QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"Annexation is a tool that can be used to manage growth and direct growth." - David Dunfield, Mayor of Lawrence, Kansas. 

WHAT'S NEW

Designs for Walkable Neighborhoods

http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=912

Advocates' Guide to Housing and Community Development Policy

http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=911

Healthy Living Resource Guide

http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=913
 

HEADLINES

Reference links to main site addresses are provided at the end of each headline summary. Direct links to individual articles are also provided wherever possible; however, these links change soon after publication when articles are moved to newspaper archives, usually within seven days of publication. Many newspapers offer subscription services for archive retrieval, or offer free searches of their archives.

Visit http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/webnews.asp for daily updates on Smart Growth News.

ALABAMA

Tree Canopy Saves Millions in Air Pollution Control, Storm Water Runoff Expenses

Covering about 67 percent of Jefferson County and the Cahaba River basin in Shelby and St. Clair counties, the tree canopy saves their jurisdictions $117 million on measures to fight air pollution and another $131 million on measures to curb storm water runoff, concludes a study for the Storm Water Management Authority of Jefferson County, the first of its kind nationwide.

http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=3781&state=1

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut Focuses on Smart Growth Principles in Five-Year Update Draft of Conservation and Development Plan

With Connecticut "at a crossroads" as it faces the need "to balance the environment, economy and community," the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM) is readying a series of January and February public hearings on the "Draft Conservation and Policies Plan for Connecticut, 2004-2009," its six growth-management principles made "more prescriptive" for the state's 169 municipalities and 15 regional planning organizations (RPOs), while leaving them sufficient application latitude "based on their unique situations and local interests" and promising "state capital investment."

http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=3782&state=7

KANSAS

Lawrence Commission Finds Annexation a Useful Tool to Gain Control Over Nature of Growth

 
As Lawrence's taking of unincorporated Douglas County land increased from an average 329 acres a year over the past decade to 503 acres in the last four years, some experts began to worry about excessive development and sprawl, but Mayor David Dunfield says, "Annexation is a tool that can be used to manage growth and direct growth," his view shared by County Commission Chairman Bob Johnson, who notes that the more vigorous annexation policy is "based, to some extent, on the initiative of the Smart Growth forces."

http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=3783&state=17

LOUISIANA

Baton Rouge to Get Planning Advice

From Smart Growth Leadership Institute

Widely recognized as a smart growth model for its reliance on present infrastructure, pedestrian-friendliness and potential to curb sprawl and invigorate the central city, Plan Baton Rouge will get a boost from the Washington-based Smart Growth Leadership Institute, whose national experts will visit early next year to evaluate the city-parish (county) ordinances and building codes and to recommend changes, a job that would otherwise cost the city some $60,000 to $100,000.

http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=3784&state=19

MASSACHUSETTS

Gov. Romney Receives Mixed Reviews for Growth Management Efforts During First Year in Office

After 12 months in office, Massachusetts Republican Governor Mitt Romney "has a long time to go to deliver on most of his campaign promises," which included "a better quality of life, from more plentiful jobs and more affordable housing to easy-to-read road signs," reports Quincy Patriot Ledger writer Tom Benner, noting that environmentalists like his emphasis on "smart growth" and focus on development in urban areas, but point out that "smart growth" requires land conservation and wish he had tried to save more open space.

http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=3785&state=22

Read the State by State News' November 2003 Issue

U.S. and International news summaries at http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/bydate.asp?repdate=12/01/2003

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