Smart Growth
"Smart growth" covers a range of development and conservation strategies that help protect our health and natural environment and make our communities more attractive, economically stronger, and more socially diverse. It is a development approach that is:
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Environmentally sensitive,
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Economically viable,
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Community-oriented,
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Equitable, and
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Sustainable.
Development decisions will shape Concord for decades to come — our homes, our health, the schools our children attend, our taxes, our daily commute, the economic growth of our community, and our access to our city’s natural resources. What, where, and how communities build will affect their residents' lives for generations to come.
Smart Growth
Communities of all sizes across the country are using creative strategies to develop in ways that preserve natural lands and critical environmental areas, protect water and air quality, and reuse already-developed land. They conserve resources by reinvesting in existing infrastructure and rehabilitating historic buildings. We advocate for these principles in the City of Concord.
By designing neighborhoods that have homes near shops, offices, schools, houses of worship, parks, and other amenities, communities give residents and visitors the option of walking, bicycling, taking public transportation, or driving as they go about their business.
A range of different housing types makes it possible for senior citizens to stay in their neighborhoods as they age, young people to afford their first home, and families at all stages in between to find a safe, attractive home they can afford.
Through smart growth approaches that enhance neighborhoods and involve residents in development decisions, these communities are creating vibrant places to live, work, and play. The high quality of life makes these communities economically competitive, creates business opportunities, and strengthens the local tax base.
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The 10 principles in the diagram, developed several decades ago but unpacked in this guide from US EPA, are considered the foundation of a smart growth approach.