Sustainability Success Stories from Renew America 

LAND USE PLANNING

Bladensburg Economic & Environmental Revitalization -- Landover, Maryland
Discusses a project with the primary goals of restoring a major recreational fishery and providing prime redevelopment area to convert pollution-prone industrial areas to cleaner uses.

Chicago Brownfields Initiative -- Chicago, Illinois
Profiles an initiative which includes a pilot brownfield redevelopment project to convert five abandoned industrial properties to productive use, and an economic analysis comparing brownfield to greenfield development.

Civano -- Tucson, Arizona
Describes an 820-acre traditional neighborhood development designed to promote economic growth while maintaining important social values and ecological harmony. Civano buildings will use the best available technology to reduce energy and water demands. The project will also focus on land-use planning and sustainable transportation design.

Farmland Preservation -- Ashfield, Massachusetts
Profiles the Franklin Land Trust’s efforts and accomplishments in preserving farmland in New England.

Feather River Coordinated Resource Management Group -- Quincy, California
Profiles a watershed management effort that has implemented more than 33 successful projects including research on timber land and range land issues, as well as riparian and wetland restoration initiatives.

Floyd's Fork Preservation (Overlay District) -- Louisville, Kentucky
Discusses a preservation project that uses development restrictions requiring that all natural streams be preserved, that flood plains remain undeveloped and that sufficient buffer zones be established.

Fremont County Comprehensive Plan -- St. Anthony, Idaho
Details a plan designed with the input of local citizens that protects open space, natural resources, and productive farmland.

Land Use Forum -- Hope, New Jersey
Profiles a land planning process where neighborhood groups work with the developer, environmentalists, board members, and prospective residents to create together the most beneficial configuration of improvements for specific tracts of land.

Lake Tahoe Regional Plan -- Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Describes the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's measures to manage land use, development density, rate of urban growth, percentage of land coverage, and excavation activities.

Manchester Planning and Zoning Program -- Manchester, Vermont
Describes a program to avoid urban sprawl and sustainably manage development.

Oregon Statewide Land Use Planning -- Salem, Oregon
Presents a well known plan that coordinates city and county planning agencies to ensure consistent, environmentally-sound land use practices across the state.

Public and Private Land Use Planning Alliance -- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Works to implement responsible land use planning and management in Jackson Hole.

Rail Corridor Revitalization Program -- York, Pennsylvania
Discusses a joint effort among local government agencies and businesses to identify and restore abandoned industrial properties along the city's rail corridor.

Renew, Improve, Reuse (Reclaiming and Redeveloping Urban Brownfields) -- Saint Paul, Minnesota
Profiles a program that has converted 11 brownfield sites into industrial parks.

Stapleton Development Corporation -- Boulder, Colorado Profiles the redevelopment of the former Stapleton International Airport site, near Denver. The project involves constructing a community of urban villages, employment centers, and greenways that focus on sustainability, environmental preservation, and economic and social development.

The Vail Environmental Strategic Plan -- Vail, Colorado
Describes a program that was adopted to maintain and improve environmental quality in the Vail Valley and to ensure the prolonged economic health of the region. Efforts include monitoring and improving air and water quality, preserving open space, and protecting the area's natural wildlife.

Town Of Dunn Land Use Plan -- McFarland, Wisconsin
Profiles a land use plan for growth management through zoning restrictions, lot size limits, conservation easements, and the purchase of development rights.

Village Homes Sustainable Community -- Davis, California Discusses a 68-acre model development which includes community gardens and greenways in an innovative, sustainable design.

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