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Smart Growth
What is smart growth?
 Smart
growth is development that creates communities with housing for all near
transit, jobs, and shopping. According to the Smart
Growth Caucus, an unprecedented coalition of California legislators
who believe that California must pursue land use policies that are based
on smart growth principles, "smart growth encourages land use policies
that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable."
Sustainable development addresses many of the problems that residents
of the Bay Area face: gridlock traffic, expensive housing, deteriorating
communities, and disappearing open space. Our definition of smart growth
includes:
- Sensible development location
- Transit-oriented development
- More efficient use of space (see the San
Francisco League of Conservation Voters website for more info on
the monetary and environmental costs of sprawl)
- Affordability
- Pedestrian-oriented design
- Mixed use
The Smart Growth Caucus believes that smart growth principles include
planning for the future, promoting prosperous and livable communities,
providing better housing and transportation opportunities, protecting
farmland, open space and the environment.
How Greenbelt Alliance works for smart growth:
- We advocate for good planning in Bay Area cities and counties that
directs public and private investment into existing communities instead
of into wasteful sprawl development.
- We endorse development projects that contribute to more compact, walkable,
transit-friendly neighborhoods that include affordable housing and locally-oriented
retail.
- We build coalitions with other environmental groups, social justice
organizations, and transit advocates to encourage regional solutions
to our transportation and housing problems.
- We provide policy recommendations to regional transportation, open
space, environmental, and intra-governmental agencies in order to find
solutions that transcend local jurisdictions.
- We support state-wide efforts to develop better incentives and requirements
for smart growth.
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