Sprawl Retrofit

After half a century of mounting economic, health, environmental, and social consequences, America has finally begun to turn away from the post-WWII pattern of suburban sprawl. Across diverse populations, preferences are broadly shifting towards walkable, mixed-use places—and real estate markets are responding. The built legacy of sprawl, though, is staggering: Millions of acres of failing car-centric development still sit on the land, sapping municipal budgets and depreciating in value.

Sprawl Retrofit, developed by our members, works to repair and retrofit sprawling developments into the vibrant, high-performing walkable places that are growing in popularity. In less than a decade, Sprawl Retrofit has demonstrated that rehabilitating traditional suburbs is achievable through existing policy and design approaches.

Sprawl Retrofit creates policy proposals, regulatory frameworks, databases of successes, and design toolkits to empower communities seeking to reclaim the lost potential of their paved-over land. Sprawl repair projects in Georgia, California, Maryland, Colorado, Massachusetts, Arizona, and countless other locations are already reshaping how citizens and elected officials look at their existing places and imagine their communities’ futures.

In a time of converging economic, social, and environmental momentum with worldwide consequences, Sprawl Retrofit is setting a new global standard for how we incorporate our burdensome built legacy into a more sustainable future.