Editing Smart growth (section)

==Basic concept==
[[File:Aerial - Interstate 805 in San Diego, CA 01.jpg|thumb|[[San Diego]], California]]
Smart growth is a theory of [[land development]] that accepts that growth and development will continue to occur, and so seeks to direct that growth in an intentional, comprehensive way. Its proponents include urban planners, architects, developers, community activists, and historic preservationists. The term "smart growth" is an attempt to reframe the conversation from "growth" versus "no growth" (or [[NIMBY]]) to good/smart growth versus bad/dumb growth. Proponents seek to distinguish smart growth from [[urban sprawl]], which they claim causes most of the problems that fuel opposition to urban growth, such as traffic congestion and [[environmental degradation]]. Smart growth principles are directed at developing sustainable communities that provide a greater range of transportation and housing choices and prioritize [[infill]] and redevelopment in existing communities rather than development of "[[greenfield land|greenfield]]" farmland or natural lands. Some of the fundamental aims for the benefits of residents and the communities are increasing family income and wealth, providing safe walking routes to schools, fostering livable, safe and healthy places, stimulating economic activity (both locally and regionally), and developing, preserving and investing in built and natural resources.

Smart growth "principles" describe the elements of community that are envisioned and smart growth "regulations" describe the various approaches to implementation, that is, how federal, state, and municipal governments choose to fulfill smart growth principles. Some of these regulatory approaches such as [[Urban growth boundary|urban growth boundaries]] predate the use of the term "smart growth". One of the earliest efforts to establish smart growth forward as an explicit regulatory framework were put forth by the [[American Planning Association]] (APA). In 1997, the APA introduced a project called Growing Smart and published the "Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook: Model Statutes for Planning and the Management of Change."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.planning.org/growingsmart/guidebook/print/ |title=Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook |access-date=2013-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207010535/https://www.planning.org/growingsmart/guidebook/print/ |archive-date=2013-02-07 |url-status=dead |publisher=American Planning Association |location=Chicago, IL}}</ref> The [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) defines smart growth as “a range of development and conservation strategies that help protect our health and natural environment and make our communities more attractive, economically stronger, and more socially diverse."<ref name="EPA-about-sg">{{Cite web |url=https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/about-smart-growth |title=About Smart Growth | date=2019-04-19 |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> Smart growth agenda is comprehensive and ambitious, however, its implementation is problematic as control of outward movement means limiting availability of single-family homes and reliance on the automobile, the mainstay of the traditional American lifestyle.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=9780415252256|pages=605}}</ref>

Smart growth is related to, or may be used in combination with, the following concepts:
* [[New Urbanism]]
* [[Growth management]]
* New community design
* [[Sustainable development]]
* Resource [[stewardship]]
* Land preservation
* Preventing [[urban sprawl]]
* Creating [[sense of place]]
* Development [[Best Practices]]
* [[Preservation development]]
* [[Sustainable transport]]
* [[Triple Bottom Line]] (TBL) accounting - people, planet, profit
* The Three Pillars - human, natural, and created capital{{clarify|date= May 2020}}

The smart growth approach to development is multifaceted and can encompass a variety of techniques. For example, in the state of [[Massachusetts]] smart growth is enacted by a combination of techniques including increasing housing density along transit nodes, conserving farm land, and mixing residential and commercial use areas.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/smart-growth-smart-energy-toolkit-information-and-resources |title=Smart Growth / Smart Energy Toolkit Information and Resources |publisher=Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs |access-date=2019-06-21 |archive-date=2019-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618083148/https://www.mass.gov/smart-growth-smart-energy-toolkit-information-and-resources |url-status=dead }}</ref> Perhaps the most descriptive term to characterize this concept is [[Traditional Neighborhood Development]], which recognizes that smart growth and related concepts are not necessarily new, but are a response to car culture and sprawl. Many favor the term [[New Urbanism]], which invokes a new, but traditional way of looking at urban planning.

There are a range of best practices associated with smart growth. These include supporting existing communities, redeveloping underutilized sites, enhancing economic competitiveness, providing more transportation choices, developing livability measures and tools, promoting equitable and affordable housing, providing a vision for [[sustainable growth]], enhancing integrated planning and investment, aligning, coordinating, and leveraging government policies, redefining housing affordability and making the development process transparent.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.nrdc.org/smartgrowth/ | title=Communities | date=30 March 2023 |publisher=Natural Resources Defense Council}}</ref>

Related, but somewhat different, are the overarching goals of smart growth, and they include: making the community more competitive for new businesses, providing alternative places to shop, work, and play, creating a better "Sense of Place," providing jobs for residents, increasing property values, improving quality of life, expanding the tax base, preserving open space, controlling growth, and improving safety.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://smartgrowth.umd.edu/ | title=NCSG – National Center for Smart Growth}}</ref>