Environmentalism and Smart Growth: Forging a New Consensus

This paper is the second in a new series published by the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable
Communities that focuses on the practical aspects of how we create smarter, more livable communities for all.

The
series, Livable Communities @ Work, highlights successful strategies, explores tensions created by competing
issues, and generally helps spur informed debate on critical topics. Rachel Peterson1, a writer, researcher and consultant,
wrote this paper, and William Eisenstein2, a doctoral student, researched it.3 The paper makes a case for
why the environmental movement should support smart growth principles for developing ecologically healthy cities.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:4 With the population of the United States expected to grow by as much as 60,000,000 people
by the year 2020, it is imperative that we consider the potential implications that this growth will have on our communities.

In particular, the issues and strategies highlighted in this paper will be important considerations for policymakers,
funders, and concerned citizens as we address ways to accommodate this growth. Will the land development that accommodates
this growth be designed and built in such a way that it improves the quality of life, strengthens the vibrancy of
our communities, improves community health, and redresses some of our current problems?

Or will it continue to weaken
existing communities, degrade our environment, and further separate us by race and class? As this paper makes clear, we
have choices that will decide the answers to these questions. I hope this paper contributes to the thinking that can help us
to make the right ones.

http://www.fundersnetwork.org/usr_doc/Env_and_Smart_Growth.pdf