And just what does “smart growth” mean, and how does it apply to Newton?
Recent stories, letters, and op-eds in the Newton Tab use the term “smart growth” when referring to ideas for redevelopment of city-owned land in Newton Center and Newtonville.
But these dispatches use “smart growth” as if everyone knows what that means. Most of us don’t, and I’m still learning myself.
Smart growth is an urban planning theory that suggests compact development is, among other things, more financially and environmentally sustainable than suburban sprawl. The term is being applied to both new development and redevelopment, such as this project in Marblehead.
But how does smart growth apply to a city like Newton?
Our city’s Comprehensive Plan, approved by the aldermen in 2007, makes some suggestions that could be described as “smart growth”:
Encourage mixed use in the village centers by promoting housing above retail. Increasing density allowing mixed-use development in the village centers would increase the population within walking distance and as a result would likely expand the available range of goods and services offered there. It would also increase the stock of affordable housing located close to employment centers and public transportation.
These may be good goals, but all Newton stakeholders — residents, city leaders, merchants, and commercial land owners — must wrestle with many questions first. Big questions like, “What are the impacts of more housing vs. its benefits in this village?” And smaller details, which are no less important, like, “How wide should village sidewalks be to function the way we’d like them to?”
We are all stakeholders in this conversation, and we need to educate ourselves about these issues and how to weigh the costs and benefits. A good place to begin may be the Newton Free Library, which just acquired a new book, The Smart Growth Manual, co-authored by Belmont native Jeff Speck, whose consulting firm is working on a plan to revitalize downtown Lowell.
New at the library.
You can also search the Minuteman Library Network for other “smart growth” books, and find authors who promote it and others who are critical of the approach.
More general information about approaches to planning for the future can be found under subject headings like:
If you can’t get by the library, you can find “smart growth” defined by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. You can even get the skinny on it from Wikipedia.
Happy reading.
2 comments
GREAT contribution, John. We’ve got to be clear about our terms.
The only thing I’d quibble with is your use of the term “theory” to describe the status of Smart Growth. It might open the door to attacks such as come from the Creationists on the Theory of Evolution. They take “theory” as if it’s a merely an idea someone had in a dream. That “Smart Growth” is the most cost-effective way to develop is not just some arbitrary idea that people advance for their own purposes. I’d urge anyone looking for hard-nosed analysis to Google “Costs of Sprawl” (sprawl being the opposite of Smart Growth) to find thorough, detailed analyses that have guided New Jersey planning for years.
Good article, John. My experience with smart growth is that its a hot topic that sounds great in concept but really has to be well thought-out and researched to gain the right community support to execute a plan. As per the Marblehead story and feedback from the New Center Task Force plans that were put together a few years ago, residents are concerned with too mucn concentration of retail, traffic, and ongoing maintenance of a project. Successful smart growth plans start with building consensus from the residents and convincing them that the right plan will improve quality of life for the whole community. Given its great access to public transportation, Newton has many opportunities for smart growth initiatives with Newton Center being at the top of the list.
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