Smart
Growth and Greenspace
How Connecticut’s current
development is hurting every community . . .
and why smarter growth may be the
answer.
created by
The CenterEdge Project
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This fact
sheet is a brief summary of a
translation paper on smart growth, part of a series produced by the Funders’
Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. The full papers can be found on the Funders’ Network website, www.fundersnetwork.org |
· Current patterns of uncontrolled economic growth threaten
farmland and natural environments in suburbs and rural areas.
· At the same time, lack
of greenspace in cities has a negative impact on residents’ health and
quality of life.
· In both cities and
suburbs, parks and greenspace are an essential element in the beauty and
value of a neighborhood, and provide needed opportunities for community
members to interact and relax together.
· A well-planned park can
serve as the anchor of a dense, walkable urban neighborhood, attracting
residents of all incomes and ages and limiting the impulse for sprawl
beyond a city’s edge.
· Greenspaces offer urban
residents safe, accessible and enjoyable opportunities for exercise and so help
to promote healthy living.
· The creation and
rehabilitation of parks and greenspaces in cities can be a community project
that unites residents to address an issue of mutual concern.
· Permissive zoning laws and
the competition among suburbs for businesses means that economic growth
threatens open, undeveloped land.
· In addition to its negative
effects on quality of life, this sprawl can lead to pollution and the loss
of natural habitats and biodiversity.
· Viable strategies for
communities to preserve open space include limiting subsidies for
development in new areas and funding conservation programs to purchase and
preserve undeveloped land.
· Prioritizing the
preservation of open space in both urban and suburban areas helps protect the
environment at the same time it strengthens and beautifies communities.
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For more information about smart
growth, how it affects your community and what you can do, contact the
CenterEdge Project. Office of Urban Affairs, Archdiocese of
Hartford 81 Saltonstall Avenue New Haven , CT
06513-4356 Contact Patricia Wallace, 203-777-7279 or
Pwallace@oua-adh.org This fact sheet prepared by Jessica
Leight, Project Assistant to the CenterEdge Project. |