New report ties smart growth to economic prosperity
A new report by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) looks at the connection between smart growth strategies and economic development.
The report “Economic Development and Smart Growth” presents eight case studies where communities implemented projects that incorporated smart growth principles and then experienced economic development success in various forms, including increased tax revenue, more jobs, higher income levels, downtown revitalization and business growth. The case studies focus on transit development, commercial corridor revitalization, targeted area redevelopment and infill, and the creation of arts and entertainment districts.
Smart growth is a hot phrase right now. In fact, the Brownfields 2006 conference in November will discuss the topic in numerous sessions. As cities face population growth and demands for more housing and services, more municipalities are turning to smart growth principles to guide their development decisions, according to the IEDC report. The report lists the 10 principles of smart growth:
- Mix land uses.
- Use land efficiently.
- Create a range of safe, convenient and affordable housing opportunities and choices.
- Create walkable neighborhoods.
- Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place.
- Preserve natural lands, farmland and critical environmental areas.
- Strengthen and direct development toward existing communities.
- Provide a variety of transportation choices.
- Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost-effective.
- Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions.
Among the projects profiled in the case studies is the Brewery Blocks development in Portland, Ore. Bruce Allen, senior development manager at the Portland Development Commission (PDC) who’s quoted in that case study, says smart growth is not a new word to the PDC. “My sense is that we have been using that word in regular conversation for about 10 years,” he says.
Brewery Blocks, developed on a former brewery site, ties a cluster of residential and commercial development around the Portland Streetcar, launched in 2001. It’s created a bridge between the central business district and the Pearl District while generating $1.3 million in new tax revenues for the city. The light rail project itself has sparked $3 billion in new development around it, according to the report.
Regional brownfields experts say smart growth and brownfields can be synonymous with one another. And in fact the report touches on the environmental benefits smart growth can bring, pointing to how the development of idle or underutilized infill sites can save community green space and also restore contaminated sites.
“Brownfields are smart growth,” says Sharon Kophs, Washington State Community Trade and Economic Development brownfields program manager. Often times, brownfield redevelopment curbs urban sprawl, she adds.
In Spokane, Wash., for example, brownfield money is being used as an incentive for smart growth in the downtown’s University District. Earlier this year, the city received a $200,000 EPA grant to be used for the assessment and redevelopment of brownfields in the U-District. The city previously completed an extensive inventory of brownfields located there. The city also received a $45,000 EPA smart growth grant to be used for technical assistance.
This project is the city’s first real emphasis on smart growth, says Brian Jennings, who is both brownfields project manager and smart growth project manager for the city of Spokane. The city would like to put smart growth principles to work in the district, including building a bridge for pedestrian traffic and mixing residential and commercial development, while placing an emphasis on creating a research or innovation district that builds upon the nearby medical district and higher education programs available at the surrounding universities.
Smart growth ties in well with the city’s master plan for the area, and brownfield money will help carry out those goals, he says. “You couldn’t ask for a better area that’s primed for growth and activity than this area.” Judging by the IEDC report, Spokane isn’t the only city that can benefit from utilizing brownfields redevelopment as part of a smart growth strategy.
A full copy of the IEDC report, which is supported with funding from EPA, is at http://www.iedconline.org/Downloads/Smart_Growth.pdf.
