Secretary of Transportation LaHood Says the Magic Words

In his official Earth Day blog post, Secretary Ray LaHood focuses on bicycling and talks about the opportunity to use ‘highway’ funds for creating complete streets! He continues, “the upcoming reauthorization of DOT’s surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of a new American mobility within livable communities.” Be … Continued

Complete Streets

We can put thousands back to work quickly and responsibly with smart transportation spending

Investing first in repair and maintenance can prevent another disaster like Minnesota’s I-35W bridge collapse. Tell your Governor to invest in the future with smart, proven, ready-to-go transportation spending. Creative Commons Flickr photo by Poppyseed Bandits. Earlier this week, we highlighted a new Smart Growth America report that details 20 proven and ready-to-go ways for … Continued

Complete Streets Uncategorized

New report identifies proven and ready-to-go ways to create more jobs quickly & responsibly

Click to learn more about the report Governors and state departments of transportation around the country are burning the midnight oil to prepare lists of transportation projects that could be funded under President Obama’s economic stimulus package, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As they develop these lists of transportation projects to be funded under … Continued

Uncategorized

The Mixed-Income Housing TOD Action Guide

This study by Reconnecting America‘s Center for TOD explores how, “as TOD planning processes proliferate there is a broader understanding that mixed-income housing supports many TOD goals including stable transit ridership, better public health, broadened access to opportunities, and deeper affordability. This Mixed-Income TOD Action Guide was developed for the nonprofit Great Communities Collaborative (GCC), which is working in the San Francisco Bay Area to ensure TOD planning processes result in neighborhoods that include households of all income levels. The guide walks users through a three-step analysis to determine the most effective strategies and tools.”

Uncategorized

Inward momentum: Residential growth in American center cities

You’ve probably seen some of the anecdotal evidence in newspaper stories or other outlets recently about how many center cities have experienced a resurgence of residential growth within their borders over the last 10 to 20 years. Many of us had wondered if there had been any systematic examination of building permit trends to document … Continued

Uncategorized

New HUD chief on the connectedness of housing policy and sustainability

There’s an old problem in government — probably at all levels, but most notably at the federal level — of agencies working at cross purposes with each other. For example, new transportation investments in unneeded highways in exurban areas works against the EPA’s effort to reduce emissions and satisfy the Clean Air Act. Sometimes this … Continued

Uncategorized

Metropolitan and Rural Transportation Planning: Case Studies and Checklists for Regional Collaboration

This report by the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations provides case studies and checklists of possible actions that metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), rural transportation planning organizations (RPOs), state departments of transportation (DOTs), local government entities and other planning partners may take to enhance their partnership efforts. Case studies from Vermont, Washington and other states relate directly to how RPOs and MPOs are addressing integrated planning and livability efforts.

Uncategorized