Solving for a Brighter Future in the Twin Cities Region
Challenge: Pursuing a solution for responsible and sustainable growth.
Faced with projections for an additional 280,000 households and 360,000 jobs by 2030, the seven-county Twin Cities Region sought to chart a course for sustainable growth. Smart Growth Twin Cities (SGTC) focused on the need to plan for growth while protecting the community’s natural resources, increasing affording housing, supporting rural communities, and protecting agricultural lands.
Solution: Calthorpe Analytics examined future land use and transportation options to support regional growth projections.
Calthorpe Analytics was the lead consultant for the Smart Growth Twin Cities (SGTC) process, initiated by the regional government to coordinate future land-use and transportation planning efforts to preserve and enhance the region’s quality of life. The planning process incorporated community input as well as local cities’ comprehensive plans and regional transportation policies.
Results: Advanced scenario planning revealed three development alternatives to improve quality of life in the Twin Cities Region.
Three alternative development options were created, each illustrating a different growth pattern and resulting impacts on regional housing diversity, transportation choice, public infrastructure costs, air quality, preservation of local agriculture and the environment. In addition to regional scenarios, the SGTC process included designing six local ‘opportunity sites’ to test the concepts and to educate the community about their assets and development options.
