SMART GROWTH

The term "Smart Growth" has recently been added to the urban planning lexicon along with other terms such as context-sensitive design, pedestrian-oriented development, and transit-oriented development. Creative planners have popularized these terms by recognizing that the current types and patterns of suburban development promote inefficient land and energy consumption and transportation systems, isolate people from one another, fail to meet the needs of our nation's changing family structures, and are inequitable. Smart Growth represents a return to planning concepts from the first half of the 20th century, reintroducing a sense of neighborhood through pedestrian scale, increased density, circulation continuity, and availability of alternative travel modes. One of the great advantages of "Smart Growth" is that, given the same population and employment, a development based upon "Smart Growth" principles will produce fewer and less significant impacts than a typical suburban development.

Fehr & Peers has been on the leading edge of this movement since our inception in 1985. We have played key roles in several ground-breaking studies of "Smart Growth" impacts on the transportation system throughout the United States. Our approach is to provide creative and innovative yet practical solutions within the following subareas of Smart Growth:

• Context-Sensitive Design
• Intermodal Centers
• Transit-Oriented Developments
• Travel Demand Forecasting Using the "4D" Process
  (i.e., Density, Diversity, Design, Destinations)
  

For more information, please contact Jerry Walters.