Frustrated by what's passing as "smart growth" and "transit oriented development," Bill Adams postulates ten refinements (or less subtly stated clarifications) of the principles of smart growth and new urbanism.
"These days, a lot of projects are crashing through the gates of community plans and dashing existing neighborhood character under the banners of smart growth or transit oriented development. Typically, such projects are simply high density or near transit corridors, or sometimes they include gratuitous green space and walking paths. However, they fail in many of the finer points of smart growth, new urbanism, or transit oriented development."
Therefore, San Diego land use attorney Bill Adams offers 10 clarifications and extrapolations of existing smart growth and new urbanism principles, as follows:
- Purge the term NIMBY from your language and your thinking. It stultifies any further understanding of community concerns, or how to reach a compromise.
- Respect community planning.
- Integrate with the surrounding community.
- In transit oriented developments (TODs), transit orientation should exceed auto orientation.
- Respect neighborhood character & identity.
- Increase density incrementally.
- Conform to existing “smart” retail corridors and centers.
- Look for opportunities to narrow (verb) streets and vanquish parking lots.
- Prioritize non-auto transportation by creating unique or exclusive pedestrian and bicycle amenities.
- Design for human nature rather than efficiencies and logic.
FULL STORY: 10 Rules for Smarter Smart Growth
Anatomy of a NIMBYcide in Santa Monica
A look at how the previous approval of the Hines Bergamont Transit Village project was rescinded after pressure from community activists, by real estate developer and consultant Michael Russell.
San Diego Satellite Town Asks: Smart Growth or Trojan Horse?
San Diego County's "most walkable city" is being challenged to identify the real smart growth: what it has or what is being proposed. At issue: a plan amendment for a high density project near transit. But is the project real?
Op-Ed: San Diego Should Look to Beaches to Increase Density
San Diego should look to its beach communities and its major intersections to achieve its housing and Climate Action Plan goals while minimizing community polarization, writes urban planning consultant Howard Blackson.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Indy Bikeshare System Turns 10, Expands to E-Bikes
Pacers Bikeshare riders logged over 700,000 rides since the system launched in 2014.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
New York’s Deadliest Neighborhoods for Pedestrians
Pedestrian deaths rose last year, but remain below pre-2020 levels.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
