Blog

Partnership For Sustainable Communities Grantees Host Briefing On Capitol Hill

By ·

This week, Smart Growth America brought together representatives from groups who received Department of Housing and Urban Development regional planning grants as part of the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Community for a briefing on Capitol Hill. The grantees who spoke at the briefing represented a diverse cross-section of communities that are implementing regional planning grants, including representatives from the Metro-Boston region, Northern Maine, and Metropolitan Des Moines. Shelley Poticha, Director of HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Community Development, shared the agency’s perspective of the transformative potential of regional planning grants and the unique cross-agency collaboration between HUD, DOT and EPA that defines the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

HUD distributed just shy of $100 million for regional planning grants to 45 different grant recipients as part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities in fiscal year 2011. So far those grant recipients have managed to leverage almost another $100 million out of local private, non-profit and local government partners to support their efforts. Shelley noted that kind of financial investment in support of a non-construction project was remarkable. Why is there so much excitement from the business community, local governments, universities and other partners on the ground when it comes to these regional planning grants?

Uncategorized

White House announces Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative

By ·

The White House announced a new program today that will help communities across the country make their smart growth plans a reality. Strong Cities, Strong Communities is a new interagency pilot initiative that aims to strengthen neighborhoods, towns, cities and regions around the country by strengthening the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies. Speaking in a video about the new program, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes explained that Strong Cities, Strong Communities will support local governments by providing necessary technical assistance and access to federal agency expertise, and creating new public and private sector partnerships.

Uncategorized

Car and Driver goes on the record for a comprehensive transportation strategy

By ·

You know it’s bad when Ashton Kutcher is Tweeting about road closures. Route 405 in Los Angeles is due to be closed for construction this weekend – an event predicted to be so paralyzing for L.A.’s traffic that it’s been dubbed “Carmageddon.”

While L.A. drivers prepare for catastrophe and stock up on canned goods, the 405 road closure illustrates one of the arguments presented in a recent article from Car and Driver magazine. “The State of the Union’s Roads: An Investigative Report” chronicles why so many of America’s roads are in poor condition – and what we should be doing about it.

“The interstates were designed to last 20 or 30 years,” the article explains, “but now some areas are pushing 50 years and handling far more traffic than their planners anticipated. But as we reach into our wallets, we run into our generation’s big dilemma: We’re nearly broke.” Highway revenues are down, repair costs are up and the federal government can’t afford the level of road investments it committed to in past years. While gas prices and time wasted in congestion are both soaring, more people are living in cities than ever before, which leads even Car and Driver to question the logic of doubling down on highways.

Uncategorized

America's Bulging Waistlines and a National Need for Complete Streets

By ·

The newest release of F as in Fat notes the alarming pace of America’s obesity crisis and makes six overarching strategies to bring our waistlines into check, including the recommendation for Complete Streets laws at the state and federal level. Recent news on the impending federal transportation authorization bill, however, indicates that such a recommendation has not yet penetrated the walls of Congress.

Complete Streets

Webinar: Federal Transit Administration 2011 Funding Opportunities

By ·

The FTA Office of Program Management is holding a webinar tomorrow, Friday, July 8, 2011 on how to find and apply for 2011 funding opportunities, including the Bus Livability program. Other programs that will be discussed include Alternative Analysis, State of Good Repair, Clean Fuels, and Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER).

The webinar will be held in two sessions:

East Coast participants (FTA Regions 1-5) can register here for a 10:30 – 12:00pm ET webinar.
West Coast participants (FTA Regions 6-10) can register here for a 1:00 – 2:30pm ET webinar.

Registration details will be sent to registrants. Find more information here.

Uncategorized

Upcoming webinar: Applying for HUD Regional Planning Grants

By ·

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced an additional $67 million investment in stronger, more sustainable communities that connect housing to jobs while fostering local innovation and building a clean energy economy.

If you plan to apply for this year’s round of HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grants, join us for a webinar on Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 2:00 PM EDT. You will hear tips from past Partnership for Sustainable Communities grant recipients, receive advice from a firm that has written several successful applications, and learn the criteria that the Partnership uses to grade applications.

Uncategorized

Transportation for America responds to House T&I authorization proposal

By ·

Crossposted from Transportation for America.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Transportation and Infrastructure committee chairman John Mica (R-FL) released an outline of principles for a proposed six-year transportation bill. The $230 billion, six-year proposal represents a 35 percent spending reduction with potentially significant impacts on road and bridge repair and maintenance, as well as public transportation and safer walking and bicycling. James Corless, director of Transportation for America, had this to say in response to the Chairman’s proposal on state flexibility, transit funding and streamlining project delivery:

“We commend Chairman Mica and his fellow drafters on the push to get this long-stalled bill moving, and we appreciate the effort to consolidate programs, leverage non-federal resources and deliver projects more quickly. However, we are skeptical that investments at this level can meet the country’s infrastructure needs.

Uncategorized

Send your nominations for Smart Growth America's second annual 2012 Leadership Award

By ·

Nominations are now being accepted for Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute second annual Leadership Award. This is a great opportunity to recognize elected officials in your area who have championed smart growth and sustainable development policies.

Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute’s Award for Outstanding Leadership is bestowed annually on an elected official that has shown exceptional leadership in smart growth policy development or implementation. Last year, North Carolina State Senator Floyd B. McKissick and Representative Jennifer Weiss received the award for their outstanding leadership in smart growth policy making that will make North Carolina neighborhoods even greater places to live. Their efforts helped create the innovative Sustainable Communities Task Force, which created $250,000 in task force grants for regional sustainable development partnerships.

The Leadership Institute will be accepting nominations from Smart Growth America coalition members until September 1, 2011. Please contact Shelly Hazle, Program Manager, Smart Growth America for further details at 202-207-3355 x120 or [email protected].

Click here to download the full submission guidelines (PDF)

Nominations will be accepted through our online submission form. Click here to submit your nomination online >>

Uncategorized

DOT announces funding to be available for TIGER program

By ·

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that $527 million will be available for the third round of the highly successful TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) competitive grant program. TIGER grants fund innovative transportation projects that create jobs and have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area.

For this round of grants, projects will be selected based on their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, improve energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and improve the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. DOT will also focus on projects that are expected to quickly create and preserve jobs and spur rapid increases in economic activity.

Uncategorized
  • …
  • …