El Paso Charts Ambitious Course to a Smarter Greener Future

After a two-year effort, the City of El Paso adopted a new comprehensive plan this week. Based on smart growth and sustainability principles, author Kaid Benfield calls it "among the best, most articulate comprehensive plans" he's ever seen.

2 minute read

March 8, 2012, 2:00 PM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Benfield writes about the process by which Plan El Paso was developed by the city and a consultant team led by Dover, Kohl & Partners, and discusses its key innovations in seeking to control "alarming rates of land consumption and carbon pollution" that are plaguing the country's 19th largest city. A draft of the plan had already received the EPA's award for achievement in smart growth in December, and Benfield thinks the final product had gone even further in its accomplishments.

Quoting from the plan, Benfield points out its key thrust: "The plan proposes strategies to bring more of the activi­ties of daily living within walking distance and a framework of transportation alternatives including transit and bicycle systems. Encouraging walkability helps create healthy life styles. Building complete places that enable neighbors to know each other will help create and retain close-knit communities...The plan revives the idea that additions to the built-environment must be functional and long-lasting but also delightful and attractive. Plan El Paso recognizes that design matters."

To achieve this goal, the plan employs a diversity of tools, many of which take advantage of LEED-ND guidelines. According to Banfield, "the plan gives priority to reinvestment in downtown; transit-supportive infill development; revitalization of older neighborhoods; balanced transportation options; strategic suburban retrofits; sustainable economic development; respect for nature; and much more."

Perhaps most encouraging about the planning process was the substantial public engagement effort involved in the plan's development, which Banfield details. He reports that, "Plan El Paso repeatedly acknowledges that its best ideas were locally generated," which bodes well for its prospects for implementation and perpetuation by citizens and politicians alike.

Thursday, March 8, 2012 in Switchboard

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

"Altadena - Not For Sale" yard sign in front of burned down house after Eaton Fire in Altadena, California in January 2025.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations

Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

July 7 - Dwell

Dense multistory residential buildings in hilly San Francisco, California.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean

Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

July 7 - The San Francisco Standard

Blue self-driving Ford Transit van shuttle in Jacksonville, Florida.

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US

A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.

July 7 - Smart Cities Dive

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.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA