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What Are Smarter Cities? / Make Your City Smarter / Smart Growth

  • 1. What is smart growth?
  • The EPA  defines smart growth as development that encourages mixed land use; compact design within existing communities; walkable neighborhoods; the preservation of open space, wilderness areas and farmland; the proliferation of transportation alternatives; the creation of attractive and distinctive communities; and public involvement in development decisions conducted in a predictable, fair and cost-effective manner.  NRDC's Smart Growth Visions website provides detailed examples of smart growth programs across the country, showing how over time cities can enhance their livability while reducing their environmental—and more specifically their global warming—impacts over time.
  • 2. How will California’s SB375 help fight global warming? What does land-use planning have to do with climate change?
  • In the fall of 2008, California passed SB375, a law that requires metropolitan regions to come up with sustainable community strategies which meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets set by the state’s Air Resources Board. A key goal is to reduce vehicle trips through efficient development patterns that encourages walking and public transit use and limit driving distances for commuters. These strategies must be certified by the Air Resources Board as capable of meeting the GHG targets. The crux of the matter is that through smart-growth strategies, cities can allow residents quicker access to work, school, shopping and other necessities, whether on foot, via public transport or in their own cars, all of which helps lower the amount of carbon dioxide (not to mention smog-producing pollutants) from automobiles.
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