ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Land-use planning paradigm as it relates to the sustainability efforts of American cities. It discusses that infill is one of the 10 principles of smart growth and shares similar benefits of other policies. Park and recreation development programs are a bit less clearly related to smart growth than the other policies. Local land-use planning activities naturally overlap with sustainability efforts in American cities. Land-use planners have a long history of searching for ways to balance the tensions between economic development, environmental protection, and social equity. The Planner's Triangle has been adapted by scholars studying sustainability to represent the similar tensions that exist in the pursuit of broader sustainability goals. Land-use planning emerged as an important local responsibility over the last century in the United States. New York City had one of the very first visible local land-use planning efforts when the city explored using land-use controls to combat congestion in the early 1900s.
