The concept of Smart Growth continues to gain popularity and attention. Yet it is also a concept that remains poorly defined. What does smart growth mean when applied o the work of municipal boards? Even more difficult is how to measure a specific development proposal as smart or not.

To many, smart growth is also the antithesis of sprawl, another popular, yet ill-defined, term. But according to one recent report, the confusion over terms has gotten to where single development proposal can be seen by one group as the essence of smart growth, while simultaneously seen by an opposing group as a prime example of sprawl, or that which is not smart.

Unlike sizing pipe or measuring a zoning setback, smart growth is a broader set of principles; it will always mean many different things to different people. Yet, by examining the work of several organizations advocating this concept at national, state and regional levels, a working definition can begin to emerge.

Common elements of measuring smart growth include:

• Encouraging compact, efficient forms of land development, including mixed uses and infill uses.
  This principle includes promoting pedestrian-friendly communities and neighborhoods, and maximizing use of existing infrastructure;
  
• Promotion of diversity, affordability and choice in housing - ideally, within greater proximity to work, schools and commerce;

• A balanced inermodal transportation system which gives people options other than the automobile in which to travel to work, schools, recreation and commerce;
  
• Improved development review processes - a guarantee that regulations support consensus policies and that development review is predictable, fair and cost-effective. Incentives such as streamlined review exist for preferred development versus disincentives for less desirable development;

• Planning for growth with preservation - identification of priority areas for growth and activity, as well as priority areas for preservation or limits on growth;
  
• Regional or intermunicipal consistency through which decisions are reached within an understanding of the larger setting - including natural or cultural resources, regional markets and intrastructure systems.

Some primary sources for defining smart growth include:

• The American Planning Association, the leading membership organization for professional planners,
  has an active program titled "Growing Smart."
  
• The National Home Builders Association.
  
• NYS Smart Growth Working Group, a coalition of state and regional, private organizations and associations (including the Association of Towns, the Planning Federation, Audubon New York and the State Builders Association).
  
• NYS Quality Communities Interagency Task Force, chaired by Lt. Gov. Mary O. Donohue, this agency task force recently released a report outlining
  forty-one recommendations.
  
• Suffolk County Dept. of Planning, whose recent "Smart Communities Through Smart Growth" sets principles and actions for a county.

All these sources agree that smart growth must address a balance between community, environment and economy. A "smart" community or development proposal addresses each of these in meaningful terms relevant to its unique regional context. Second, all borrow a key provision from the related concept of "sustainable develop-ment". Here, respect must be shown not only to the current setting, context and times, but also to the future. Future generations should expect sustained respect for a continued balance of community, environment and economic benefits.

David Church is Executive Director of the New York Planning Federation

Related Links

New York Planning Federation

Urban Land Institute

New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association

New York State's Quality Communities Task Force

NYS Quality Communities Clearinghouse