Growing with Less Greenhouse Gases

This National Governors Association report cites expanding transportation choices, conserving greenspaces, and promoting new community designs as effective smart growth strategies for reducing greenhouse gases.

by: National Governors Association

”Communities are grappling with the good and bad of growth. Growth is the engine of prosperity, but maintaining a good quality of life in a growing community can be challenging. Growth increasingly produces traffic congestion, greater demand on resources, loss of greenspace, and other undesirable consequences. By properly managing growth, communities can reduce the negative effects of expansion while still reaping its benefits.

Although not always identified as a benefit, common-sense growth policies can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In fact, a well-designed community can reduce emissions without having to implement expensive regulations or programs. This added benefit of growth management makes ”smart growth” an even more attractive policy alternative. Three growth strategies are helping to curb GHG emissions expanding transportation choices, conserving greenspaces, and designing communities that place less demand on energy production and infrastructure.”

For the full report: http://www.nga.org/center/divisions/1,1188,C_ISSUE_BRIEF%5ED_4666,00.html