12, 2012
- Report: Long-term Planning for Sustainable Water and Wastewater Infrastructure in Wellpinit, Washington, for the Spokane Tribe of Indians Search EPA Archive
Washington, D.C.
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is the regional planning agency for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, which includes 5 million people living in 21 jurisdictions in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. As part of implementing its regional vision, MWCOG requested assistance to assess climate change risks to the region, identify smart growth strategies to improve the region's capacity to adapt to climate change, and disseminate those strategies to local decision-makers.
With input from MWCOG’s stakeholders, the consultant team developed a guidebook of policy options local governments could consider when preparing for future climate risks while also meeting other environmental, economic, and social goals. The guidebook describes smart growth approaches that can help communities prepare for current and projected risks to the land use, transportation, water, and buildings sectors. These approaches are relevant to other communities around the country facing similar climate-related impacts.
Site visits: September 2011 and March 2012
- Report: Using Smart Growth Strategies to Create More Resilient Communities in the Washington, D.C., Region Search EPA Archive
- In July 2013, MWCOG released a complementary report, Summary of Potential Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerabilities, and Adaptation Strategies Exit, that is based on lessons it learned from its work on climate adaptation, which included the EPA technical assistance. For more information on MWCOG’s climate adaptation efforts, see its Climate Preparedness page. Exit
Wyoming
Cheyenne
Cheyenne residents worked together to create PlanCheyenne, Exit a comprehensive plan for the region that encourages growth in existing neighborhoods and downtown and promotes new neighborhoods that are built according to smart growth principles. The city requested assistance to identify policy options that would implement PlanCheyenne and illustrate development that would achieve the community's goals.
The consultant team held a public design workshop to help formulate a development plan consistent with PlanCheyenne and identify policy options. The development plan envisioned a new neighborhood with more housing and transportation choices, a main street district, and parks and neighborhood schools. Workshop participants identified possible changes to the city's development and transportation rules and processes that could make it easier and more economically viable for developers to build the neighborhoods that residents desire.
Site visit: May 2-4, 2006
- Report: Implementing PlanCheyenne: Strategies and Opportunities for Smarter Growth in Cheyenne Search EPA Archive