ABSTRACT
What is not to like about smart growth? It was a felicitous choice in the 1990s to coin this metaphor, 1 an expression that has brought much public visibility to efforts to change the ways in which urbanization occurs in the United States. (Are there any alternatives? Who could support “dumb” growth?) The metaphor may be new, but the specific techniques it encompasses – compact growth, urban density and in-fill, neighborhood improvement, open space protection, etc. – have long been in the planning and journalistic lexicon. However, they lacked the resonance of urgency and popular use until governors, mayors, a vice president, and other public figures began to promote the smart growth idea in the last few years.
