This policy focus report complements a larger volume that compares four states with smart growth programs (Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and Oregon) and four other states without such programs (Colorado, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia). The analysis reveals that programs vary greatly across the four smart growth states, producing a range of outcomes that overlap with some of those in the other states.

This paper evaluates various criticisms of Smart Growth. It defines the concept of Smart Growth, contrasts it with sprawl, and describes common Smart Growth strategies. It examines various criticisms of Smart Growth including the claims that it harms consumers, infringes on freedom, increases traffic congestion and air pollution, reduces housing affordability, causes social problems, increases public service costs, requires wasteful transit subsidies and is unjustified. Some specific critics' papers are examined. This analysis indicates that many claims by critics reflect an incomplete understanding of Smart Growth or inaccurate analysis. Critics identify some legitimate problems that must be addressed to optimize Smart Growth, but present no convincing evidence to diminish overall justifications for Smart Growth.

A Wall Street Journal bestseller Named one of 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 by Thinkers50 Creating a culture of learning and growth. Growth is the goal. Helping people develop their potential—enabling them to articulate and become the self they want to be, are capable of being, and that best serves them and others in the short and long term—is what we as individuals and leaders strive toward. But how do we grow? It turns out it happens in a predictable way, which means we can understand where we are in our growth and chart a way forward. In this compact, complete guide, Whitney Johnson dives more deeply than ever into the S Curve of Learning so that you can envision how growth happens and direct yourself and others in your organization to create a culture that fosters it. The growth and learning journey comes in three phases: the Launch Point, the Sweet Spot, and Mastery. Compelling examples of successful people will show you when and why growth is slow, how to keep going, what to do when growth and learning are almost too fast to keep up with, and how to leap from one growth journey to another. As individuals grow, so do organizations and societies. Growth is learning put into action—action that betters the world as we better ourselves and our small niches, both personal and professional, within it. Growth occurs when learning is internalized—when we try something new and invest the effort to move it from being something we do to something we are.

Urban sprawl � low-density subdivisions and business parks, big box stores and mega-malls � has increasingly come to define city growth despite decades of planning and policy. In Perverse Cities, Pamela Blais argues that flawed public policies and mis-pricing create hidden, "perverse" subsidies and incentives that promote sprawl while discouraging more efficient and sustainable urban forms � clearly not what most planners and environmentalists have in mind. She makes the case for accurate pricing and better policy to curb sprawl and shows how this can be achieved in practice through a range of market-oriented tools that promote efficient, sustainable cities.

Smart Growth is a collection of development principles that address the undesirable environmental, land use, and fiscal impacts that stem from urban sprawl. This report intends to analyze the impacts of Smart Growth through the comparison of Smart Growth states and non-Smart Growth states. Informed by the literature, I selected multiple indicators that quantify the impacts of state-level Smart Growth-policies in Oregon and New Jersey. These indicators were also measured in one non-Smart Growth state: Colorado. Indicators of mobility include work commute mode share, the volume vehicle miles traveled, and the relationship between density (population and employment) and work commute mode share. Housing affordability indicators are home values, multifamily units as a share of new units, and the prevalence of cost burdened households. Each state performed best in at least two of the indicators measured. New Jersey posted the best results for four indicators: the share of cost-burdened renter, median home value, median rent, and vehicle miles traveled. Oregon performed the best for two indicators: new multifamily development and commute by public transit. Colorado also performed the best for two indicators: cost-burdened homeowners and commute by driving alone. Trends revealed by changes in selected indicators suggest Smart Growth policies may produce intended outcomes but are not the best or only way in guiding successful growth management. Planners and scholars might therefore ask whether additional steps are needed to guide successful growth management