The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, headed by First Lady Michelle Obama, released a new report and action plan to end childhood obesity in a generation. The report specifically recommends a federal Complete Streets policy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention become one of the first agencies to weigh in on the federal transportation reauthorization – and transportation choice is front and center in their recommendations.
Supported by encouragement and recommendations from Smart Growth America, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a new policy in late March to guide how billions in annual federal water funds should be used. The new guidance ensures that water facilities that communities depend on every day aren’t neglected in favor of running new systems out to undeveloped areas, saving taxpayer money in the process.
Remember the great video series we were promoting earlier this week? Help Smart Growth America become a sponsor of American Makeover. We’re trying to raise $500 by Saturday, May 8 to have the SGA logo and a brief message included in the opening credits of a future episode.
The economic stimulus from early 2009 was largely about creating jobs quickly, and so included a requirement that states obligate half of their flexible stimulus money in 120 days. In June 2009, SGA reported on what they decided to do with the money, and found that many states missed an opportunity to make as much progress as possible in filling the nation’s most pressing transportation needs and creating jobs as quickly as possible. They built new roads while old ones were crumbling, and passed on an opportunity to catch up on investing in public transportation — both of which are contrary to both the intent of ARRA and to what people have said they want transportation money spent on. The states had to obligate all of their money within a year, so SGA has once again gone through every project to see where your money is going. The results? Not much changed between the 120-day obligations and the full year.
Climate Bill Timing is Uncertain
OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE POSTPONED
Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) have been working on bi-partisan climate legislation behind the scenes for months. The scheduled April 26 release of the bill language came and went last week, and has now been postponed until further notice. The climate bill negotiations fell apart last month when Senator Graham indicated that he was going to pull out due to shifting legislative priorities within the Administration and congressional leadership. Graham wrote in a letter on April 24th that he was compelled to withdraw from the climate effort following reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid might bring an immigration package to the Senate floor ahead of the climate bill….
Smart Growth America today announced that Roger M. Millar, Jr., AICP, PE, FASCE, is joining SGA as Director of Land Use and Transportation Policy. Roger Millar is a planner and an engineer with an international reputation for innovative approaches to planning and design. His career has been dedicated to improving communities as diverse as New York City and McCall, Idaho. Projects in which Roger played a leadership role are seen as national models for livability. Likewise, Roger has been instrumental in the successful evolution of sustainable practices within rural and gateway communities throughout the American West.
The makers of a viral sensation from last year (Built to Last) are back with a new video series that takes a hard look at America’s collective frustration with sprawl and the smarter alternatives for growth and development happening in communities across the country. “With ugly sprawl everywhere you look in America, it’s time for a … Continued
Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation released guidelines for “ TIGER II,” a $600 million merit-based program that may give a glimpse of a future in which transportation projects are routinely multimodal and connected to land use.
The makers of a viral sensation from last year (Built to Last) are back with a new video series that takes a hard look at America’s collective frustration with sprawl and the promises it failed to deliver on and the smarter alternatives for growth and development happening in communities across the country. [VIDEO]