The quality of a community’s design can make the difference between a sense of overcrowding and a feeling of vibrancy. This is particularly true where smart growth development principles result in more intense development and a greater mix of uses. Designing for Smart Growth, Creating Great Places in the San Diego Region was developed by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), with the assistance of Design Community and Environment (Berkeley CA), as a resource for policymakers, local agency planning and engineering staff, developers, and interested citizens that shows how good design can contribute to the quality of life in the San Diego region. The guidelines address the importance of design in maintaining and enhancing community character and in creating great public places. It serves as both a primer and a technical reference. It addresses a range of community defining topics including site design, building design, multimodal streets, transit stations, civic buildings, parks and civic space, and parking. It also includes a smart growth scorecard that can be used to evaluate buildings, large developments or streetscape projects and simulations of how existing places in the region might be transformed. This document – a component of the smart growth toolbox – supports the smart growth strategy initiated in the SANDAG Regional Comprehensive Plan, which envisions a future for the region that includes more compact mixed-use development that supports a wider variety of housing and transportation options. Designing for Smart Growth can be downloaded from the SANDAG Web site at www.sandag.org/smartgrowthdesign, or by contacting the Public Information Office at pio@sandag.org.

Project Information

Project Address: 

NA

Project Owner/ Developer: 

San Diego Association of Governments

Owner Contact Name/ Email: 

Stephan Vance, sva@sandag.org

Project Architect/ Designer: 

Design Community and Environment (project consultant)

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