Smart Growth

Brochures and Advocacy Resources

• Toolkit: Getting Density Right
  Collaborative effort between NMHC and the Urban Land Insitute, this book describes tools communities can use to promote compact development. Includes case studies of eight successful communities. (May 2008)

• Higher-Density Development: Myth and Fact
  New publication by ULI, NMHC and the Sierra Club that debunks eight widespread misconceptions about higher-density development. Perfect for combating opposition to new apartment development.

• Free PowerPoint: Re-Thinking Density
  Visually compelling PowerPoint presentation that makes the case for higher-density development and rebuts common myths and fears associated with density. Collaborative effort by NMHC, the Sierra Club and the Urban Land Institute. (May 2005)

• White Paper: Overcoming Opposition to Multifamily Rental Housing
  White paper that examines the nature of local resistance to apartments, the reasons behind it and how it can be overcome. (January 2007)

• Presentation: Apartments - The New American Dream?
  Article and PowerPoint presentation explaining why apartment living is becoming more popular among households who can afford to buy. Provides statistical evidence and reasons why the trend is likely to continue in the future. (Updated April 2004)

• Apartment Myths
  Articles and research refuting the most common myths about apartments and the people who live in them.

Hot Links

Related Articles

• National Public Radio: The Advantages Of Renting
  Weekend Edition interview that explores whether the government's promotion of homeownership is really in the U.S.'s best interests. Author Richard Florida says, "Renting may make sense not just for people who can't afford to buy a house, but for people whose careers require flexibility - and for an economy that's built on our flexibility, single family-owned housing may be a bit inflexible." (September 21, 2009)

• Higher Density Housing, Highly Demanded
  Reviews how increasing consumer and community demand for high-density housing will have a dramatic and far-reaching effect on future apartment demand. (March 2005)

Research Reports

Third-party Guidance, Advisories, and Resources

• Toward a New Metropolis: The Opportunity To Rebuild America
  Brookings Institution report that examines projected trends at the national, state and metropolitan level to determine the estimated demand for new housing, commercial, and industrial space over the next quarter century. Finds that in 2030, about half of the buildings in which Americans live, work, and shop will have been built after 2000. (12/2004)

• This is Smart Growth
  Joint publication by NMHC, ICMA and the Smart Growth Network illustrating how communities can use smart growth techniques to create more economic opportunities, build great places where people want to live and visit, preserve the qualities people love about their communities, and protect environmental resources. (September 2006)

• Smart Growth Implementation Toolkit
  The Toolkit is designed to help community leaders review and revise their land use policies, zoning and development codes and project design standards. It includes step-by-step “audits” of policies and codes, as well as a scorecard for evaluating proposed development projects. (January 2008)

• Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change
  ULI book that advocates for compact development and documents how key changes in land development patterns could help reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. (April 2008)