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Registration now open for the 2015 Local Leaders Council Policy Forum

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Are you a local leader working to build a robust downtown, expand housing choices, or create healthy neighborhoods? If so, we want you to join us in Washington, DC this spring.

Elected and high level appointed officials from around the country are invited to Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council second annual Policy Forum from May 31 to June 1, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Local Leaders Council is a bipartisan group of over 200 councilmembers, mayors, agency directors and county officials who share an interest in smart growth.

Local Leaders Council

Coming soon: "The WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Boston"

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Walkable real estate development projects and places are on the rise nationwide. Over the past year, LOCUS has looked at how these trends are playing out in Atlanta and Washington, DC.

On March 11, we’ll reveal new analysis of which walkable urban places—or “walkUPs”—are changing the real estate landscape in another major American city: Boston. 

The WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Boston will, for the first time ever, analyze the different forms and economic use of all land use across metro Boston and rank Boston-area communities based on economic and social equity metrics. 

LOCUS

Complete Streets News — February 2015

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Photo by David Moisan, via Flickr
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Take the USDOT Mayors’ Challenge — U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has issued a call to action, challenging local leaders to significantly improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in the next year. The first of seven identified action steps is to adopt a Complete Streets approach. Any level of jurisdiction can join the initiative and attend the kick-off summit in DC next month. Read more >>

Best Complete Streets policies of 2014 — This year’s best Complete Streets policies report has arrived! We’re excited to name Ogdensburg, NY, a community of The City of Ogdensburg, NY, located on the northern border of the state and home to 11,000 people, adopted 2014’s best-written policy, which scored a total of 92.8 points of a possible 100. To celebrate, we hosted an online discussion with representatives from a few of this year’s top-scoring communities. Check out the recording and recap of the kickoff event >>

Complete Streets Local Leaders Council

Town Supervisor David Tennent on connecting communities in rural Campbell, NY

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Town of Campbell, NY. Photo via Town of Campbell website.

Residents of Campbell, NY, want a vibrant main street while maintaining their rural atmosphere. David Tennent, Town Supervisor and member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, is using smart growth strategies to improve walkability, foster local business, and enhance natural resources to provide the Campbell that the residents desire.

Local Leaders Council Technical assistance

Since the workshop: Boulder, CO continues to develop new transportation strategies for sustainable development

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Bike lanes at the intersection of Broadway and University. Photo by City of Boulder via Flickr

Boulder, CO has ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions and improve transportation in the city. A newly adopted transportation plan—informed by Smart Growth America’s work with the city—is the most recent step toward achieving these goals.

In August 2014, the Boulder City Council accepted an update to the city’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP). The updated TMP addresses bikeways, pedestrian infrastructure, and regional transit, acknowledging that each has an important role in supporting the sustainability and quality of life goals set by the local community.

Technical assistance

New program will help Vermont communities coordinate land use decisions and transportation investments

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A street sign in Vergennes, VT, one of the first participants in VTrans and ACCD’s Strong Communities, Better Connections program. Photo by The Selby.

In a new collaboration to support vibrant community centers and increase in town and regional transportation options, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development are pleased to announce the Strong Communities, Better Connections Pilot Grant Program has funded three projects that help align land use planning and community revitalization efforts with transportation investments.

Technical assistance

Announcing the Best Complete Streets Policies of 2014

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Guadalupe Street in Austin, TX. Austin had one of the highest-scoring policies of 2014. Photo courtesy of the City of Austin.

A total of 74 communities adopted Complete Streets policies in the United States in 2014. These laws, resolutions and planning and design documents encourage and provide for the safe access to destinations for everyone, regardless of age, ability, income or ethnicity, and no matter how they travel.

The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2014, released today by Smart Growth America’s National Complete Streets Coalition examines and scores each Complete Streets policy enacted in 2014. The report outlines ten ideal elements of a Complete Streets policy and scores individual policies based on these ideals. Policy elements refine a community’s vision for transportation, provide for many types of users, complement community needs and establish a flexible approach necessary for an effective Complete Streets process and outcome.

Complete Streets

Incoming Massachusetts cabinet secretaries top speaker lineup at 2015 New England LOCUS Leadership Summit

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The 2015 New England LOCUS Leadership Summit: Closing the Next [Smart Growth] Deal on March 11, 2015 in Boston, MA, will bring together real estate industry leaders and public officials from across the region to advocate, network, makes deals, and connect with one another. To frame the event’s discussions, we are excited to announce these confirmed speakers … Continued

LOCUS

Transportation and infrastructure take center stage in President Obama's 2016 budget proposal

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President Obama released his proposal for the fiscal year (FY) 2016 federal budget yesterday, and if passed, it would be an enormous help to communities looking to grow in better, more economically vibrant ways.

Most notably the proposal includes significant investment in transportation and infrastructure programs (there’s even a photo of a bridge on the cover). Building on the Administration’s GROW AMERICA Act, the budget proposes $94.7 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding for the Department of Transportation and sweeping improvements to its programs as part of a six-year, $478 billion surface transportation reauthorization. That would be a $176 billion increase over the last authorization, and $76 billion more than the four-years of funding proposed in the GROW AMERICA Act last spring.

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