Smart growth strategies help towns and cities across the country become healthier while improving resiliency and sustainability. With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Active People, Healthy Nation Initiative, Smart Growth America’s Champions Institute provides mayors, city councilors, tribal chairpeople and councilors, and other local elected officials with knowledge and resources to … Continued
Disabled Americans face significant challenges with independent travel, as they are more reliant on transit but often encounter accessibility barriers. This isolation leads to severe physical and mental health impacts, with loneliness affecting people with disabilities at over four times the rate of non-disabled individuals. Disabled Americans are less likely to own a personal vehicle in … Continued
Taking advantage of federal funding opportunities is critical for communities that want to create safe, connected environments. Versailles, Kentucky sought to do just that when they submitted a successful application for the USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.
Started in 2021 by author and Director of the Disability Mobility Initiative Anna Zivarts as a Washington state based campaign, the Week Without Driving challenge illuminates the ways our current system is failing, and encourages us to envision a system that works better for everyone. With the support of America Walks, Week Without Driving has now expanded into a national effort and is happening September 30th through October 6th this year.
Healing Our Highways is a grant program led by Smart Growth America’s Arts and Culture team providing funding and technical assistance for arts and culture projects that confront the harms perpetuated through our transportation system on marginalized communities of color. On May 15, 2024, a cozy Filipino restaurant in a suburban Atlanta Asian shopping plaza was filled with energy, connection, and delicious food as the Healing Our Highways cohort of artists and cultural workers deliberated on strategies for community organizing, building power, and making change.
Our built environment can pose a threat to animals, encroaching upon their habitats, interrupting their migratory patterns, and exposing them to risk of being hit and killed by vehicles. Federal funding opportunities are available to reduce these risks, which would have benefits for humans and animals alike.
Smart Growth America is excited to announce the recipients of the Healing Our Highways grant program. With support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kresge Foundation, Healing Our Highways will support creative ideas and activities that build knowledge, connection, and power within disadvantaged communities harmed by transportation systems and climate change. Beginning … Continued
The third cohort of Smart Growth America’s Champions Institute recently wrapped up. What have Champions gained from the past three years, and what progress is yet to come? We touched base with past Champions to find out.
Made in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, our new video tells the story of Wenatchee, Washington—a community that came together to make their streets safer. Watch to hear from community members about how a temporary installation has made a permanent change to their approach to safety and accessibility.
Recently, members of the SGA team visited Soldotna, Alaska, where we met with the fourth cohort of the Complete Streets Leadership Academies. At the convening, we brought together teams from Soldotna and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to discuss strategies to make Soldotna’s streets safer and provide more opportunities to walk … Continued