How Do We Know if Complete Streets (or Any Streets) Are Meeting the Needs of Community Members?

As Smart Growth America releases its best practices to evaluate the success of Complete Streets efforts, we at Salud America! want to draw attention to how transportation needs and barriers have been conceptualized. This post was written by Amanda Merck from Salud America!  Across the fields of urban planning, public health, and health care, transportation … Continued

Complete Streets

From Policy to Practice: A Guide to Measuring Complete Streets Progress

Our new report, From Policy to Practice: A Guide to Measuring Complete Streets Progress, makes the case for why measuring Complete Streets is essential and shows how local agencies can effectively track their progress using 100 possible measures and three key metrics: Process: Funding measures, accountability, and community engagement Implementation: Infrastructure projects, network creation, places … Continued

Complete Streets

Milwaukee, WI: Capacity challenges slow, but don’t stall Complete Streets work

When Wisconsin repealed its state Complete Streets policy in 2015, the City of Milwaukee jumped on the opportunity to adopt its own city-level policy, crafting a strong resolution in 2018. Despite strong annual reports designed to track progress, the city continues to face numerous staffing and capacity challenges, but city staff and local advocates remain committed to achieving the vision outlined in their policy.

Complete Streets

Baltimore, MD: Consistent reflection is crucial to inform binding next steps

In 2010, Baltimore passed a non-binding Complete Streets resolution. Recognizing that the resolution did not have the intended impact, Baltimore delivered a strong and binding Complete Streets ordinance in 2018, showing their commitment to implementing Complete Streets. The updated ordinance included important requirements such as the development of a new Complete Streets Manual, regular staff training to build internal capacity, and publicly available annual reports assessing transportation projects and investments through an equity lens.

Complete Streets

Benefits of Complete Streets: Monroe, Louisiana

Monroe, Louisiana, seeks to improve unsafe streets to benefit all users. City staff, community advocates, and the mayor are working to improve the design and conditions of the South 2nd Street corridor. Adopting Complete Streets principles and increasing access for all users can yield significant health, environmental, and economic benefits. Monroe is a city of … Continued

Complete Streets

Request for proposals: Dangerous by Design graphics

Smart Growth America is seeking an experienced professional to produce graphics and illustrations demonstrating street design changes that improve safety for people walking, biking, and rolling. Please submit proposals to Heidi Simon, Director of Thriving Communities (hsimon@smartgrowthamerica.org) by April 18, 2024. Overview and Scope Smart Growth America is in the process of developing its 2024 … Continued

Complete Streets