What are Sprawl and Smart Growth?

Minneapolis - St. Paul Ranks #8 Among the Sierra Club's

Most Sprawl-Threatened Large Cities

Red=Cities 1,000,000+, Blue=Cities 500,000-1,000,000, Yellow=Cities 200,000-500,000

Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix are in the, "Dishonorable Mention Category", which means they are presently the worst cities for sprawl.

Compare Woodbury, MN (left) and Liberty on the Lake, Stillwater, MN (right)

What is Sprawl?

"Poorly planned development is threatening our environment, our health, and our quality of life. In communities across America "sprawl" - scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space - is taking a serious toll. But runaway growth is not inevitable. Hundreds of urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods are choosing to manage sprawl with smart growth solutions."

Source: http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/

Problems Created by Sprawl

• Loss of sense of place
• Land consumption and threat to farmland
• Costs to local government
• Increased auto dependence and fuel consumption
• Social, health and environmental impacts

Possible Solutions to Sprawl

• Creating a sense of place
• Preserving open space and farmland
• Concentrating growth and development
• Transportation strategies and priorities
• Regional cooperation
• Demographic trends

Source: http://www.plannersweb.com/sprawl/home.html

What is Smart Growth?

Members of Minnesota's Smart Growth Network endorse the following important principles:

1. Make efficient and effective use of land resources and existing infrastructure by encouraging development to areas with existing infrastructure or capacity to avoid costly duplication of services and costly use of land.
2. Provide a mix of land uses to create a variety of housing choices and opportunities.
3. Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost-effective.
4. Provide a variety of transportation choices including pedestrian friendly neighborhoods.
5. Maintain a unique sense of place by respecting local cultural and natural environmental features.
6. Conserve open space and farmland and preserve critical environmental areas.
7. Encourage stakeholder collaboration and community participation rather than conflict.
8. Provide staged and managed growth in urban transition areas with compact development patterns.
9. Enhance access to equitable public and private resources for everyone.
10. Promote the safety, livability and revitalization of existing urban and rural communities.

Source: http://www.1000fom.org/principles_of_sg.htm