Blog

Spotlight on Sustainability: Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri

By ·

The following is based on an interview with Tom Gerend, Assistant Director of Transportation, Mid-America Regional Council

While anyone who is involved in regional planning can appreciate the difficulties of trying to work across multiple local jurisdictions, Kansas City faces a unique set of challenges. Kansas City lies on the border of Missouri and Kansas, which means the Kansas City Transit Corridors and Green Impact Zone TIGER (Transportation Invesment Generating Economic Recovery) grant, by the U.S. Department of Transportation, is working across not just city and county lines, but state lines as well. That makes the project complex, but also rich with opportunity because numerous streams of federal revenue can be tapped to focus on one region.

Uncategorized

Smart Growth America Applauds Governor Cuomo for Signing Land Bank Act into Law

By ·

Washington DC- Today Smart Growth America applauded New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo for signing an innovative new policy into law. The Land Bank Act will give localities across New York State new tools for redeveloping vacant and abandoned properties. The “land banks” will be created and run by local authorities with the purpose of reducing the high number of vacant properties in many upstate towns and cities and returning those abandoned parcels to a more productive use.

Geoff Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, said: “I am thrilled that Governor Cuomo has signed this important bill into law. As the Governor noted in his urban agenda, blighted properties bring despair to communities and land banks are an innovative way to restore struggling neighborhoods. Also, I want to congratulate former Representative Hoyt, Senator Valesky, the Center for Community Progress, CenterState CEO and Empire State Future for their vision and commitment to getting this bill passed and signed into law.”

Uncategorized

HUD releases Notice of Funding Availability for Regional Planning Grants and Community Challenge Grants.

By ·

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today in a press release that HUD will be investing $95 million to support stronger, economically competitive communities through their Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. From the release:

This year’s Regional Planning Grant program will encourage grantees to support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land-use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure developments in a manner that empowers regions to consider how all of these factors work together to bring economic competitiveness and revitalization to a community. The program will place a priority on partnerships, including the collaboration of arts and culture, philanthropy, and innovative ideas to the regional planning process. Recognizing that areas are in different stages of sustainability planning.

Uncategorized

New study reveals the economic impact of America's failing transportation infrastrucuture

By ·

The nation’s deteriorating surface transportation infrastructure will cost the American economy more than 870,000 jobs, and suppress the growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product by $3.1 trillion by 2020 according to a new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Uncategorized

House prepares to vote on bill that would eliminate funding for EPA Office of Smart Growth

By ·

Members of the House of Representatives are debating the Interior-Environment appropriations bill this week, legislation that would significantly cut funding the the U.S. Environmental Protection agency and completely eliminate funding for the Agency’s Office of Smart Growth. Smart Growth America strongly opposes these proposed budget cuts, and encourages Members of the House to vote “NO” on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill this week.

Tell your Representative to oppose these cuts: click here to send a letter now.

Uncategorized

LOCUS President Chris Leinberger promotes increased transit investment in Georgia

By ·

Last Wednesday, LOCUS President Christopher Leinberger traveled throughout the Atlanta metropolitan region meeting with political and business leaders to lend support for the upcoming Transportation Investment Act referendum and to advocate for public transportation’s unique role as a driver of the region’s economic development.

In 2010, Georgia lawmakers passed the Transportation Investment Act, which calls for a statewide vote on whether to raise sales taxes one cent in order to fund mass transit, road, and other transportation projects in the state. The legislation divides the state into 12 regions and allows elected officials from each region to choose certain transportation projects to be funded by the tax. Currently, regions are compiling their list of transportation projects to be placed for a vote in 2012 voters.

Joined by Ray Christman, Director of Livable Communities Coalition at a Georgia Passenger Rail Coalition sponsored press conference in downtown Atlanta overlooking the future Multi-modal Passenger Terminal, Leinberger delivered a presentation on the latest trends in real estate and how demographic shifts are pushing demand toward transit-oriented, walkable development, which, as Leinberger concludes, is the next critical component of metro Atlanta’s economic development portfolio.

LOCUS

Smart Growth America Opposes Zeroing Out Funding for EPA Smart Growth Programs

By ·

This week the United States House of Representatives will vote on the Fiscal Year 2012 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill that drastically reduces the effectiveness of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and zeroes out the EPA’s Smart Growth programs.

Smart Growth America opposes this shortsighted budget cut because it will be detrimental to economic growth. Geoff Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America said, “The EPA’s smart growth programs offer critical assistance to communities across the country on a range of issues from supporting farmers and farmland to helping small towns revitalize their Main Streets and growing local businesses, all while protecting the country’s environmental health.”

Uncategorized
  • …
  • …