The National Complete Streets Coalition recently worked with 35 transportation and public health professionals from the Denver region on Complete Streets policy adoption and implementation in a suburban context. In the six months since our final workshop, the three participating cities have launched cross-departmental and cross-jurisdictional working groups to develop custom Complete Streets ordinances.
A former manufacturing city northwest of Boston has renewed its focus on its downtown, leveraging partnerships with the local state university and utilizing its current stock of historic buildings to generate an economic resurgence.
A regional planning commission in Wisconsin wanted to develop a regional Complete Streets policy as a tool to encourage its local jurisdictions to do the same. Partnering with Smart Growth America helped bolster their efforts, offering policy development strategies and fostering local discussions around Complete Streets.
Sitka, Alaska has struggled with housing affordability and a zoning code which no longer reflects the reality it faces. With help from Smart Growth America, it has identified changes to its zoning code and adopted a comprehensive plan that will help change its course.
Tulsa, Oklahoma worked with Smart Growth America to implement parts of the city’s comprehensive plan and better understand how development decisions made today will impact its budget decades into the future.
A workshop and analysis of future development from Smart Growth America helped Chattanooga, TN see how it can best direct its resources to have the greatest benefits for the city and its residents.
To help it create a more sustainable community, this inner suburb of Detroit sought a zoning code audit from Smart Growth America and Clarion Associates. The audit focused on stormwater management, green infrastructure, and housing diversity. Since the audit, Royal Oak has made significant progress around its land use and sustainability goals.
Between September 2017 and January 2018, the National Complete Streets Coalition worked with 30 transportation professionals from the Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga regions in Tennessee to identify and overcome common barriers to Complete Streets implementation. In the seven months since then, each region has taken steps to move Complete Streets forward in their communities.
The small Colorado town of Pagosa Springs is focused on revitalizing its downtown and supporting more mixed-use, walkable development to both address a lack of affordable housing and accommodate a large volume of tourists. There are a number of opportunities to make progress in the near-term, including turning a recent disaster in the downtown into a catalytic redevelopment opportunity.
Local leaders in Lowell, Massachusetts are working hard to make their streets safer and more accessible, passing a Complete Streets policy several years ago and advancing or completing a number of recent projects that prioritize the need to make streets safe and convenient for users of all ages and all abilities.