Protected: Coalition Update – 5/31/12
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Chris Leinberger on the Option of Urbanism at the Kansas City Public Library
On April 18, 2012, Chris Leinberger, President of LOCUS, visited Kansas City, MO to discuss walkable neighborhoods as part of the Kansas City Public Libraries series on What Makes a Great City.
Upcoming Webinars: June 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 1:00-3:00pm ET. Communication Strategies for Planning Processes. Register here.
Tuesday, June 12, 2:00-3:30pm ET. A Guidebook for Sustainability Performance Measurement for Transportation Agencies. Register here.
Wednesday, June 13, 2:00-3:00pm ET. What Public Transit Means for Public Health. Register here.
Wednesday, June 13, 3:00-5:00pm ET. How PHAs Can Keep Housing Affordable By Controlling Transportation Costs. Register here.
NPR: Study says Americans prefer walkable neighborhoods
Visitors at the Chattanooga, TN farmers’ market. Chattanooga is one of the smaller cities seeing a rise in walkable urban neighborhoods. Photo by Flickr user Larry Miller.
Chrisopher Leinberger, President of LOCUS and coauthor of the new report “Walk this Way:The Economic Promise of Walkable Places in Metropolitan Washington, D.C.” sat down with NPR’s Marketplace‘s David Brancaccio and Stacey Vanek Smith earlier today to talk about the report’s findings and the rising popularity of walkable neighborhoods. Listen to the audio or read a full transcript after the jump.
Partnership in the News: HUD Staff Visits Two Grantees in Minnesota
In rural Baxter, Minnesota, HUD staff met with 175 community members representing area youth, seniors, business leaders and residents who had gathered to help guide the Region 5 Resilient Region planning process. The HUD team also visited the Twin Cities and a meeting of 200 community leaders and foundations to look at the progress that has been made on the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative, a group of local and national funders that support the Central Corridor Light Rail Line.
Walkable neighborhoods now the most coveted in real estate
Washington, DC’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood was one of those included in a new study from the Brookings Institution. Photo by Flickr user Dewita Soeharjono.
The most valuable real estate today is in walkable urban locations – and that’s a stark change from only a decade ago.
That is one of the principal findings of a new report from the Brookings Institution. Walk this Way:The Economic Promise of Walkable Places in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. is an economic analysis of the neighborhoods in and surrounding our nation’s capital.
“Emerging evidence points to a preference for mixed-use, compact, amenity-rich, transit-accessible neighborhoods or walkable places,” the report explains, noting that consumer preferences have shifted and that demand for walkable housing is outpacing supply, thus contributing to higher property values.
Helping Byram, NJ turn its Village Center vision into reality
An architect’s rendering of proposed changes to Byram, NJ’s main boulevard. Photo via New Jersey Highlands Council.
Byram is a bucolic township of 9,000 people located amidst the lakes and hills of northern New Jersey 50 miles from New York City and 25 miles from the Pennsylvania border. Having embraced the land preservation goals of New Jersey Highlands Regional Master Plan, Byram has now set its sites on creating its first-ever Village Center on a 60-acre property – and some adjacent parcels – along New Jersey Highway 206, the town’s “Main Street.”
Byram’s vision for a Village Center has won wide acclaim, including a smart growth award from New Jersey Future, the state’s leading smart growth group and a coalition partner of Smart Growth America. But how to transform a vision into a reality – especially in a down economy and a slow real estate market?
Last week, Smart Growth America led a two-day workshop to help civic and community leaders in Byram grapple with this question. Participants included Mayor James Oscovitch, Town Manager Joseph Sabatini, other members of the Town Council and the Town Planning Board, business owners, property owners, and many interested Byram residents.
New Jersey Future to recognize 2012 Smart Growth Award winners at awards ceremony on June 7
Crossposted from our partner New Jersey Future.
The Smart Growth Awards celebration is considered one of New Jersey’s premier networking events, attracting more than 300 development industry professionals, as well as local, regional, and state leaders.
Awards Celebration
Thursday, June 7, 2012
5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Newark Club, Newark
Questions: contact Marianne Jann at (609) 393-0008, ext. 101 Registration information: Admission is $150; Day of event $175. Download the invitation to send a check. For sponsorship information, contact Dan Fatton at (609) 393-0008, ext. 105. For a current list of sponsors, click here.
The House and Senate are debating transportation today. What will they decide?
Right now, a small group of House and Senate leaders are negotiating their proposed transportation bills, and plan to bring a final bill before Congress in the coming weeks. Their decisions today have the potential to shape our communities for decades to come.
Can you take a moment to call your Senators and Representative? Let them know you want the conference committee to preserve the strong, bipartisan provisions contained in the Senate’s transportation bill MAP-21.
Partnership in the News: GroWNC Inspires "Regional Thinking" in North Carolina Counties
The Smoky Mountain News reported recently that 5 North Carolina counties are coming together with a project called GroWNC, which aims to get the entire Western NC region to think collectively about economic development strategies that include sustainability. GroWNC is currently holding meetings in all 5 counties- Haywood, Transylvania, Buncombe, Henderson and Madison- that will gain feedback on these economic development goals as well as information about residents and their concerns. Participants are being asked questions ranging from what they love most about Western North Carolina to individual demographics to their opinion on the project.