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National Award for Smart Growth Achievement
Background
Through the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, EPA recognizes and supports communities that use innovative policies and strategies to strengthen their economies, provide housing and transportation choices, develop in ways that bring benefits to a wide range of residents, and protect the environment.
Smart growth development practices support national environmental goals by preserving open spaces and parkland and protecting critical habitat; improving transportation choices, including walking, bicycling, and transit, which reduces emissions from automobiles; promoting brownfield redevelopment; and reducing impervious surfaces, which improves water quality.
To learn more about smart growth and the environment, see our Environmental Benefits of Smart Growth page.
2012 Award Winners
Learn more about winners from the 2012 Awards Competition.
2012 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement (PDF) (20 pp, 1.9MB, About PDF)
This year’s award recognizes four winners and three honorable mentions in four categories:
Overall Excellence in Smart Growth (Winner): The BLVD Transformation — Lancaster, California
A dilapidated downtown corridor has been transformed into a lively, mixed-use district through investments in the streetscape, housing, and business development, bringing jobs, economic growth, and community revitalization.
Main Street or Corridor Revitalization (Winner): The Cooperative Building — Brattleboro, Vermont
A new, energy-efficient, multi-story building with a food co-op, affordable apartments, and innovative, money-saving environmental features has contributed to the vibrancy of Brattleboro’s Main Street.
Programs and Policies (Winner): Destination Portsmouth — Portsmouth, Virginia
A comprehensive overhaul of development and land use regulations has begun to realize the community’s vision for a livable and pedestrian-friendly city while providing additional opportunities for economic development and reinvestment.
Equitable Development (Winner): Mariposa District — Denver, Colorado
A community-oriented master plan strengthens a transit-accessible, diverse Denver neighborhood through the construction of affordable housing, health improvements, and services for residents.
Main Street or Corridor Revitalization (Honorable Mention): Larkin District — Buffalo, New York
The rehabilitation of a warehouse building and public spaces has sparked widespread revitalization and redevelopment of a mixed-use district that reconnects a historic neighborhood to the rest of the city.
Programs and Policies (Honorable Mention): Bay Area Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Fund — San Francisco Bay Area, California
A $50-million revolving fund provides loans for investments in affordable, transit-accessible housing options in an area struggling with high housing costs.
Equitable Development (Honorable Mention): Northwest Gardens — Fort Lauderdale, Florida
After decades of disinvestment, a downtown neighborhood has become a robust, sustainable, self-sufficient community with affordable homes, workforce training, community gardens, and civic pride.
