Smart Growth for Small Towns
Smart Growth for Small Towns relates the principles of Smart Growth to towns and rural communities, providing examples, discussion, explanation, and advice on community design and development.
The educational information provided on this site is intended to contribute to an understanding of the intent and purpose of the Smart Growth principles. However, planning for the future of our small towns requires input from a variety of fields and includes issues of design, policymaking, and governance. This site is focused primarily upon design issues associated with small towns and is intended to serve as a resource for government officials, teachers, designers, and the general public.
The explanation of each Smart Growth principle includes the following:
A.) Discussion of the purpose of the principles and why it is important.
B.) Strategies that suggest actions communities can take to help achieve the goals of the principle.
Ten Principles of Smart Growth:
- Mix land uses
- Take advantage of compact building design
- Create a range of housing opportunities and choices
- Create walkable neighborhoods
- Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
- Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
- Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
- Provide a variety of transportation choices
- Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective
- Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
Smart Growth for Small Towns is a cooperative project of Extension faculty of the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development. For more information contact Michael Seymour, Associate Extension Professor at Michael.Seymour@msstate.edu or Jeremy Murdock, Research Associate at Jeremy@sig.msstate.edu.
Publications
News
Gardeners can buy native and naturalized heirloom plants during the annual Metro Master Gardeners plant sale April 28.
POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Designing an app that helps fruit growers know how many chill hours their crops have accumulated earned one Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist a regional award.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Everything Garden Expo, presented by the Oktibbeha County Master Gardeners, will return to the Mississippi Horse Park on March 24 and 25.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service instructor has earned an Impact Collaborative Facilitator certificate from the eXtension Foundation.
COLUMBUS, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a financial workshop to entrepreneurs and community leaders working with food or food-related initiatives.
Success Stories
When I think of the beach, I picture soft, white sand and pristine, blue water. But our beaches and oceans have a dirty little secret: trash.
That’s right, several tons of trash end up in our waterways and on our beaches every year in Mississippi. In 2017 alone, volunteers with the Mississippi Coastal Cleanup collected 13 tons of trash from 40 sites along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This trash isn’t just unsightly. It threatens the Gulf Coast’s ecosystem.
When longtime deputy clerk Dannie J. Abercrombie threatened to quit after 33 years in the Covington County Tax Assessor/Collector’s office, she was frustrated that Mississippi was changing the vehicle registration and titling system in place since 1980.
It’s National Love Your Pet Day, so give those four-legged family members extra special treatment. More noggin’ pats and extra-long walks are in order. But be careful with the treats. Some human foods can be harmful to pets. For dogs, that includes chocolate. (Photo/video credit: MSU Extension/ Brian Utley)
If you are planning for your vegetable garden this spring, a salad table or two might be in order. Salad tables are a great addition to a traditional vegetable garden or wonderful on their own.
(Photo by Kevin Hudson)
If you’d like to volunteer more in the New Year, Extension has some wonderful opportunities. We have volunteer organizations designed for all ages and interests, including gardening, healthcare, natural resources and youth development.
Here’s a brief description of four of our...
