This Smart Growth self-assessment tool (PDF) is specifically designed for rural communities and is intended to help local governments evaluate how well their policies and regulations support the type of development they want and identify strategies for improvement.
Each section includes a series of questions about the community's policies, codes, and strategies that might help the community achieve its long-term objectives. Following the questions are strategies, grouped according to whether they apply to larger towns or more rural areas, which support the overall goal.
The tool also helps users prioritize strategies to pursue. It includes links to case studies, sample code language, and other resources. This tool was developed for Madison County as part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Smart Growth Technical Assistance Program.