The concept of "Smart Growth" has exploded onto the national consciousness as one of the most critical issues confronting America today. It touches on choices we Americans hold close to our hearts - where we live, work and play, the education of our children, commute times to work, and the economic and job opportunities created by new growth in our communities. It is an idea that addresses the questions of how best to plan for and manage growth, when and where new residential and commercial development as well as schools and major highways should be built and located and how to pay for the infrastructure required to serve a growing population.
In its broadest sense, Smart Growth means meeting the underlying demand for housing created by an ever-increasing population and prosperous economy by building a political consensus and employing market-sensitive and innovative land-use planning concepts. It means understanding that suburban job growth and the strong desire to live in single-family homes will continue to encourage growth in suburbia. At the same time, Smart Growth means meeting that housing demand in "smarter ways" by planning for and building to higher densities, preserving meaningful open space and protecting environmentally-sensitive areas.
The key elements of NAHB's Smart Growth strategy include the following:
Anticipating and planning for economic development and growth in a timely, orderly and predictable manner;
Establishing a long-term comprehensive plan in each local jurisdiction that makes available an ample supply of land for residential, commercial, recreational and industrial uses as well as taking extra care to set aside meaningful open space and to protect environmentally sensitive areas;
Removing barriers to allow innovative land-use planning techniques to be used in building higher density and mixed use developments as well as in-fill developments in suburban and inner-city neighborhoods;
Planning and constructing new schools, roads, water and sewer treatment facilities and other public infrastructure in a timely manner to keep pace with the current and future demand for housing, and finding a fair and broad-based way to underwrite the costs of infrastructure investment that benefits the entire community;
Achieving a reasonable balance in the land-use planning process by using innovative planning concepts to protect the environment and preserve meaningful open space, improve traffic flow, relieve overcrowded schools and enhance the quality of life for all residents; and
Ensuring that the process for reviewing site-specific land development applications is reasonable, predictable and fair for applicants and contiguous neighbors.
Most important, Smart Growth is understanding the aspirations of Americans - the very people comprehensive growth plans are intended to serve - while protecting the environment and quality of life for all Americans. Where do people want to live? What type of homes do they want for themselves and their children? What can they afford? What types of jobs and economic opportunities do they seek and expect?
Ironically, the concept of Smart Growth has emerged on the 50th anniversary of the nation's 1949 National Housing Act, the landmark bill in which Congress first set forth the national goal of "providing a decent home in a suitable living environment for every American family."
Housing's Record Accomplishments
Since then, the achievements of the housing industry have been nothing short of remarkable. In the past 50 years, home builders have built nearly 75 million new homes and apartment units, or three of every four housing units in the country today. Millions more have been remodeled and rehabilitated. The homeownership rate has increased from 44 percent to a record 66.3 percent today. And, in recent years, a strong economy, low interest rates and improvements in the housing finance system have opened the door to homeownership for millions of minorities and immigrants previously unable to buy a home. The quality of new housing has also improved steadily over the past 50 years, making today's new homes more comfortable, more durable, easier to maintain and much more energy-efficient than ever before.
The benefits of this housing growth reach far beyond the housing market. New housing construction has helped lift the nation's economy to new heights, creating millions of jobs in home building-related industries each year. It has expanded the tax base and generated billions of dollars of tax revenues for local governments, and triggered spending for goods and services that accounts for about 4 cents of every dollar spent in the U.S. annually. It has also contributed greatly to individual financial security, allowing America's 69 million home-owning households to accumulate $5 trillion in home equity, which accounts for close to half the net worth of those households.
But the job of housing America is far from complete. The nation's population is projected to grow by about 30 million people over the next 10 years. More than a million new households are being formed annually. America's home builders will have to construct between 1.3 and 1.5 million new housing units each year just to meet the underlying demand for shelter during the next decade. This does not include the additional housing units and support required to meet the housing needs of more than 5 million Americans who still live in substandard housing or pay more than 50 percent of their incomes for rent.
Building a Political Consensus
How well we plan for projected increases in households, changing demographics and lifestyles and an expanding economy will have a major impact on the quality of life in years ahead. When used properly as a planning tool, Smart Growth can help expand homeownership opportunities and allow Americans to obtain the home and lifestyle of their dreams. There are some, however, who want to turn Smart Growth into a tool to stop or slow growth. Such a move would penalize and put at greatest risk those living at the edge of housing affordability - the young, minorities, immigrants and moderate-income families who are just now taking advantage of today's economic prosperity and low interest rates and are entering the homeownership market in record numbers.
It is also worthwhile to note that residential and commercial growth is fluid - meaning that when it is stopped in one place, it will inevitably occur somewhere else. The forces of no growth are, in part, responsible for the leapfrog development patterns of the past. Attacking past development patterns and blaming builders does not recognize the fact that public policy dictates where development occurs. Such political rhetoric is not only wrong and counterproductive but it polarizes the very people who should sit down together and work out solutions on Smart Growth.
Understanding where people want to live and the homes they want to live in is the first step in mapping the patterns of growth for America in the decade ahead. Seeking common ground and building a political consensus must follow. This discussion should start in each local jurisdiction - city, county or township - because the politics of growth are uniquely local and because the authority to determine land use is vested in local government. While general planning principles are useful, the actual planning tools and strategies selected will vary according to local market conditions.
The federal government's role should be to encourage - not mandate - local communities to adopt long-term comprehensive plans that will meet the demand for new housing, public infrastructure and other services in the decade ahead. The concept of purchasing open space should not be used to block the path of development, a move that would exacerbate the leapfrog development patterns of the past.
"Smart Growth" Principles
The National Association of Home Builders endorses the concept of Smart Growth as outlined in this statement. When used appropriately and in concert with market forces, Smart Growth can serve as a blueprint for planning and building an even better America in the years ahead. To assist local communities in developing Smart Growth plans, NAHB supports and encourages implementation of the following concepts:
Meeting the Nation's Housing Needs: As a fundamental part of any "Smart Growth" plan, a community must plan for and accommodate its anticipated growth in economic activity, population and housing demand as well as ongoing changes in demographics and lifestyles. For example, when setting aside meaningful open space, a local community should rezone other land to assure there is an ample supply of land available for residential development. For the nation, annual increases in population mean that America's home builders will have to construct between 1.3 and 1.5 million new housing units per year to meet the underlying demand for shelter. Meeting this demand for shelter and increasing homeownership opportunities are compelling national goals that must be addressed in every community's comprehensive growth plan. It is the responsibility of every community to plan for and embrace the growth that is naturally triggered by economic prosperity.
Providing a Wide Range of Housing Choices: NAHB recognizes the basic right of every American to have a free choice in deciding where and in what kind of home to live. In poll after poll, Americans continue to show a strong preference for single-family homes in a suburban setting. In fact, when asked in a recent survey whether they would prefer a single-family home on an individual lot in an outlying suburban market versus a smaller townhouse located near the urban core and closer to work and mass transit, the vast majority of prospective home buyers chose the detached single-family home. Communities should recognize these basic preferences as part of any comprehensive planning process. NAHB supports planning for growth that allows for a wide range of housing types to suit the needs and income levels of a community's diverse population, while recognizing "smart ways" to manage growth by permitting higher densities, preserving open space and protecting environmentally-sensitive areas. And while recent gains in homeownership rates are commendable, the dream of owning a home or simply finding decent, affordable housing is still an ongoing struggle for millions of American families. Any Smart Growth planning process, therefore, should provide for affordabile housing at all income levels.
A Comprehensive Process for Planning Growth: NAHB supports comprehensive land-use planning that clearly identifies land to be made available for residential, commercial, recreational and industrial uses as well as land to be set aside as meaningful open space. Such plans should protect environmentally sensitive areas as well as take into account a community's projected economic growth rate, demand for new housing and expanded infrastructure - road, schools and other facilities - required to serve a growing population. Builders, land developers and other industry members should be encouraged to lend their expertise and participate in the design and periodic review of a community's comprehensive planning process.
Planning and Funding Infrastructure Improvements: NAHB encourages local communities to adopt balanced and reliable means to finance and pay for the construction and expansion of roads, schools, water and sewer facilities and other infrastructure required to serve a prosperous community. Planning major infrastructure improvements - particularly transportation - requires cooperation across governmental boundaries to resolve issues. Reducing traffic congestion, relieving overcrowded classrooms and providing other public facilities and services are absolutely essential components of any "Smart Growth" plan. Ensuring that the construction of schools, roads and other infrastructure keeps pace with the anticipated growth in population and economic activity is one of the biggest challenges facing local communities today. Appropriate bodies of government should adopt capital improvement plans (with timing, location and funding elements) designed to fund necessary infrastructure required to support new development. Ensuring that infrastructure is funded equitably and that the cost is shared equitably throughout all segments of the community - existing residents as well as newcomers - is an even greater challenge.
Using Land More Efficiently: NAHB supports higher density development and innovative land-use policies to encourage mixed-use and pedestrian-friendly developments with access to open space and mass transit. To generate greater public support for this type of development, however, will require a change in thinking by people opposed to higher density development in their own backyards, by local governments that have erected barriers to higher density development and are easily influenced by citizen groups opposed to any new growth and by typical housing consumers who continue to favor a single-family home on an individual lot.
Revitalizing Older Suburban and Inner-City Markets: NAHB recognizes that revitalizing older suburban and inner city markets and encouraging in-fill development is universally accepted as good public policy. But even under the best of conditions, in-fill development will satisfy only a small percentage of a community's demand for new housing. The joint effort announced on Feb. 4 by Vice President Al Gore, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and NAHB to construct 1 million additional market-rate housing units in the nation's cities and inner-ring of the suburbs over the next 10 years is an achievable goal. But to reach that goal, the Administration and nation's cities will have to work closely with the housing industry to overcome major impediments, such as aging infrastructure that makes redevelopment costly and difficult, and federal liability laws that increase risks for builders involved in the redevelopment of "brownfield" sites. Making cities safe from crime, improving the quality of schools and creating employment opportunities are prerequisites for rebuilding the nation's inner cities and for encouraging people to return to them.
As we prepare to enter a new millennium, our nation faces many challenges. One of the most significant is ensuring that, as our population grows and our economy prospers, growth and development occur in a smart, orderly and predictable fashion. The nation's home builders and the 197,000 members of the National Association of Home Builders are committed to pursuing reasonable and market-driven "Smart Growth" strategies that will meet the nation's housing needs, expand homeownership opportunities, help revitalize the nation's cities and inner suburbs, and build attractive and livable neighborhoods and communities and an even more prosperous America in the 21st century.