This week, the US government released a groundbreaking Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization that highlights the vital role of urban design for compact, complete communities in reducing carbon emissions and addressing changing climate. The Blueprint outlines in-depth approaches for street design, zoning, transit-oriented development, and makes clear the importance of planning compact, connected communities. One of the more urgent first steps identified in the report is to, “Support land-use, street design, and development policies that make walking, biking, and rolling easier, safer, and more convenient.”
This is the first federal plan to make the explicit connection between urban design and climate change, and it outlines a national strategy for effectively involving states and cities to improve how communities are physically planned and designed in order to address and adapt to global climate change.
This blueprint lays out a strategic plan for practitioners of smart growth to “increase convenience and reduce emissions by making it possible for people to take fewer or shorter trips.” To execute this holistic and integrated approach to planning and design, it will require all the expertise we already have in the Renaissance wheelhouse. We look forward to exploring this exciting opportunity.