Sustainable Communities

Smart growth is a pattern of land development that creates compact, walkable, transit-accessible communities with a range of affordable housing opportunities and choices. In Vermont, it builds on and maintains the state’s historic settlement pattern of higher-density downtown and village centers surrounded by farm, forest, and natural areas.

Using smart growth principles as a guide, VNRC promotes land use planning that creates communities that are environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and resilient. To do this, we ensure the continued strength and effectiveness of Act 250, Vermont’s landmark development review law, as well as complementary state policies that promote smart growth and reduce sprawl. And we support the state’s farming and forest economies to ensure long-term land availability and economic health.

For questions or inquiries:

Kati Gallagher, Sustainable Communities Program Director

802-223-2328 x114

kgallagher@vnrc.org

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Initiatives

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The Great Housing Hunt

Help find "Missing Middle Housing" in your community!

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Upcoming Sustainable Communities Events, Resources, and Opportunities

Learn more about upcoming opportunities to strengthen resilience and sustainability in your community

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Policy Position: The "HOME" Bill

Increasing housing choice and affordability in Vermont’s downtowns and village centers is a critical climate solution

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Smart Growth News

Two Things: Small Grants for Smart Growth and our Mollie Beattie Internship!

Two Things: We’re accepting applications for this year’s Small Grants for Smart Growth program and looking for our next Mollie Beattie Intern.  Stay informed, stay connected – two things. Apply…

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Three Things: Coventry Landfill Violations, Rural Caucus Public Forum, and a New VNRC Staff Member

Three things: Sharing an update on Coventry Landfill violations, inviting you to a public forum with the Legislature’s Rural Caucus, and welcoming Dan Fingas to the VNRC team.  Stay informed,…

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Two Things: Our Newly Released Vermont Environmental Report and AVCC’s 2023 Virtual Summit

Two things: Sharing our Fall 2023 Vermont Environmental Report, and inviting you to join the Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions (AVCC) for this year’s virtual annual summit! Stay informed, stay…

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Small Grants for Smart Growth

Need funding for a smart growth project?

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Arthur Gibb Award for Individual Leadership

Honoring supporters of smart growth

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Transportation for Vermonters

Transportation for Vermonters

Transportation for Vermonters (T4VT) is a diverse coalition of individuals, organizations, businesses and institutions committed to working together, creatively, and across sectors to achieve a sustainable, accessible transportation system in a rural state. T4VT takes a research-based approach to identify and advocate for transportation programs and investments needed to improve air quality, health, economic vitality, and mobility, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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People, Places, and Transportation

Check out our People, Places, and Transportation blog about how to shape a cleaner, greener, more accessible, and more sustainable transportation future in Vermont. This is the next incarnation of the blog formerly housed at Sustainable Transportation Vermont, now co-hosted by VNRC and the Transportation for Vermonters Coalition. Stay awhile!

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