1. Smart Growth 101

2. About Us
Mission
How We Get it Done
                     
                      

3. About Us Statewide non-profit organization
Diverse coalition of interests
501 (c) (3) non-profit organization representing a broad coalition of interests leading the charge for innovative policies and programs that stop sprawl and revitalize our city and town centers, preserve our cultural and natural resources and expand economic opportunity.
Business
Academic
Home Builders
Environmental
Realtors
Historic Preservationists
Developers
Religious Community
Transportation Experts
Funding ($542k)
Foundations
Corporations
Educational Institutions
Individuals

4. Mission Promote patterns of development that……
- Revitalize city & town centers
- Preserve historic, cultural and natural resources
- Expand economic opportunity for all Rhode Islanders

5. Summary of GSRI’s 2003 Priorities
How We Get it Done
Policy Reform / Advocacy
Outreach / Education
Helping Municipalities
Summary of GSRI’s 2003 Priorities
POLICY
Work with state and municipal administrations to advance Policy Reforms for things like “compact growth centers” , Brownfields Redevelopment, Affordable Housing among others.
HELPING MUNICIPALITIES - Training
Making Good Land-Use Decisions
Affordable Housing Planning
Site Plan Review
Conservation Development
INFORMATION / EDUCATION / MARKETING
“go-to” place for Information on smartgrowth initiatives.
Marketing Rehab Code and Commercial Historic Tax Credit
Become a Resource for developers seeking to pursue urban & town ctr. redevelopment
Re-double efforts to ID and disseminate best practices in smartgrowth.
Convene Conferences

6. Summary of GSRI’s 2003 Priorities
Website
Monthly e-news
Summary of GSRI’s 2003 Priorities
POLICY
Work with state and municipal administrations to advance Policy Reforms such as establishing “growth centers” and a Brownfields Redevelopment Income Tax Credit among others.
We’re developing a comprehensive strategy for re-using thousands of Vacant Properties through our work on the Governor’s Growth Planning Council
Seek ways to provide balanced incentives for Affordable Housing and Open Space protection.
INFORMATION / EDUCATION / MARKETING
More aggressive education and outreach and expect to become more of a “go-to” place for Information on smartgrowth initiatives.
Rehab Code and Commercial Historic Tax Credit marketing.
Become a resource for developers seeking to pursue urban & town ctr. redevelopment
Re-double efforts to ID and disseminate best practices in smartgrowth.
HELPING MUNICIPALITIES
Making Good Land-Use Decisions
Affordable Housing Planning
Site Plan Review
Conservation Development
Printed Newsletter

7. What is Sprawl?
Sprawl is irresponsible development that wastes tax dollars, destroys farmland and open space, and encourages neglect of existing infrastructure and community resources.
Let’s start with definitions of what Sprawl and Smart Growth are so we can be clear about what I’m talking about.
So what is Sprawl? [click]
Sprawl is irresponsible development that takes our tax dollars away from our community and destroys farmland and open space.
It affects us all – people living in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
And how is Sprawl different from Smart Growth? [click]
Smart Growth is well-planned development that keeps tax dollars in our communities and provides more choices for our families.
[click]

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

9. What Smart Growth “Is” And “Is Not”
More transportation choices and less traffic
Not against cars and roads
Vibrant cities, suburbs and towns
Not anti-suburban
Wider variety of housing choices
Not about telling people where or how to live
But it is important to point out what Smart Growth “IS” and what it “IS NOT.” [click]
Smart Growth IS about more transportation choices and less traffic. It’s NOT against cars and roads. Cars are our dominant mode of transportation, and will remain dominant. Smart Growth is about more choices in how we get around. [click]
Smart Growth is about a variety of vibrant communities for families to choose among. It’s not anti- suburban. [click]
It’s about a variety of housing choices. It’s not about telling people where or how to live. Smart Growth provides more than just one kind of home--it gives people more choices, not fewer. [click]
Smart Growth is well-planned growth. It’s NOT against growth. [click] [click]
Not against growth
Well-planned growth that improves quality of life

10. Smart Growth is Defined by Outcomes
Neighborhood Livability
Better Access, Less Traffic
Thriving Cities & Town Centers
Shared Benefits
Lower Costs, Lower Taxes
Keeping open Space open
What it Isn’t.
Anti-growth.
Overly regulated Land Use.
It’s about using resources more wisely and equitably.
We measure Smart Growth in terms of Outcomes….

11. Neighborhood Livability
Quality of Life
Safe, Convenience, Attractive, Affordable
1. NEIGHBORHOOD LIVABILITY Central goal of any smart growth plan is the quality of the neighborhoods where we live. (safe, convenient, attractive, and affordable). Sprawl results in trade-offs between these goals. Some neighborhoods safe but not convenient. Others are convenient but not affordable. Too many affordable neighborhoods are not safe.
Sprawl results in Trade-offs between these goals

12. Better Access, Less Traffic
Convenience
Transportation Choices
Major downfall of sprawl is traffic.
When everything is separated, it’s just a natural result that we’ll spend more time on the road.
It’s about choice. Those who want to drive can, but people who would rather not drive everywhere or don't own a car have other choices.

13. Everything is a Drive Away
Suburban parents spend 17 full days a year behind the wheel, more than the average parent spends dressing, bathing and feeding a child.
Source: Surface Transportation Policy Project
Schools
Shops
Home
People begin to take for granted that they must devote a larger and larger part of the day just getting around. [click]
But total car-dependency just doesn’t make sense. Right now, one in three Americans is too old, too young, or too poor to drive a car. As the baby boom generation ages, the need for transportation alternatives will be even greater.
Recreation
Workplace

14. Thriving City & Town Centers
Investment in existing centers
Sense of place.
3. THRIVING CITY & TOWN CENTERS
Post-war division of these uses has taken a toll on city & town centers.
Smart Growth is about policies that return development to back to already built-up areas.
Not about Over-Regulation – It’s about creating more choice.
It’s illegal to build a traditional neighborhood in most communities today.

15. Shared Benefits Choices
Growth is only be Smart if it benefits the many, not just the few
4. SHARED BENEFITS
Sprawl has left too many people behind. Smart Growth enables all residents to be beneficiaries of prosperity.
Divisions by income and race have allowed some places to prosper while others languish.

16. Lower Costs, Lower Taxes
Sprawl costs more money
Existing infrastructure conserves resources and keeps taxes down
5. LOWER COSTS, LOWER TAXES
Sprawl costs money.
Opening up green space to new development means that the cost of new schools, roads, sewer lines, and water supplies.
Costs more money to build new infrastructure – while wasting existing.
Sprawl also means families have to own more cars and drive them further. Transportation is now the second highest category of household spending after housing.
Smart growth helps on both fronts.

17. Keeping Open Space Open
Smart growth protects open space, farmland and forests
6. KEEPING OPEN SPACE OPEN
By focusing development in already built-up areas, smart growth preserves rapidly vanishing natural treasures.

18. How is Smart Growth Achieved?
To achieve Smart Growth, communities should:
Mix Land Uses
Encourage Growth in Existing City & Town Centers
Take Advantage of Existing Community Assets
Housing Opportunities and Choices
Foster “Walkable” Close-Knit Neighborhoods
Promote a “Distinctive Sense of Place” through Preservation
Preserve & Protect Open Space, Farmland, & Critical Environmental Areas
Provide a variety of Transportation Choices
Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost-Effective
Encourage Citizen Participation in Development Decisions
1. Mix Land Uses. New, clustered development works best if it includes a mix of stores, jobs and homes. Single-use districts make life less convenient and require more driving.
2. Encourage Growth & Development in Existing Communities. Before we plow up more forests and farms, we should look for opportunities to grow in already built-up areas.
3. Take Advantage of Existing Community Assets. From local parks to neighborhood schools to transit systems, public investments should focus on getting the most out of what we’ve already built. 4. Create a Range of Housing Opportunities and Choices. Not everyone wants the same thing. Communities should offer a range of options: houses, condominiums, affordable homes for low income families, and “granny flats” for empty nesters. 5. Foster “Walkable,” Close-Knit Neighborhoods. These places offer not just the opportunity to walk—sidewalks are a necessity—but something to walk to, whether it’s the corner store, the transit stop or a school. A compact, walkable neighborhood contributes to peoples’ sense of community because neighbors get to know each other, not just each other’s cars. 6. Promote Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place, Including the Rehabilitation and Use of Historic Buildings. In every community, there are things that make each place special, from train stations to local businesses. These should be protected and celebrated. 7. Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty, and Critical Environmental Areas. People want to stay connected to nature and are willing to take action to protect farms, waterways, ecosystems and wildlife. 8. Provide a Variety of Transportation Choices. People can’t get out of their cars unless we provide them with another way to get where they’re going.More communities need safe and reliable public transportation, sidewalks and bike paths.
9. Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair, and Cost-Effective. Builders wishing to implement smart growth should face no more obstacles than those contributing to sprawl. In fact, communities may choose to provide incentives for smarter development Encourage Citizen and Stakeholder Participation in Development Decisions. Plans developed without strong citizen involvement don’t have staying power.When people feel left out of important decisions, they won’t be there to help out when tough choices have to be made.

19. Sprawl Vs. Smart Growth
Compare these two images. They contrast an image of Sprawl vs. an image of Smart Growth.
[click]
Why has the sprawl image so often prevailed in the last 50 years? Do free-market choices necessarily result in sprawl?
Hardly. Our post-World War II development patterns have been greatly influenced by local, state and federal government policies.
-- In fact, many of our favorite neighborhoods – main streets with apartments over shops, houses fronting close on the street with a corner store nearby – are literally illegal to build now because of local minimum lot size regulations, and prohibitions against mixing uses.
-- National policies have also played a role. The 1956 Interstate Highway Act; the federal mortgage financing program; and Urban Renewal, which often cleared away historic neighborhoods to make way for highways, parking lots, and poorly designed housing projects. Though the full consequences of these policies may have been unforeseen, they are no less real. [click]

20. Sprawl Vs. Smart Growth
Compare these two images. They contrast an image of Sprawl vs. an image of Smart Growth.
[click]
Why has the sprawl image so often prevailed in the last 50 years? Do free-market choices necessarily result in sprawl?
Hardly. Our post-World War II development patterns have been greatly influenced by local, state and federal government policies.
-- In fact, many of our favorite neighborhoods – main streets with apartments over shops, houses fronting close on the street with a corner store nearby – are literally illegal to build now because of local minimum lot size regulations, and prohibitions against mixing uses.
-- National policies have also played a role. The 1956 Interstate Highway Act; the federal mortgage financing program; and Urban Renewal, which often cleared away historic neighborhoods to make way for highways, parking lots, and poorly designed housing projects. Though the full consequences of these policies may have been unforeseen, they are no less real. [click]

21. So, how can YOU make a difference?
Be informed
See alternatives / opportunities
Get involved
Help us build awareness
Encourage young people realize they can make a difference in shaping their communities

22. Grow Smart Rhode Island
Grow Smart Rhode Island
235 Promenade Street, # 550
Providence, RI