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| Until the Wellington Neighborhood in Breckenridge, Colo., was built with public sector incentives, many local workers commuted long distances.
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In one instance, a state created a program that helps municipal officials understand the effects of future growth by providing forecasting tools and technical assistance.
In another, local governments are cooperating to add housing near transit stations. Then there is a mining town-turned-resort that helped build affordable homes on a brownfield site so local workers could afford to live near work. All, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are worthy examples of smart growth from which everyone involved in development can learn.
By presenting its first National Awards for Smart Growth Achievement to the state of Massachusetts, the San Mateo (Calif.) City/ County Association of Governments, the town of Breckenridge, Colo., as well as Arlington County, Va., the EPA made the point that smart growth requires strong local leaders and creative planners.
"I think the intention was to look at regional solutions and work that has been built and policy that has been written," says town planner Mike Watkins of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co., who served on an expert review panel that looked at more than 100 applications for the awards. "They are very all-encompassing but with perhaps less emphasis on aesthetics."
For more on the winners, including project photos, visit www.HousingZone.com/land/epaawards.
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