Vibrant Urban Centers
Creating compact, walkable communities that prioritize housing affordability, safety, and vitality for all Rogue Valley residents.
What is a Vibrant Urban Center?
Developing and maintaining vibrant urban environments is a cornerstone of Oregon's planning program and a key part of our mission.
Homes Near Daily Needs
Promoting mixed-use development where housing is integrated with services, reducing the need for long commutes.
Safe Streets & Crossings
Designing urban environments with the most vulnerable users in mind—ensuring safety for children, seniors, and the disabled.
Transportation Choices
Facilitating a transition from car-dependency to a robust network of foot, bike, and transit options.
Local Business Vitality
Compact development keeps local customers close to independent shops, fueling the Rogue Valley economy.
Great Public Spaces
Championing parks, plazas, and community hubs that serve as the "living rooms" of our urban centers.
Parking Balance
Encouraging "right-sized" parking strategies that prioritize land for people and housing over empty stalls.
Smart Growth Protects Everything Else
Growth in the Rogue Valley is inevitable, but how we grow matters. By supporting local governments in their efforts to increase housing density within existing Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs), we protect what lies outside of them.
Compact development is the most effective tool we have for promoting housing affordability. By enabling more homes where demand is highest, we reduce sprawl pressure on our vital farmlands and forests.
"Cities with vibrant urban environments put a priority on people, not parking."
Reducing Automobile Dependence
Facilitating safe and convenient access to commercial destinations by foot, bike, or transit isn't just about movement—it's about quality of life.
Less driving means reduced congestion, lower carbon emissions, and a significant reduction in the associated impacts of resource-gobbling sprawl that threatens our region's resilience.
Our Monitoring Criteria
Rogue Advocates conducts a practical, criteria-based review of development proposals in the Rogue Valley to ensure consistency with Oregon’s long-held planning goals.
How We Engage
Track
Monitoring city planning filings for proposals that affect urban density and mobility.
Engage
Providing expert testimony and community support for proposals that prioritize people over sprawl.
Act
Holding decision-makers accountable when land use laws or sustainability goals are ignored.
Metrics for Success
We track key indicators of urban vitality to measure regional progress.
Data indicators updated quarterly (Placeholders)