Making Growth Work for California's Communities

Book excerpt: If the State of California government is to become a stronger advocate for transportation and land use policies that address growth patterns and related issues associated with community planning and development, it will be helpful for state policymakers, concerned professionals, and others involved in shaping California's land use policies to have the clearest and most up-to-date understanding of existing efforts by local governments to improve and update planning methods; the status of, and attitude toward, innovation and change in the planning and community development profession; the extent to which local governments are incorporating new ideas and concepts into local plans and then implementing them into practice; and the sources and nature of support and opposition to these changes at the local community level. The research in Making Growth Work for California's Communities is unique in its degree of integration of sustainable development, smart growth, and livable communities concepts, and in its assessment of the land use and transportation strategies being incorporated into both local plans and implementation activities. It is intended to help state officials, concerned professionals, and other stakeholders select and shape effective and feasible state policies and programs that will support and promote better management of California's future growth.