Smart Growth: A View From Captol Hill
by Senator James M. Jeffords

U.S. Senator James M. Jeffords looks at recent federal initiatives designed to curb sprawl.

While the term "smart growth" is new, the concept is not. The difference between today and the 1960s, when I began working on the issue as a Vermont State Senator, is the recognition of an unprecedented fork in the growth management road. Unchecked growth, discarding inconvenient, used land parcels while devouring open space across the countryside, lies down one path. Growth planned with the goal of preserving communities and an open working landscape follows the other path. While long considered a local issue, there is a growing recognition of a federal role.

A critical tool in these growth management efforts is coordinated planning. Citizens across the country are working to implement the tenets of smart growth every day by contributing long hours of volunteer work with local planning commissions. The federal government must provide greater support to the local planning authorities responsible for executing these projects. ...

The smart growth legislative initiatives proposed during the 106th Congress focus on providing the necessary resources and legislative authority to carry out local smart growth objectives in town centers as well as outside urban boundaries, and encouraging collaboration between private and public entities, as well as all levels of government. ...