Can states undertake reform by themselves?
It is hard to undertake statutory reform without understanding what has been tried and what works. When states decide to evaluate their planning statutes, they find that the process is complex, time-consuming, and expensive. Often they can only focus on two or three states for comparison. The information they need to undertake the evaluation is hard to assemble. Q: Who is the audience for Growing Smart? A: The main audience is officials in the executive and legislative branches of state government — the governor and his or her staff, state legislators, state legislative researcher, staff of key legislative committees, state planning offices, departments of community affairs, and other state offices with missions related to housing, land use, economic development, transportation, community revitalization, and the environment. The audience also includes public officials at the local and regional levels — in cities, towns, counties, and regional agencies such as councils of government and
