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Smart Growth

Focusing our Vision:
Smart Growth and Sustainable Development

What will the Bay Area be like in the future? How can the next million people living in the region contribute to a better Bay Area for all of us? What changes will take place in the region’s cities, towns, neighborhoods and open spaces?

“Focusing Our Vision” (FOCUS) is a Bay Area-wide effort to promote compact and equitable development that protects and enhances quality of life, and preserves open space and agricultural resources. FOCUS seeks to strengthen existing city centers, locate more housing near existing and future rail stations and quality bus lines, encourage more compact and walkable suburbs, and protect regional open space. For more information on FOCUS, visit www.bayareavision.org.

The FOCUS program is being guided by the Joint Policy Committee (JPC). State legislation established the JPC to establish a regional planning forum including MTC, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). The JPC seeks to meld regional and local objectives into a more refined planning strategy for the Bay Area based on the Bay Area’s Smart Growth Vision as adopted by the regional agencies. For more information on the JPC and the region’s adopted smart growth policies, visit www.abag.ca.gov/jointpolicy/.

The Bay Area's Smart Growth Vision, as expressed in the Smart Growth Preamble and Policies (PDF) and the Smart Growth Strategy / Regional Livability Footprint Project (PDF) serves as the foundation for the development of regional smart growth policies.

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