The  National Governors' Association (NGA)
Smart Growth Principles Guidelines

NGA Principle for Better Land Use

Criteria Questions

(yes or no)

Strengthen and encourage growth in existing communities

The key need is to see if public services and infrastructure have already created the location.

Include mixed land uses

For infill projects, it may be necessary to consider what is available in neighboring areas.

choices

For infill projects, it may be necessary to consider what is available in neighboring areas. Distributed affordable housing in the 10%-15% range is feasible.

environmental areas

Former working lands that are no longer being used and that are zoned for development are acceptable.

The need is to understand the original environmental setting and whether development will cause harm by isolating green spaces and block the ability of species to remain healthy.

Water runoff and other factors should be examined to determine whether the development is harming the watershed. To minimize water runoff, the fraction of land paved over for streets and parking typically should not exceed 20%-30%.

Consideration should be given to what kinds of periodic natural hazards exist for the site and whether even the best forms of NCD would be inappropriate for a specific location that is vulnerable, for example, to flooding, wildfires, mudslides, beach erosion, or high winds.

The average number of housing units per residential acre is the appropriate measure. The best greenfields NCD projects will have densities in the range of at least 5-10 units per acre, and often much higher. Infill projects will usually have at least 20 units per residential acre. Much depends on the mix of housing; if only single-family detached homes are included, lower densities will prevail.

The best greenfields NCD projects will have 20%-50% of the total land area as diverse and well-dispersed green spaces. Infill project may have as little as 5% green spaces.

The goal is for construction materials and home design to be consistent with the highest energy efficiency standards, and not just for inside appliances.

Provide a variety of transportation

choices

Any form of public transit is acceptable. Convenience means that residents can walk to public transit within about 10-15 minutes. Housing densities above 15 units per residential acre aid use of transit. The difficulty in having transit options for greenfield NCD projects places even more importance on the mixed-use criterion, particularly with respect to employment opportunities.

The measure is connectivity of streets and greenways throughout the community, so people can have convenient access to all parts of the community by walking, biking, or driving. Cul-de-sacs should not be part of the street design. Only one way and out of the community is not desirable, because it will cause traffic congestion.

Today, most telework opportunities require more than the use of the phone and mail. High-quality Internet connections are needed. Home designs now can include special attention to work areas. This complements the presence of employment opportunities and works toward the goal of minimizing dependence on cars.

neighborhoods

The best NCD projects take every conceivable opportunity to promote neighborly interactions. Front porches and garages behind houses are hallmarks of NCD. Community centers, public spaces, benches on sidewalks in commercial areas and in green areas, pocket parks, and trails are key features.

Any design that lacks sidewalks on all streets is inconsistent with NCD. In the best NCD projects, landscaping along sidewalks makes them comfortable and attractive. Residential street widths are often in the 20-22 feet range (compared to conventional streets of 36 feet), and a 600-foot grid size is often preferred to reduce vehicles per day.

Take advantage of existing community assets

Good NCD design honors the original natural setting of the location and incorporates environmental assets into the design, in contrast to giving priority to using land for construction. From a visual and aesthetic perspective, the NCD place should blend harmoniously with the surrounding area, in both physical and cultural terms. Architectural features should be consistent with the surrounding community.

The goals of more efficient land use requires that NCD projects give serious consideration to using land that is abandoned or greatly underused because of environmental or other reasons. For brownfields sites, this requires attention to any cleanup requirements for using the land for residential purposes, unless the contaminated area is small enough to accommodate some nonresidential component of the project.

Promote distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place, including the rehabilitation and use of historic buildings

This is a qualitative judgment. In the best NCD projects, the designers and planners have carefully considered all the mixed uses and how their layout and architectural features conform to a well-conceived style of the community. The chosen style is often linked to the history of the site and surrounding areas, or to the style of the surrounding community in the case of an infill project. This does not at all imply dull consistency among homes. In good design, there is diversity within a consistent style.

For both infill and greenfields projects, the best NCD developers make creative and effective use of structures on the original site, especially ones with historic and architectural significance.

Encourage citizen and stakeholder participation in development decisions

The best NCD developers do not bring a fully worked-out community design to the public or government officials. Today, the best practice is to use new and advanced forms of digital technology tools, visual preference surveys, and highly interactive meetings that solicit local input in a collaborative design process. Meaningful activities are ones that provide for true participation in the development of community design, not merely an opportunity for people to react to a developer's design.

Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost-effective

Developers and others who are advancing an NCD project need to take some responsibility for improving local codes that do not support NCD. Many NCD developers have been successful in obtaining new parallel or overlay codes that remove the need for obtaining high-cost variances from codes that do not by right support NCD.

Here, too, developers and others supportive of NCD can work for improvements in local ordinances and procedures, such as giving priority to NCD applications and guaranteeing decisions within a short time.

The best NCD developers make clear exactly how a project will be executed over time and how market uncertainties will affect decisions to implement the original community design and plan. It is important to be concerned about significant periods when there may be no authentic mixed uses or diverse housing.

Careful attention should be given to whether the local government is empowered to levy some form of impact fee; whether any such imposed fees will cover all public services and infrastructure; and if those fees will match future costs. The major concern is that some public services and infrastructure, particularly schools, may not be provided for in a new development, reducing the quality of life for residents and jeopardizing full build-out of all components of the original community design.