Links and Additional Resources on Coastal Smart Growth

This page provides links to additional information on Smart Growth, organized into the following categories:

• General Smart Growth
• Smart Growth Models
• Sprawl and Coastal Development Reports
• Open Space Residential Design
• Stormwater, Runoff, and Water Quality
• Low Impact Development
• Lawns and Landscaping
• Green Roofs
• Planning and Regulatory Tools
• Other Tools
• Education Resources
• Contacts/Links/Publication Pages

General Smart Growth

• Introduction to Smart Growth from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Smart Growth Toolkit
• Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development (OCD) Smart Growth Web Page
• Massachusetts Sustainable Development Principles (PPT, 423 KB)
• EEA Community Preservation Initiative Web Page
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Encouraging Smart Growth Web Page
• EPA Region 1 Smart Growth Strategies in New England Web Page
• Smart Growth Online: A Service of the Smart Growth Network
• National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education Website
• Smart Growth America Website
• The Vermont Forum on Sprawl Website
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Smart Growth/Sprawl Web Page
• Why Smart Growth: A Primer (PDF, 869 KB) by the International City/County Management Association
• Smart Growth Resources for Cities and Towns (PDF, 4.25 MB) from the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development.
• Local Government Environmental Assistance Network Smart Growth Web Page
• The Urban Land Institute's SmartGrowth.net Website
• Montomery County, Maryland, Department of Environmental Protection Website with links to natural landscaping, pollution prevention, stormwater control, and other programs related to Smart Growth
• EPA Region 5 Sustainable Urban Environments Web Page
• Land Choices - A national organization providing landowners with choices that conserve land

• Smart Growth Case Studies from the EEA Smart Growth Toolkit
• EPA's National Award for Smart Growth Achievement 2002 (PDF, 1.45 MB)
• EPA's Developing for the Future: Innovative Community Projects Supported by EPA Grants (PDF, 11.7 MB)
• The New Models Project (PDF, 715 KB) by the Vermont Forum on Sprawl
• The "Best Practices" Section of the OCD Smart Growth Web Page

• Coastal Sprawl: The Effects of Urban Design on Aquatic Ecosystems in the United States (PDF, 1.61 MB) prepared for the Pew Oceans Commission
• An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy
• EPA's Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions between Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality (PDF, 1.49 MB)
• The Economic Benefits of Protecting Virginia's Streams, Lakes, and Wetlands and The Economic Benefits of Better Site Design in Virginia (PDF 268 KB) by the Center for Watershed Protection
• Northeast Midwest Institute Smart Growth Reports

• OSRD Web Page from the EEA Smart Growth Toolkit
• OSRD Case Studies from the EEA Smart Growth Toolkit
• OSRD Model Bylaw from the EEA Smart Growth Toolkit (PDF, 284 KB), which includes a Low Impact Development component.
• OSRD Model Site Plan Bylaw (PDF, 232 KB), which was developed by the Green Neighborhoods Alliance and allows the developer to use OSRD "by-right" but does not allow for the use of density bonuses.
• Model Site Plan Rules and Regulations for OSRD Model Bylaw (PDF, 99 KB), which were developed by the Green Neighborhoods Alliance to be used with the OSRD Model Site Plan Bylaw.
• OSRD or Conservation Subdivision Design Model Bylaw - Special Permit (PDF, 39 KB), which was developed by the Green Neighborhoods Alliance and allows the Planning Board to grant OSRD by special permit and includes a density bonus option.
• OSRD or Conservation Subdivision Design Model Rules and Regulations - Special Permit (PDF, 14 KB), which were developed by the Green Neighborhoods Alliance to be used with the OSRD Model Bylaw - Special Permit.
• Green Neighborhoods: Open Space Residential Design (PDF, 4.5 MB), a brochure explaining the benefits of OSRD.
• OCD Case Studies in Sustainable Development: Green Neighborhoods (PDF, 263 KB)
• Growing Greener: Putting Conservation into Local Codes (PDF, 898 KB) by the Natural Lands Trust, Inc.
• EPA Open Space Development Model Ordinance Web Page
• Natural Lands Trust Growing Greener: Conservation by Design Web Page
• The Conservation Subdivision Design Project: Booklet for Developing a Local Bylaw (PDF, 907 KB) by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council
• Open Space Residential Development: Four Case Studies (PDF, 3.72 MB) by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council
• "A Look at Conservation Subdivisions" in The Land Use Tracker, Summer 2002
• Conservation Design Subdivisions from LandChoices.org

• University of Massachusetts Stormwater Technologies Clearinghouse Website
• University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center Website
• Water Resources Management Web Page from the EOEEA Smart Growth Toolkit
• Model Suburban Stormwater Management Bylaw and Regulations (PDF, 1 MB)
• Best Development Practices Guidebook developed by the Town of Franklin to provide the preferred design and construction practices for stormwater management, site planning, erosion control, and landscape design
• Collecting and Utilizing Rainfall Runoff: A Homeowners Manual of Ideas for Harvesting Rainwater (PDF, 3.85 MB) by the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, Virginia
• EEA Massachusetts Water Policy Web Page
• EPA Urban Stormwater Links Web Page
• EPA Smart Growth and Water Resource Protection Online Training Module
• Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials Reducing Runoff Website
• The Stormwater Manager's Resource Center Website
• Local Government Environmental Assistance Network's Land Use Impacts on Water Quality Web Page with the Online Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment Tool
• Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Web Page
• NRDC's Stormwater Strategies: Community Responses to Runoff Pollution

• LID Web Page from the EEA Smart Growth Toolkit
• Model LID Bylaw from the EEA Smart Growth Toolkit (PDF, 1.72 MB)
• EEA LID Web Page
• Site Design Guidance - The Practice of Low Impact Development provides important details about effective site design. (PDF, 2 MB)
• Case studies of LID initiatives and progress have been completed for the following Massachusetts communities:
  • Tyngsborough (PDF, 7.4 MB)
  • Boston (PDF, 2.2 MB)
  • Cohasset (PDF, 1.5 MB)
  • Franklin (PDF, 5 MB)
• Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program LID Web Page
• EPA LID Web Page
• The Massachusetts LID Toolkit developed by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council
• A Guided Tour on Low Impact Development developed by the North and South Rivers Watershed Association (PDF, 6.41 MB)
• Urban Stormwater Management Guidebook developed by the city of Salem (PDF, 6.35 MB)
• "Chapter 12: Low Impact Development" from NRDC's Stormwater Strategies
• LID Center Website
• Puget Sound Online's LID Web Page
• The Model Green Homebuilding Guidelines from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the NAHB Research Center

• EEA's More than Just a Yard: Ecological Landscaping Tools for Massachusetts Homeowners (PDF, 1.41 MB)
• EPA's Healthy Lawn Healthy Environment (PDF, 5.37 MB)
• Selection and Maintenance of Plant Materials for Coastal Landscapes available from the University of Massachusetts Extension (PDF, 128 KB)
• EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Green Landscaping Web Site
• Audubon Rethink Your Lawn Web Page
• National Wildlife Federaion Cut Your Lawn in Half Web Page
• U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Landscaping for Energy Efficiency Web Page
• CZM Vegetated Buffers Web Page
• Rain Gardens: A household way to improve water quality in your community and Rain Gardens: A how-to manual for homeowners available from the University of Wisconsin Extension
• Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Environmental Protection Rain Garden's Web Page
• Rain Gardens of West Michigan
• Maplewood, Minnesota, Rainwater Gardens Website
• Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use by the University of Arizona Cooperative
• National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat Web Page

• PennState Center for Green Roof Research Website
• North Carolina State University Green Roof Research Website
• Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials Green Roofs Web Page
• EPA Vegetated Roof Cover Fact Sheet (PDF, 148 KB)
• Low Impact Development Center Maintenance of Green Roofs Web Page

• EEA Smart Growth Toolkit
• EEA Community Preservation Tools & Techniques Web Page
• EPA Smart Growth Policies Web Page
• Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation (PDF, 1.99 MB) by the Smart Growth Network
• Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 More Policies for Implementation by the Smart Growth Network and the International City/County Management Association
• Local Tools for Smart Growth (PDF, 1.57 MB) by the National Association of Counties, the Joint Center for Sustainable Communities, and the Smart Growth Network
• EPA's Protecting Water Resources with Smart Growth (PDF, 1.39 MB)
• Smart Growth for Clean Water: Helping Communities Address the Water Quality Impacts of Sprawl (PDF, 6.02 MB) by the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals, the Trust for Public Land, and ERG
• Community Rules: A New England Guide to Smart Growth Strategies by the Vermont Forum on Sprawl and the Conservation Law Foundation
• Growing Smarter: Best Site Planning for Residential, Commercial & Industrial Development (PDF, 1.74 MB) by the Vermont Forum on Sprawl and the Conservation Law Foundation
• Growing Smarter: Making Smart Growth Work (PDF, 519 KB) by the Vermont Forum on Sprawl and the Conservation Law Foundation
• Preserving the Future: A Guide for Creating a Municipal Open Space Inventory (PDF, 4.31 MB) by the Essex County Forum - Smart Growth for Livable Communities
• Affordable Housing and Smart Growth (PDF, 2.27 MB) by the Smart Growth Network and the National Neighborhood Coalition
• Georgia Quality Growth Partnership's Toolkit
• Atlanta Regional Commission Community Choices Quality Growth Toolkit

• EEA Massachusetts Buildout Maps and Analyses Web Page
• MassGIS Online Mapping Web Page
• NRDC's Developments and Dollars: An Introduction to Fiscal Impact Analysis in Land Use Planning
• NOAA Coastal Services Center Alternatives for Coastal Development Web Page

• Northeast Sustainable Energy Association K-12 Education Web Page
• LID Sustainable School Projects Website
• Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit

• EEA Smart Growth Toolkit Links Web Page
• OCD Capacity Building Resources for Cities and Towns Web Page
• EEA Community Preservation Initiative Publications Page
• Smart Growth Reader: An American Planning Association Knowledge Exchange
• EPA Smart Growth Links Web Page
• EPA Smart Growth Publications Web Page
• EPA Region 1 Smart Growth Suggested Resources Web Page
• Smart Growth Resource Library Web Page from the Smart Growth Network
• Sustainable Communities Network Website
• National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education Links Web Page
• Local Government Commission Free Resources and Publication Web Page
• Sustainable Building Resource Directory Web Page
• Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development Sustainable Development & Green Building Links Web Page