2012 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement (PDF) (20 pp, 1.9MB, About PDF)
This year’s award recognizes four winners and three honorable mentions in four categories:
Overall Excellence in Smart Growth (Winner): The BLVD Transformation — Lancaster, California
A dilapidated downtown corridor has been transformed into a lively, mixed-use district through investments in the streetscape, housing, and business development, bringing jobs, economic growth, and community revitalization.
Main Street or Corridor Revitalization (Winner): The Cooperative Building — Brattleboro, Vermont
A new, energy-efficient, multi-story building with a food co-op, affordable apartments, and innovative, money-saving environmental features has contributed to the vibrancy of Brattleboro’s Main Street.
Programs and Policies (Winner): Destination Portsmouth — Portsmouth, Virginia
A comprehensive overhaul of development and land use regulations has begun to realize the community’s vision for a livable and pedestrian-friendly city while providing additional opportunities for economic development and reinvestment.
Equitable Development (Winner): Mariposa District — Denver, Colorado
A community-oriented master plan strengthens a transit-accessible, diverse Denver neighborhood through the construction of affordable housing, health improvements, and services for residents.
Main Street or Corridor Revitalization (Honorable Mention): Larkin District — Buffalo, New York
The rehabilitation of a warehouse building and public spaces has sparked widespread revitalization and redevelopment of a mixed-use district that reconnects a historic neighborhood to the rest of the city.
Programs and Policies (Honorable Mention): Bay Area Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Fund — San Francisco Bay Area, California
A $50-million revolving fund provides loans for investments in affordable, transit-accessible housing options in an area struggling with high housing costs.
Equitable Development (Honorable Mention): Northwest Gardens — Fort Lauderdale, Florida
After decades of disinvestment, a downtown neighborhood has become a robust, sustainable, self-sufficient community with affordable homes, workforce training, community gardens, and civic pride.