Environmental Characteristics of Smart Growth Neighborhoods

These studies, published in October 2000 and February 2003 for the Natural Resources Defense Council in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, show that the environmental benefits of smart growth are real and can be measured. The earlier study focuses on the Metro Square neighborhood in Sacramento, California, and is one of the first to examine a fully completed and occupied development. The more recent compares two neighborhoods in Nashville, Tennessee, and demonstrates that the combination of better transportation accessibility and a modest increase in land-use density can produce measurable benefits even when both sites are automobile-oriented and suburban in character.