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Healthy Community Design

In The News

Updated November 2007

The NCSL Healthy Community Design Project regularly collects publications of interest to legislators, policymakers and those interested in Healthy Community Design-related issues. We provide the links below for informational purposes only, and they do not necessarily reflect NCSL positions. Please note that some links may not work since many Web sites only keep active links to publications for a limited time. If you are interested in a publication with a link that does not work, please visit the Web site of its origin.

"Realtors Discover Demand for Smart Growth Development"

A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America examined American's attitudes towards land use issues including development and traffic and found that survey respondents thought building denser communities in older, existing neighborhoods was a wiser choice than building new roads and developments in undeveloped areas.

A majority felt that more transit options should be available and that, contrary to common perception, respondents thought communities should be built in a more dense, mixed-use fashion, so people can live within walking distance of work, shopping, and recreational opportunities. In the eight years of polling on this subject, a significant bump occurred with American's dissatisfaction with how effectively their communities were managing growth and new development, with 58 percent giving a fair or poor rating to their municipality. The survey found a high percentage of respondents were concerned about growth and its effects on global warming, traffic congestion, as well as the loss of farmland, open land, and historical landmarks.

To see the press release from the National Association of Realtors, please click here.

To view a PDF with highlights of the survey results, please click here.

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