OTOC's Metro Area Development Committee (MAD)

Definition of terms 

Two terms often used in the debates regarding issues of development are “sprawl”  and “smart growth.”  What follows are definitions of both terms the MAD Committee felt best described what they mean.  Omaha’s Master Plan contains many elements of “smart growth.”

 URBAN SPRAWL

·        Separates residential areas from commercial spaces and other land uses.

·        Lack of contiguous growth resulting in a large array of government jurisdictions

·        Low-density single-family housing development consuming abutting farmland.

·        Exurban strip malls.

·        Automobile as central means of transportation causing traffic congestion. Density too low to support public transit.

·        Contributes to the decline of older urban, suburban and rural areas.

·        Drains the central cities of resources, jobs and families.

·        Economic/income segregation

·        Often excludes lower and moderate income families by having fewer apartment buildings and more affordable single-family homes.

·        Abandons brownfields and increases pollution of air and water quality.

SMART GROWTH

·        Contiguous growth minimizing the number of government jurisdictions

·        Encourages reinvestment in existing communities and more efficient growth in undeveloped areas.

·        Compact development that integrates housing, commercial space and services and transportation – promotes high density.

·        A range of housing types promoting economic/income diversity.

·        Transportation choices which include walking, biking, public transit as well as the automobile.

·        Preserves open space and critical habitat, reusing land, and protecting water supplies and air quality.

·        Creates more business opportunities and economically competitive communities.

·        Maintains and enhances existing neighborhoods and creates a sense of community.

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