What is smart growth?

Smart growth is sustainable community and economic development.

Why is smart growth important in New York State?

Much of the growth and development we have experienced across New York creates higher costs to governments and taxpayers, significant damage to our environment, and stark inequities—not to mention visual pollution and loss of historic resources.  This has impacted each of New York’s unique regions.

Upstate

 Upstate, land has been developed at many times the rate of population growth, with over-development creating a (often less than) zero sum game for regions. For decades, despite flat or even negative population growth, development in Upstate regions has spread outward from the cities and villages; outer suburban and rural areas have been the receiving zones for most of the new development. With this “SWOG” (Sprawl Without Growth) pattern, communities bear the costs of new infrastructure while the existing infrastructure suffers—making for higher tax burdens on government and higher taxes for the same or even fewer number of taxpayers.

Much of the new development—suburban and rural single-family homes– ends up generating more service costs to local government than they do revenue. At the same time, houses in cities and villages go vacant. Emergency services are stretched and strained by the spread out population.  Commercial and retail over-development means that new big box plazas in one town kill off others in adjacent jurisdictions. Concentrated poverty and vacant properties in divested cities compound the cycle of out-migration, sprawl, and urban divestment, vacancy, abandonment, blight, beleaguered schools. People drive more (at high expense), and have less time for life; teenagers become dependent on the most dangerous activity they can undertake.

Downstate

In the Hudson Valley and Long Island, populations rise rapidly and once rural communities are experiencing high demands for further development. Rapid population growth in the countryside threatens character and solvency.  This comes at the same time as many of the first-ring downstate suburbs experience slower growth patterns and aging infrastructure.

The growth that we have already seen, and the growth that we will could continue to experience will result in a loss of farmland, open space, and historic resources.  Skyrocketing costs of housing, titanic taxes, traffic and long commutes will continue to impede quality of life.

New York City

The five boroughs that constitute New York City have grown by one million people since 1990 and projections indicate that we could see a million more people  living within NYC by 2035.

NYC continues to provide a one-of-a-kind urban experience.  Moving forward the city must address how to continue to add population while improving the livability of the neighborhoods and city as a whole.  That will mean improving access to reliable and fast public transportation, providing markets for healthy food, clean and accessible parks and recreation, as well as fresh air and water.

The Smart Growth antidote

We firmly believe that these patterns and practices are not smart. In fact, they are ironic. Many of the decisions made to improve economies and quality of life have the opposite effects. The prevailing development pattern in New York State results in a piling on of debt, increased cost to provide services, and increases in property taxes often coupled with dramatic cuts in services.  This is the vicious fiscal cycle that now distresses much of New York.

Smart Growth:

• Focuses limited infrastructure dollars on existing rather than redundant new infrastructure.
• Emphasizes development that “restores the cores”–cities, villages, town centers, hamlets. Vibrant cores are the foundation for healthy regions.
• Plans for land use and development inter-municipally and regionally; cooperatively rather than competitively.
• Provides choice and quality in housing, transportation, and services for a diverse citizenship.
• Ensures that air, water, wildlife, and agriculture are protected.
• Reduces vehicle miles traveled and overall energy consumption to curb carbon emissions and global climate change.
• Engages people at all life stages  in the land use and development process.