Smart Growth

Smart Growth Tools

EPA offers a wide variety of tools and resources to help communities learn about and implement smart growth approaches.

Smart Growth Self-Assessment for Rural Communities – Tool that lets communities evaluate their existing policies to create healthy, environmentally resilient, and economically robust places.
Smart Growth Guidelines for Sustainable Design and Development – Guidelines that can serve as a checklist to ensure that programs, plans, and proposed developments incorporate the elements needed at the location, site, and building levels to result in more sustainable, affordable housing.
Smart Growth Scorecards: Useful Examples from Across the Country – Sample scorecards that can help communities assess their development patterns and related aspects like walkability.
Sustainable Communities HotReport Exit – Web-based tool that gives community leaders and residents a quick and easy way to determine how well their community is performing on a variety of sustainability indicators, including transportation, housing, economic development, income, and equity.
Sustainable Community Indicator Catalog – Catalogue of indicators to help communities measure progress toward their sustainability objectives.
Tools and Key Resources for Sustainable Communities – List of useful tools and key resources compiled to support the goals of the HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
Sample Requests for Proposals (RFPs) – Examples of RFPs issued by communities to find consultants experienced in smart growth to work on plan updates.

Model Course Prospectuses: Teaching smart growth at colleges and universities – Compilation of course prospectuses that offer students hands-on experience in smart growth issues.

Flood Resilience Checklist – Checklist to help communities determine whether they are prepared for a flood.

Access to Jobs and Workers Via Transit Tool – Geospatial data resource and web mapping tool for comparing the accessibility of neighborhoods via public transit service.
Infrastructure Financing Options for Transit-Oriented Development – Comprehensive overview of existing tools and implementation strategies for transit-oriented development and emerging, innovative models for financing.
Mixed-Use Trip Generation Model – Spreadsheet tool that makes it easy to estimate trips generated by a new mixed-use development to more fairly assess these projects in development review processes.
Smart Location Database – Nationwide geospatial database characterizing the built environment for use in travel demand studies and scenario planning.

Impervious Surface Growth Model – Simple spreadsheet tool for estimating net impervious surface growth associated with development proposals based on the development location.
Water Quality Scorecard – Tool to help local governments identify opportunities to remove barriers and revise and create codes, ordinances, and incentives to better protect water quality.

Tribal Green Building Toolkit – Provides information on how tribes and other communities can prioritize and implement green building codes, policies, and practices.
Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Rural Planning, Zoning, and Development Codes – Tool to help rural communities strengthen their economies while preserving rural character.
Essential Smart Growth Fixes for Urban and Suburban Zoning Codes – Tool to help local governments apply targeted fixes to their zoning codes to address specific issues.
Examples of Codes That Support Smart Growth Development – Sample codes and ordinances that support smart growth.
Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments – Toolkit on local codes of ordinances that affect the design, construction, renovation, and operation and maintenance of a building and its immediate site to help local governments, the development community, and other building professionals identify and remove barriers to sustainable design and green building in their permitting processes.