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Pennsylvania Governor signs Land Bank Act in to law

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Last week Pennsylvania passed legislation that will equip communities in the state with a proven tool for fighting blight and vacancy and catalyzing economic development.

HB 1682, now known as the Land Bank Act, passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in February and the Senate in October before finally being signed by Governor Tom Corbett on October 24, 2012.

The new legislation enables municipalities in Pennsylvania to create land banks, local entities that can hold and manage vacant properties and direct their reuse and redevelopment. Land banks make it easier and cheaper for prospective buyers to redevelop blighted properties into homes and businesses, ultimately reversing cycles of economic decline and getting delinquent properties back on municipal tax rolls.

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Striving for transit-friendly communities in the Puget Sound region

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“Seattle Streetcar,” by Flickr user Sean Marshall.

For those not familiar, they could be forgiven for mistaking the opening speaker at this month’s Transit Financing Workshop in Seattle for an ardent smart growth advocate. And in many ways he is. He just also happens to be the Mayor of Seattle.

Mayor Michael McGinn’s comments about the critical role walkable neighborhoods and transit play in economic development set the stage for a day-long event about transit-oriented development in the Puget Sound region on October 4, 2012. Sponsored by Transportation for America, LOCUS Washington, the Transportation Choices Coalition, ULI Northwest and the Quality Growth Alliance, the event brought together leaders from the business, real estate, advocacy, and government sectors to discuss transit, transit-finance, and how the Seattle region can better position itself for future growth.

LOCUS

Partnership in the News: Sustain Southern Maine wins over more residents

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On Monday, October 15, Sustain Southern Maine, a recipient of a HUD Regional Planning grant, held an informational meeting in Eliot, Maine to  inform residents of their planning efforts and invite the community to participate. Sustain Southern Maine is a coalition of municipalities, non-profit organizations, and businesses working to generate positive regional development.

In light of the challenges being faced by Southern Maine communities, including lack of quality educational and employment opportunities, limited housing options, dependence on oil for heating homes and motor vehicle transportation, insufficient infrastructure for sewer, water, telecommunications and other services, and lack of services for the elderly, Sustain Southern Maine aims to promote public transportation, affordable housing, economic competitiveness, preservation of local character, and the coordination of land-use policies and investment.

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New report highlights laws, policies and program ideas for state transportation officials

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The National Conference of State Legislatures has released a new report, On the Move: State Strategies for 21st Century Transportation Solutions. The report is intended to serve as a guide for state legislators, and is filled with policies that promote fiscal and environmental sustainability; facilitate affordable, safe and accessible transportation choices; and achieve shared benefits such as improved public health and economic development.

The new report is broken into four sections, each taking a look at a different aspect of effective policy:

  • Taking the Long View examines policies that exemplify a forward-thinking, sustainable approach to providing surface transportation infrastructure and services over the long term. This includes provision of sustainable transportation funding and consideration of life-cycle costs in transportation decision-making.
  • Using What You Have explores effective and cost-efficient approaches that help make the most of existing infrastructure, such as fix-it-first and asset management, operations and management, and commute trip reduction.
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Partnership in the News: Anacostia Riverwalk Trail plan revealed

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On Monday, October 15, federal and state officials from Maryland and the District of Columbia held an event to announce a four-mile portion of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail that will be known as the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens segment and will be funded largely by a 2012 DOT TIGER grant.

The trail is a broader effort to bring development and activity to the Anacostia waterfront, as it connects 60 miles of trails in Maryland and throughout the District. Mayor of D.C. Vincent Gray had this to say about the project:

“This latest segment of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail is an important part of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative’s efforts to create a healthy, green, equitable and prosperous city – goals that go hand-in-hand with my Sustainable DC plan. I’m excited today to unveil the trail’s unique design, which will give the public a window into the host of benefits this new regional trail link will provide to our neighbors in Maryland as well. We look forward to continued collaboration with our regional and federal partners as we move forward with construction and press ahead with our efforts to create a world-class Anacostia Riverfront in our city.”

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Introducing Smart Growth America's Local Leaders Council

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Smart Growth America is proud to announce the launch of our new Local Leaders Council, a nonpartisan group of local elected officials who share a passion for building great towns, cities, and communities.

Representing diverse communities of all sizes from across the United States, members of the Local Leaders Council are using smart growth strategies to help their hometowns compete and grow in today’s economy, generate better return on taxpayer investment, provide transportation and housing choices for their residents, and create vibrant places where people want to live, work, and play.

Local Leaders Council

Smart Growth Stories: Building a solid foundation for the future of Detroit

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Detroit is changing. The popular story of the last half-decade has largely revolved around the economic fallout of the troubled automobile industry, interspersed with tales of population drain and abandonment. Based on this narrative, it might be easy to dismiss Detroit, to write the city off as a once-great but now-fallen metropolis of yesterday.

Easy, that is, unless you’ve been following the news. A New York Times article from a year ago picked up on the massive influx of young, educated people even in the face of massive out-migration, while a Forbes article from July of this year highlighted the development in downtown Detroit, largely centered around Woodward Avenue, the spine of the downtown area.

These news stories are beginning to touch upon what people familiar with the new movement in Detroit already know: Detroit is rebuilding. But this time, developers and investors are taking a different tack, focusing on downtown, mixed-use, and transit-oriented development strategies, shifting the city away from the large manufacturing development that has characterized Detroit for so long.

Bedrock Real Estate is at the forefront of this new strategy. “We’re going to continue to fill up Detroit, downtown Detroit. There’s no longer this need for manufacturing plants. You don’t need these big, huge buildings anymore,” says Jim Ketai, Managing Partner of Bedrock and member of the Steering Committee for LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors. “So we are recreating Detroit. It’ll be a new Detroit, something different than what Detroit once was.”

Local Leaders Council LOCUS

New green building resources for HUD grantees

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The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a new initiative to offer green building training to their grantees and other affordable housing organizations. The free courses include Introduction to Green Building for Affordable Housing, Executive Decision Making, Best Practices for Green Building Operations and Maintenance, Financing Green Building, and Energy Performance Contracting for Small PHAs.

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Partnership in the News: Tulsa, OK poised to clean up brownfields

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With the help of a $175,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tulsa, Oklahoma is in the final stages of a brownfield redevelopment plan that includes six properties throughout the city. The grant will help Tulsa clean up the sites and thus serve as a catalyst for broader revitalization and redevelopment efforts. On cleaning up one of the former industrial sites, Mayor Dewey Bartlett said:

“This could be a great asset to the city, contributing to the tax rolls and the business community. We just have to get it there.”

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