Communities & Development

Speakers cover making communities more sustainable, sustainable land use, land use planning, smart growth, new urbanism, growth management, regional planning, planning land use and transportation together, land use law, ranchland and farmland protection, and related topics.

Sustainable Communities. Communities of all sizes, from giant cities to small towns, have embraced the idea of making their localities sustainable. More >>

Smart Growth. This popular term of art refers to development patterns that involve more mixed use, more pedestrian and transit orientation, higher density, and other features contributing to environmental, economic, fiscal, and social benefits. More >>

Growth Management & Land Use. Almost all local governments have policies for land development, and a department of their organization is usually devoted to the implementation of those policies. See Karen Walz, Richard Carson, Gwendolyn Hallsmith, Gary Binger, and Gary Schoennauer.

Planning Land Use & Transportation Together. The environmental, economic and community benefits of planning land use and transportation together are substantial. See Richard Carson, Joel Hirschhorn, Dom Nozzi, Gary Binger, and Gary Schoennauer.

Regional Planning. For many developing areas, the goals of good planning will be frustrated if adjacent jurisdictions don't follow compatible (and equally responsible) policies. See Gary Binger, Gwendolyn Hallsmith, and Richard Carson.

Resolving Environmental Conflicts. In many instances of conflict over environmental issues, both sides can benefit from a reasonable resolution of their differences. Conflict often consumes resources that could be better spent actually implementing solutions to problems, and many differences are not as costly or difficult to resolve as the parties to the conflict initially believe. See Chris Maser, Gloria Flora, Dotty LeMieux, Allen Green, and Bill Shireman.

Send Us Your Suggestions…

We are constantly on the lookout for the best new speakers on all aspects of Communities & Development… speakers with the most important ideas and the most dynamic presentations. We are also always open to ideas for new Communities & Development related topics. Send us your speaker or topic suggestions here.

Related Topics Coming Soon…

We are working now on new topic pages in the areas listed below. They will be added here as they become available.

Land Use Law
Property Rights & Environment
Brownfield Development
New Communities
New Urbanism
People & Place Relationships
Farmland & Ranchland Protection