Redefining smart growth in Massachusetts: Greener land use planning for natural resource protection

"Smart growth" is often proposed as an antidote to sprawl development; however, it is defined in vastly different ways by a multitude of interest groups. While advocates of smart growth often include open space preservation in their planning goals, the capability of smart growth to preserve land depends on how it is practiced. This thesis reviews the various forms of smart growth tools that are used in a variety of settings and evaluates whether smart growth can function to preserve land in Massachusetts. It compares smart growth techniques oriented toward new development to those focused on growth management and land preservation and concludes that only the latter can effectively protect open space. The thesis then turns to smart growth policy in Massachusetts. It concludes that given the state's rapid rates of land conversion and stagnant population growth, it is important to evaluate not only which smart growth techniques can best protect undeveloped land, but also whether any significant growth, "smart" or otherwise, is needed.