Smart growth, as reflected in the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) publication Smart Growth: Myth and Fact™, addresses the core issue of how communities will accommodate inevitable growth in a way that enhances livability, the environment, and the economy.

ELA Group is uniquely positioned to guide communities and developers toward award-winning Smart Growth planning. ELA Group's Rick Jackson, RLA and Principal-Landscape Architecture, is an impassioned resource and a leader in ELA's regional community Smart Growth Initiative. Call Rick at 717.626.7271 to discuss your project and how our experience in Smart Growth planning will improve it.

The ULI offers the following characteristics defining Smart Growth:

• Development is economically viable and preserves open space and natural resources.
• Land use planning is comprehensive, integrated, and regional.
• Public, private, and nonprofit sectors collaborate on growth and development issues to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Certainty and predictability are inherent to the development process.
• Infrastructure is maintained and enhanced to serve existing and new residents.
• Redevelopment of infill housing, brownfield sites, and obsolete buildings is actively pursued.
• Urban centers and neighborhoods are integral components of a healthy regional economy.
• Compact suburban development is integrated into existing commercial areas, new town centers, and/or near existing or planned transportation facilities.
• Development on the urban fringe integrates a mix of land uses, preserves open space, is fiscally responsible, and provides transportation options.