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473700-00042-1 Report Abstract

An Examination of the Smart Growth Initiative in US DOT’s Region VI

Carol Lewis, Texas Southern University, January 2001, 48 pp. (473700-00042-1)

Over the last decade, renewed national emphasis has been directed to improving communities; planning officials added terms such as livable community and sustainable community to the vernacular of traditional coordinated land use planning. Smart Growth is one of the newer contemporary concepts for how communities are approaching anticipated expansion or renewal. Communities implementing Smart Growth strategies seek to efficiently use public and private resources to accommodate increases in population and employment, while positively addressing side-effects of growth, such as traffic congestion and air pollution and reduction in open space and farmland. Although ideas about how communities should grow encompass many disciplines and land use principles, discussions about wise, well-planned growth inevitably drift to transportation. Therefore, while transportation is not the only focus of Smart Growth, transportation components are at the core of the concept. Without the appropriate transportation background and infrastructure, Smart Growth principles could not be effective. This research examines Smart Growth initiatives in the US and compares experiences in selected Region VI communities. Included in the recommendation is focus on the appropriate role for transportation professionals in Smart Growth.

Keywords: Smart Growth, Sustainable Communities, Transit Oriented Development, Livable Communities

ENTIRE REPORT (Adobe Acrobat File – 229KBytes)