Lincoln Institute of Land Policy blog

With politics tangling up action on the Federal level, cities and local governments are adopting climate action plans to combat global warming. Smart growth is high on the list of action items.

English architect Ben Hamilton-Baillie sees possibility in a section of Harvard Square that has all the qualities of a "woonerf"; mainly, that cars, bikes and pedestrians all share the street equally.

Former Interior secretary Bruce Babbitt believes that the federal government needs to create a new agency to do the planning necessary to prepare the coastline for rising waters due to climate change.

Community land trusts are an unusual but growing method of ownership, where the land is shared but members own their own homes. According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, they're good for neighborhood stabilization and rarely foreclose.

Anthony Flint reports from the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, where the Feds all spoke about coordinating at the federal level to implement smart growth policies.

In a new report looking at how cities in the American West can fight global warming, the authors conclude that the best strategy is to focus on economic and energy efficiency through smart growth.