AIA Central Valley is an active participant in the Smart Growth Leadership Recognition Program.
The Goals of the program are to:
- Promote and support coordinated land use and transportation planning that represents compact, intelligent, non sprawl urban development, that preserves and enhances the natural ecology of our open spaces, that reinforces the urban ecology/quality of existing communities through reinvestment, and that reduces pollution in our air, water, and land.
- Enable the Sacramento region to become a sustainable community through the application of Smart Growth principles in all planning and development actions.
- Foster community design excellence that improves the quality of the built environment.
- Provide public awareness and support of projects that embody the “public good” as described above through its project recognition.
- Provide an incentive to the development community to produce exemplary projects that embody the “public good” as described above through its project recognition endorsements.
- Be used as a positive tool to attain these goals.
The guiding principles that define Smart Growth and Sustainability are as follows:
- Promote infill development. Take advantage of existing community assets by accommodating additional growth in already developed areas.
- Foster walkable, close-knit neighborhoods through a system of fully connected streets, pedestrian paths and bicycle routes.
- Promote distinctive, attractive communities of distinguished design that create a strong sense of place.
- Mix land uses at an appropriate scale either vertically or horizontally within projects to create vibrant urban places.
- Promote rehabilitation and use of historic buildings
- Promote distinguished design of the “public realm” that emphasizes a pedestrian and ecological focus.
- Promote social equity in residential, commercial, recreational and transportation usage.
- Create a range of housing opportunities and choices with a diversity of affordable housing options.
- Provide and strengthen a variety of transportation choices that promote walking, bicycling, and public transit usage.
- Support appropriate and safe reuse of brownfields.
- Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas within the urban environment and on the urban edge.
- Provide for minimal and managed storm and wastewater runoff.
- Discourage projects that reinforce urban sprawl and its resultant infrastructure costs, excess vehicle usage, environmental degradation, social isolation, and public transit inefficiency.
The Guiding Principles have been developed from those presently utilized by the City of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento
For the full Smart Growth Leadership Program Guidelines and application information, click here.
For more information, please contact AIA Central Valley at 916-444-3658.