EPA's Smart Growth Program
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| EPA's Smart Growth Program | |
|---|---|
| Name | EPA's Smart Growth Program |
| Formation | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Parent organization | United States Environmental Protection Agency |
EPA's Smart Growth Program is a federal initiative within the United States Environmental Protection Agency focused on coordinating land use, transportation, and environmental protection strategies across the United States. The program advances planning tools and technical assistance to support compact development patterns, transit access, and watershed protection in collaboration with states, tribes, municipalities, and private stakeholders. It draws on research and partnerships with federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions to promote resilient communities and reduced pollution.
Overview
EPA's Smart Growth Program operates as an applied-policy office inside the United States Environmental Protection Agency that synthesizes evidence from urban planning, public health, and environmental science. It develops guidance, case studies, and metrics for localities, aligning efforts with agencies such as the Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Federal Transit Administration. The program interacts with metropolitan planning organizations like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and regional entities such as the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District. It also collaborates with nonprofit partners including the Urban Land Institute, Smart Growth America, and the Trust for Public Land.
Goals and Principles
The program's principal goals include protecting watersheds and wetlands, improving air quality in nonattainment areas designated under the Clean Air Act, and encouraging development patterns consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act. Principles emphasize compact, walkable communities, expanded public transit access, preservation of open space like National Parks and local greenways, and equitable outcomes for communities historically impacted by environmental burdens. It frames these aims within legal regimes such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and links to federal funding streams administered by agencies like the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
History and Development
The program emerged in the 1990s amid growing interest from policy communities including the Brookings Institution, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and academic centers like the Harvard Kennedy School and the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Early efforts referenced landmark laws and reports such as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the Clean Water Act, and studies by the National Research Council. The program evolved through collaborations with presidential administrations and federal offices including the Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality. Major milestones include technical guidance releases, regional pilot projects, and incorporation into cross-agency initiatives such as the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
Key Initiatives and Programs
Key initiatives involve green infrastructure demonstrations, transit-oriented development pilots, and tools for brownfield redevelopment in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization. Notable programs include support for complete streets policies, funding guidance that aligns HUD Community Development Block Grant objectives with compact growth, and implementation toolkits drawing on standards from organizations like the American Planning Association and the Congress for the New Urbanism. The program issues model ordinances, performance metrics compatible with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and guidance for integrating floodplain resilience consistent with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Implementation and Partnerships
Implementation relies on partnerships with state environmental agencies such as the California Environmental Protection Agency and municipal governments including those of New York City, Chicago, and Portland, Oregon. It partners with transit agencies like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to connect land use plans to service investments. Collaborations include universities—University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin—and philanthropic funders such as the Kresge Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. The program also works with tribal governments represented by organizations like the National Congress of American Indians.
Outcomes and Criticism
Reported outcomes include increased redevelopment of infill sites, reduced vehicle miles traveled in pilot corridors, enhanced stormwater management with green infrastructure, and preservation of open space through partnerships with land trusts such as the Nature Conservancy. Critics, including some scholars at the Cato Institute and community advocates associated with the National Low Income Housing Coalition, argue that smart growth can accelerate gentrification, displace low-income residents, or insufficiently address affordable housing needs tied to Department of Housing and Urban Development policies. Legal challenges and debates have involved municipal zoning disputes, state preemption laws, and tensions with federally subsidized highway projects administered by the Federal Highway Administration.
Case Studies and Examples
Representative case studies include transit-oriented redevelopment in Arlington County, Virginia around the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, green infrastructure retrofits in Philadelphia coordinated with the Philadelphia Water Department, and brownfield-to-housing projects in Cleveland that engaged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization. Other examples include complete streets implementation in Seattle, infill revitalization in Baltimore supported by the Maryland Department of the Environment, and regional planning efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area led by the Association of Bay Area Governments. International comparisons reference compact-city policies in Vancouver, British Columbia and sustainable transport models in Copenhagen.