For too long, housing has sprawled out, become astronomically expensive, and offered little choice in the types of places we can call home. That’s no accident! Our rules, policies, and choices have created today’s housing crisis. We’re short 4.7 million homes, and across the country, housing is increasingly out of reach for too many people.
Smart Growth America works to tackle the root causes of our housing challenges by focusing on three things: the types of homes available, where they’re built, and how much they cost. This approach enables more options—like duplexes, townhomes, and apartments—in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods close to jobs, schools, and transit.
By focusing on type, place, and price, we can support communities to build more housing and become healthier, more prosperous, and more resilient.
TYPE: Expand housing options for every stage of life by eliminating outdated rules that only allow single-family homes on large lots.
PLACE: Build in connected, convenient, and climate-safe locations within existing communities—close to jobs, schools, and daily needs—making better use of underutilized land along the way.
PRICE: Reduce the cost of building and living in well-connected communities by expanding financing tools, streamlining the process, and implementing strong anti-displacement strategies.
How we lead
Smart Growth America helps local leaders, advocates, and developers in large metro areas and small towns reshape the rules to meet today’s housing needs—and plan for tomorrow’s. Smart Growth America leads two programs that advance zoning reforms and bring together smart growth developers:
- The Center for Zoning Solutions is SGA’s home for the zoning reform movement. We work alongside communities to update their local land use regulations to allow for more housing in the right places.
- LOCUS brings together purpose-driven investors and partners to advance and affect smart growth policy and outcomes at the federal, state, and local levels.
News
Increasing access to walkable places
Despite reporting to the contrary, our signature report, Foot Traffic Ahead, finds just the opposite: the city endures, and across most metros, grew walkable urbanism.
The report also provides policymakers with recommendations on how to increase both the supply of and access to equitable, walkable urban development while safeguarding affordability and providing benefits such as improving community health, lowering emissions by reducing car use, and advancing equity by bringing access to economic opportunity.
Programs and coalitions
Smart Growth America programs and coalitions advance land use reforms to help create healthy, prosperous, and resilient communities:
The Center for Zoning Solutions is reimagining zoning laws to make the dream community a reality, one code at a time.
LOCUS advocates for real estate policies that are as economically viable as they are socially responsible and environmentally sound.
The National Brownfields Coalition is leading the charge to transform Brownfields into viable community assets.
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