Smart Growth America (SGA) is a US non-profit 501(c)(3) organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. SGA's mission is to ensure that urban development policies foster safe, equitable, and sustainable community growth. SGA is a coalition of

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

organizations that have a stake in how

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

affects the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, quality of life and economic

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

. It is responsible for marketing

smart growth Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood sc ...

ideas to urban planners and other important stakeholders throughout the U.S.

History

Smart Growth America was established in 2000. In 2002, SGA included over 70 groups, such as American Farmland Trust, the

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, ...

, the League of Women Voters for Smart Growth, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the Enterprise Foundation. In 2003,

Parris Glendening Parris Nelson Glendening (born June 11, 1942) is an American politician and academic who served as the 59th Governor of Maryland from January 18, 1995, to January 15, 2003. Previously, he was the County Executive of Prince George's County, Mary ...

became the president of SGA's Leadership Institute. In October 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation's

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administratio ...

(FTA) collaborated with SGA to create the Transit-Oriented Development Technical Assistance Initiative. The initiative uses federal funds to improve public transportation systems in order to foster economic development. SGA offers this initiative on-site aid, a network of allies, and communicative support.

Approach to smart growth

In 2004, SGA commissioned the first survey examining neighborhood preferences among Americans, finding that almost 50% of households prefer transit accessibility and commercial proximity. In a 2005 report detailing the interconnection between inner ring suburbs and metropolitan growth, SGA defines smart growth as follows:

Smart growth is well-planned development that protects open space and farmland, revitalizes communities, keeps housing affordable and provides more transportation choices.

In a 2006 study examining the transportation benefits associated with smart growth policies, SGA:

Estimates that 69 percent of increased traffic can be attributed to factors associated with sprawl.

Programs

Governors' Institute on Community Design

In 2005, The National Endowment for the Arts facilitated the creation of the Governors' Institute on Community Design, which was based on the Mayors' Institute on City Design and ran through a partnership between Smart Growth America and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Governors' Institute on Community Design aids state governments on promoting

sustainable community The term "sustainable communities" has various definitions, but in essence refers to communities planned, built, or modified to promote sustainable living. Sustainable communities tend to focus on environmental and economic sustainability, urban in ...

development which can foster social and economic growth.

LOCUS

In 2008, SGA launched LOCUS, an alliance for promoting sustainable

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

in the United States. LOCUS is a national network of real estate developers who launched the Rebuild America's Neighborhoods Campaign, promoting investment towards equitable and green urban development projects.

Transportation for America

In 2008, SGA, Reconnecting America, and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership started a Transportation for America campaign aiming to reform the federal transportation law. Transportation for America advocates for a transportation system that emphasizes maintenance, implements safety designs, and unites the public.

National Complete Streets Coalition

In 2012, Smart Growth America the National Complete Streets Coalition, which advocates for safe and convenient transportation access. The coalition is composed of policy organizations, including the

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

, and user groups, including America Bikes. By 2011, 125 jurisdictions across 38 states had implemented a

Complete Streets Complete streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of ...

policy.

State Smart Transportation Initiative

SGA co-operates, alongside the University of Wisconsin, the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI). SSTI encourages environmentally sustainable transportation fostering economic development, while maintaining governmental transparency.

Form-Based Code Institute

Form-Based Code Institute (FBCI) strives to improve the general understanding of form-based codes through creating standards, offering educational programs, and fostering discussions. In a 2016 report about

new urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually in ...

in North Texas, FBCI advocated for the importance of form based codes in regulating physical development, rather than zoning areas by their usages.

Partners

Partners include national, state and local groups, working on behalf of the environment,

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

social equity Social equity is concerned with justice and fairness of social policy. Since the 1960s, the concept of social equity has been used in a variety of institutional contexts, including education and public administration. Overview Definitions of s ...

land conservation Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the Continent, continents and v ...

, neighborhood redevelopment,

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

protection, and

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

. Member groups include the statewide "1000 Friends" organizations, Futurewise, GrowSmart Maine, New Jersey Future, Idaho Smart Growth, and the San Francisco Bay Area's Greenbelt Alliance.

Financials

Smart Growth America's

Form 990 Form 990 (officially, the "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax") is a United States Internal Revenue Service form that provides the public with financial information about a nonprofit organization. It is often the only source of such i ...

shows that their donations rose from $4,826,301 in 2014 to $6,337,043 in 2017.
SGA's

shows that their compensation related expenses rose from $3,619,183 in 2014 to $4,028,232 in 2017.

References

External links

* {{authority control Urban planning organizations Urban planning in the United States Charities based in Washington, D.C. 2000 establishments in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 2000