A“smart growth” agenda has been adopted by many different organizations. The label thus may have lost any clear-cut meaning due to the divergent perceptions and agendas of organizations using the term. Some appear to have adopted it as a form of political cover, whether for antigrowth or antiregulation positions. In other cases, the principles seem to be reformulated in response to the realities of local planning. This article first reviews smart growth statements from ten national organizations with divergent land use agendas. Despite their differing agendas, their broad conceptual definitions are found to converge. Turning to implementation efforts, the article then reviews forty-nine documents from two states: Georgia and Kentucky. The documents exhibit extreme variety in the meanings ascribed to smart growth. Moreover, few of the plans and policies incorporate multiple interventions, which is a key dimension of the smart growth approach as described by the national groups.
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