Retracting suburbia: Smart growth and the future of housing

Metropolitan areas throughout the United States increasingly experience spr awl development. States such as Oregon and Maryland have enacted land use l egislation that curbs sprawl by promoting denser urban growth. Smart growth , a new method of metropolitan development leading to more compact regions, offers an alternative to sprawl. Given that housing comprises a major shar e of the built environment, policies that promote denser residential develo pment form a key component of smart growth. This article provides an analytic review of the ways housing can be used to support successful smart growth policies. It focuses on three areas: the m arket for higher density housing, land use issues associated with denser ho using development, and methods for financing higher density and mixed-use h ousing. The literature on the link between smart growth and housing remains underdeveloped. We offer this synthesis as a way to advance the state of k nowledge on smart growth's housing dimension.