In urban planning and development, transit station areas are the unsung heroes shaping our cities. By examining the period from the Great Recession of 2007-2009 through the global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2023, a recent report offers invaluable insights on how transit-oriented development can transform our urban landscapes.
Recently, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, an SGA partner, released their Blueprint for a Better Region for the Washington, DC metropolitan area—a stellar example of the important work being done on the ground, one that can be replicated in communities across the country.
LOCUS, a coalition of triple-bottom-line real estate developers convened by Smart Growth America, made significant advocacy efforts this summer. The coalition’s work aims to advance legislation that could lead to more equitable, sustainable development and better connectivity between land use and transportation policy. A core focus of this advocacy work has been establishing strategies to deliver more mixed-income and mixed-use development near transit. Below are three important bills that would advance these goals.
Smart Growth America teamed up with the Amazon Housing Equity Fund and several DC-region partners to host a forum on Equitable Transit-oriented Development (ETOD) on Wednesday, December 7. Decision-makers in the public, private, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors gathered to share replicable policies and funding strategies to advance ETOD in our region and across the country. … Continued
Latin for “place,” LOCUS is a national network of real estate developers, investors, and professionals, united to advance equitable, walkable urban development in communities across the country. Together LOCUS members work to increase funding and financing for smart growth development; improve regulations at all levels of government to support smart growth; and change federal programs … Continued
The House Select Committee on Climate Change released a new legislative blueprint this week for tackling the climate crisis that incorporates many of SGA’s recommendations across our programs, demonstrating how smart growth is at the very core of any potential plan to reduce emissions.
This week the House will consider the Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that reflects many of Smart Growth America’s core priorities, including a new kind of transportation bill, billions to invest in new or rehabilitated affordable housing, and support for more inclusive and equitable development around transit to help give more Americans access to opportunity.
One of the amendments to the House’s transportation bill (INVEST Act) we are supporting would expand one of the federal government’s biggest infrastructure financing tools to include more economic development near public transportation stations—increasing private investment in transit and helping multiply the impact of the INVEST Act’s sizable increases in transit funding.
The proposed South Salem Commuter Rail Station has brought a lot of attention to an underutilized area of land in Salem, which also happens to be a designated Opportunity Zone. During the inaugural Massachusetts Opportunity Zones Academy, SGA provided the City with three different development scenarios to consider for the land use and zoning near the proposed station site.
This month on Building Better Communities with Transit we talk with Kendra Freeman, the director of community engagement for the regional Metropolitan Planning Council, about TOD in Chicago. A recent update to the city’s TOD policy puts a new focus on equitable development in a city that has seen stark differences in outcomes based on zip code.