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Innovative partnerships drive economic discussion at State Resilience Summit

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netherlandsA project in the Netherlands combined flood mitigation with local housing development. Photo by Royal Netherlands Embassy.

When state governments focus on resilience, who should be their key partners? How can unconventional stakeholders lend their support to the process?

Those questions took center stage today at the Governors’ Institute on Community Design State Resilience and Economic Growth Summit in Washington, DC. The two-day event is bringing together experts on disaster recovery and long-term resilience to discuss best practices and new strategies for states. The Governors’ Institute on Community Design is an initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation administered by Smart Growth America.

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Councilmember Julie Palakovitch Carr on building around transit in Rockville, MD

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Rockville Town SquareRockville Town Square in Rockville, MD. Photo by Dan Reed via flickr.

Located just outside Washington, DC to the northwest, suburban Rockville, MD is one of the largest municipalities in Maryland with a population just over 63,000. Rockville serves as the county seat of Montgomery County—the largest county in Maryland by population, with over 1 million residents.

Rockville’s Councilmember Julie Palakovich Carr, a member of the Maryland Chapter of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, is working to use transit access to help make Rockville a place with a unique identity and a strong sense of community. “Being a suburb of Washington, DC, we are struggling with traffic congestion and other issues that come with rapid growth and redevelopment,” she says. “A lot of it is just managing those things in a way that we are maintaining a good quality of life with nice neighborhoods where people can enjoy open space and parkland, while trying to envision a future where people may be using their cars less and people will be walking more and able to ride their bikes.”

Local Leaders Council

Capital Ideas conference will discuss innovative transportation funding legislation, Nov. 13-14 in Denver, CO

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As Congress has repeatedly postponed tough decisions on federal transportation funding, a handful of states have stepped up and passed new transportation funding legislation. In early 2015, a host of new state legislators and governors will be sworn in—and in many state capitols, transportation will be on the front burner.

Transportation advocates and legislators are invited to Capital Ideas: Raising Money for Transportation Through Innovative State Legislation on November 13-14, 2014 in Denver, CO. This two-day conference hosted by Transportation for America will explore new ways to raise money for transportation projects.

Local Leaders Council

Our technical assistance workshops have helped 50+ communities. Apply today!

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The Culture Trail of Indianapolis, IN—one of 19 communities to receive technical assistance from Smart Growth America in 2014. Photo via visitindy.com.

As we announced earlier this month, Smart Growth America is accepting applications for our 2015 free technical assistance workshops now through October 23. You’ve already seen how our 12 ready-to-go workshops are designed to help communities tackle local development challenges. But have you visited our Past Workshops page recently?

Our chronicle of past workshops is a great resource to see how local leaders and residents across the country have worked with Smart Growth America to develop the knowledge, tools, and strategies to make their communities more livable, sustainable and vibrant places through both our free technical assistance program and our fee-for-service workshops.

To date, our technical assistance program has provided workshops to over 50 urban, suburban, and rural communities in 34 states from Hawaii to Maine.Want to see how Tacoma, WA’s experience might help your community? How about Salisbury, MD or Des Moines, IA? You can find information about the context, content, and outcomes of each of our past workshops on the past workshops page.

Technical assistance

Join us to discuss HUD's new disaster resilience grants

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Joplin, MO. Photo by Bob Webster via Flickr.

Communities recovering from natural disasters have an important choice: rebuild damaged areas as they were, or change investments and policies to be more resilient to future environmental and economic shocks?

This decision will impact how communities are able to recover from future disasters, and ensure that investments made today withstand the impacts that may come with climate change.

A new grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is designed to help communities understand the implications of these choices, and how to remain resilient in the face of natural disasters for decades to come.

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Huntington, WV hosts workshop to implement Plan 2025’s vision of reinvestment

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Pullman Square in downtown Huntington, WV. Photo by Nicholas Eckhart via Flickr.

On August 5 and 6, 2014, Huntington, WV officials and local residents met with representatives from Smart Growth America as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The city recently updated its comprehensive plan, Plan 2025, and this workshop aimed to provide Huntington with tools and techniques to implement Plan 2025’s vision of reinvestment in local infrastructure, housing and businesses. The workshop focused on how shifting development patterns towards more compact, transit-oriented development could benefit the local economy and local government finances.

“The City of Huntington is committed to seeking the tools and training to help develop strategies that reduce negative outcomes from a combined stormwater and sanitary system and encourage quality housing, and business development,” Mayor Steve Williams said. “We’re excited to work with Smart Growth America to find solutions to these and other local issues that will make our city even more attractive in the future.”

Technical assistance

Webinar Recap: Investing in Healthy Communities

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Walkable real estate is a priority in downtown Indianapolis, IN. Photo via Flickr.

Across the country, public- and private-sector investment in walkability is on the rise. Join LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors on October 8, 2014 for an online presentation to discuss new and innovative models for building walkable development projects that generate health and economic benefits for the entire community.

During the webinar, expert panelists Colleen Carey, president of the Cornerstone Group and Elizabeth Schilling, Senior Policy Manager at Smart Growth America will discuss every facet of the development process including:

LOCUS

Webinar recap: All about our free technical assistance workshops

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epa-ta-webinar-2014Applications are currently open for Smart Growth America’s 2015 free technical assistance workshops, and earlier this week we hosted a webinar to discuss details of the opportunity.

If you missed the webinar, you can now view the presentation slides. The slides include an overview of the application process, everything you need to know about each workshop type, and the components of a strong application. Still have questions? Email [email protected] and we’ll do our best to answer them.

This opportunity is currently open, but applications are due soon! Submit your application by October 23, 2014 by 5:00 PM EDT.

Technical assistance

Two new federal opportunities to help communities build in better ways

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san-antonio-txSan Antonio, TX’s Eastside neighborhood was one of the first five designated Promise Zones. Photo by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, via Flickr.

Two new opportunities from the federal government are now open to communities and states interested in growing in more strategic, economically resilient ways.

On September 17, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new grant program to help communities rebuild and increase their resilience to future disasters. The National Disaster Resilience Competition will make available nearly $1 billion to support innovative resilience projects at the local level while encouraging communities to adopt policy changes and activities that plan for the impacts of extreme weather and climate change, as well as rebuild affected areas to be better prepared for the future. The opportunity is open to all communities that experienced a Presidentially declared major disaster in 2011, 2012 or 2013.

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Council Member Cindy Pool helps Ellisville, MO reimagine a suburban highway

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ellisville-mdAn architect’s rendering of proposed changes to Manchester Road, which runs through Ballwin, Ellisville, and Wildwood, MO. Photo via MODOT.

Ellisville, MO has a chance to turn a busy and dangerous roadway into a community asset for economic investment, and Council Member Cindy Pool, a member of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, is helping the city do just that.

Located 18 miles directly west of St. Louis, Ellisville is a suburban community of about 9,100 residents. “The people are what makes this town so special,” says Council Member Pool. “Our residents are educated, involved, and have developed a real sense of community because we are so small.”

Local Leaders Council
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