military

Ft. Belvoir, just south of Washington, DC, has been infusing military base planning with a smart growth mentality since before it was cool. While new guidelines in the past year have compelled all U.S. bases to start building smarter and more efficiently, Ft. Belvoir has been working under a master plan that champions walkability and connectivity since 1993. But two major changes in the last decade forced the base to put all the pieces together and become a true trailblazer in on-base livability.

We’ve spent this week exploring the ways in which the Department of Defense is overhauling its master planning procedures to turn their sprawling military bases into compact, walkable communities with mixed-use development and town centers. They’re hoping to bring back some of the people who have moved off base in recent decades, with the promise of a more livable community. Streetsblog had the chance to talk to Michael McAndrew, director of facility investment and management for the deputy under secretary of defense. McAndrew has helped guide this process from the inside.

On Tuesday, we wrote about the Defense Department’s new rules for the design of their bases and installations. These rules make smart growth the law of the land on hundreds of vast military installations in the U.S. and abroad. There’s more to the story: In this post we examine how a smart growth development model will bring wide-ranging benefits to the defense complex.

This article is the first in a series about the U.S. military’s new embrace of smart growth planning.