2013 LOCUS Leadership Awards given to Senator Mary Landrieu, HRI Properties
Louisiana took center stage last night in Washington as LOCUS honored two smart growth champions from the Bayou State with the 2013 LOCUS Leadership Awards.
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LOCUS on America's changing development needs at The Atlantic's Generations Forum
On Wednesday, May 22, LOCUS Managing Director Christopher Coes joined a panel discussion on America’s new infrastructure needs and livable communities as part of The Atlantic’s Generations Forum.
Moderated by Sommer Mathis, Editor of The Atlantic Cities, the panel also included Sarah Zanton of The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and Sarah Rosen Wartell, President of the Urban Institute. Together they discussed how demographic changes in the United States are affecting the country’s development needs.
Upcoming Webinars: June 2013
Want to learn about new, innovative strategies for creating great places? Several upcoming webinars provide ideas and inspiration for local leaders.
Climate Change Adaptation Webinar Series
Monday, June 3, 2013 – Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Click here to find out more
Hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency and North Carolina State University, the series will bring together tribal, state and local stakeholders, EPA representatives, and experts from a variety of sectors to consider the impact of EPA’s new Climate Change Adaptation Plan on the implementation of federal environmental programs, and to present case studies, tools and solutions to some of the most pressing climate change adaptation challenges.
Spotlight on Sustainability: Denver's Sun Valley plans for brighter tomorrow
Sun Valley neighborhood listening sessions. Photo via the Decatur-Federal Station Area Plan.
Denver, CO’s Sun Valley has a new chance to overcome many hurdles towards economic vibrancy thanks to a new light rail line and a Community Challenge grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Sun Valley near downtown Denver is a remarkably diverse neighborhood home to a large immigrant and refugee population. The area is also one of Denver’s poorest, with an average annual income of $8,000 per household. More than 9 out of 10 of the area’s residents live in public housing. In addition to these demographic challenges Sun Valley is alo isolated geographically, cut off from Denver’s urban core by the South Platte River to the east, Sports Authority Field at Mile High to the north, and major roads to the west and south.
A new initiative will help Sun Valley overcome these chalenges and become a better place to live for current residents and future ones. At the heart of this work is the Decatur-Federal Station Area Plan, a transit-oriented development strategy for the larger Sun Valley region. Created by the Denver Department of Community Planning and Development and the Denver Housing Authority, the plan centers around a newly-completed RTD FasTracks light rail line. The line extends west from the heart of downtown Denver to Golden, CO, and connects Sun Valley to Denver’s economic opportunities and employment centers.
Join us to celebrate DC's food entrepreneurs and the neighborhoods they call home
Union Market in Washington, DC. Photo by Tom Bridge via Flickr.
Washington, DC is gaining attention for its new food scene, and the city’s great neighborhoods are helping making that possible.
Join us on Thursday, June 20, 2013 for Food in the City: Creating food centers and communities, a panel discussion and reception about the intersection of smart growth development and DC’s burgeoning food community. Weigh in about how small businesses are changing real estate, and how the city can support food industry entrepreneurs through better development.
Development-oriented transit: How value-capture launched DC’s newest neighborhood
The 2013 LOCUS Leadership Summit was held on June 3-5, 2013 in Washington, D.C. A walking tour of NoMa was one of the many items in this year’s agenda.
At certain times of day, competition for an available bicycle can be fierce at the Capital Bikeshare station on the corner of 1st and M Street NE in Washington, D.C. That intersection serves as the unofficial crossroads for the city’s newest and fastest growing neighborhood, NoMa (short for “North of Massachusetts Avenue”), where a building boom is in full swing. On a typical weeknight, the sidewalks of NoMa brim with young professionals, who stop in at the new Harris Teeter grocery store or CVS pharmacy before heading to one of the nearby apartment buildings or the local Metro station. High above, the numerous construction cranes dotting the neighborhood serve as reminder that the frenetic pace of growth in the area shows no signs of slowing.
Senator Frank Lautenberg’s legacy of support for America’s towns and cities
Senator Frank Lautenberg (center) with supporters and colleagues in Paterson, NJ in 2008. Photo by Tony Fischer via Flickr.
Senator Frank Lautenberg led on an incredible range of issues during his five terms in the Senate. Creating stronger towns and cities—in New Jersey and across the country—was just one of them.
Transportation was a touchstone issue for Lautenberg during his time in office. As chair of the Surface Transportation, Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, & Security Subcommittee, Lautenberg championed passenger and high-speed rail service, especially for intercity travel and urban transit. One such project was New Jersey’s Hudson Bergen Light Rail line, which has brought commercial and residential development to the Hudson River waterfront and helped to improve the area’s neighborhoods. He worked to expand Amtrak and NJ Transit service, and helped secure funding to create NJ Transit’s Secaucus station, which now bears his name.
City of Fairfax, VA to host public workshop on planning for economic and fiscal health
Fairfax, VA’s City Hall, where next week’s meeting will take place. Photo by TJ Hanton via Flickr.
Smart Growth America is headed to Fairfax, VA next week to meet with local officials and residents about the city’s development policies and regulations, as well as its approach toward the continued investment in high-quality public infrastructure.
Protected: Coalition Updates – 5/29/13
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Houston hosts workshop on implementing Complete Streets
Local residents and officials in Houston, TX met with representatives from Smart Growth America on April 17 and 18, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aimed to give Houston the tools to develop a Complete Streets policy in their Museum Park Neighborhood, which will lay the foundation for future Complete Streets policies in other neighborhoods throughout the city.
“Museum Park, in partnership with the City of Houston’s Office of Sustainability anticipates that the Complete Streets workshop will take Houston a step closer to achieving a few of Mayor Parker’s stated goals for her second term, such as “sustainable development, public safety, infrastructure and quality of life,” said Kathleen O’Reilly, Vice President of the Museum Park Super Neighborhood. “Museum Park, with its mix of 14 museums, Hermann Park, 3,000 homes, schools, health care, churches and more offers the ideal mix to craft the highest standards for transit and quality of life in Houston. As we launch ReBuild Houston, the timing of this exciting collaborative effort couldn’t be better.”