Project Team Reducing Costs and Raising Revenue through Smarter Growth .............................................. 2 Executive Summary 3. Smart Growth Development Generates 10 times More Tax Revenue per Acre than Conventional Suburban Development. an Opportunity for Municipal Leaders

America is the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for and leading coalitions to bring better development strategies to more communities nationwide. From providing more sidewalks to ensuring more homes are built near public transportation or that productive farms remain a part of our communities, smart growth helps make sure people across the nation can live in great neighborhoods. Learn more at Acknowledgments The research in this report was conducted in partnership with Strategic Economics, a national leader in providing the economic analysis and strategic thinking necessary to create sustainable, high-quality places for people to live and work. Local governments across the country have compared development strategies to understand their impact on municipal finances. These studies generally compare two or more different development scenarios, and help local leaders make informed decisions about new development based on the costs or revenues associated with them. Many municipalities have found that a smart growth approach would improve their financial bottom line. Whether by saving money on upfront infrastructure; reducing the cost of ongoing services like fire, police and ambulance; or by generating greater tax revenues in years to come, community after community has found that smart growth development would benefit their overall financial health. Many of these findings have been made publicly available. No national survey has examined these savings as a whole until now. This report is the first to aggregate those comparisons and determine a national average of how much other communities can expect to save by using smart growth strategies. Development surveys 17 studies that compare different development scenarios, including a brand-new study of Nashville-Davidson County, TN, commissioned specifically for this report. The development scenarios included in our analysis are separated into two categories: " Smart growth development " is characterized by more efficient use of land; a mixture of homes, businesses and services located closer together; and better connections between streets and neighborhoods. " Conventional suburban development " is characterized by less efficient use of land with homes, schools and businesses separated and areas designed primarily for driving. While not all studies use these terms, the scenarios in each category share many of these defining traits. A detailed discussion of individual studies is included in the appendices of this report. The report looks at the costs associated with each development strategy as well as its revenue potential. When compared to one another, we find: 1. In general, smart …