Blog

Smart Growth America statement: “Communities need a partner, not austerity measures”

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Yesterday President Trump released his proposal for the fiscal year 2018 federal budget. Geoff Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, issued the following response:

“There’s a lot of puzzling logic in this budget, but one point stood out to me above the others. It was the budget’s justification for cuts to transportation. Despite a pledge of raising $200 billion for infrastructure spending, the budget explains that because cities are investing in public transportation, the federal government should stop doing so.

The fact that local governments are spending money on public transportation—or housing, or neighborhood revitalization—shows just how much cities value these things. Local governments and the private sector are willing to invest their own dollars to make these things happen. The federal government should follow their lead and help that work go farther.

Advocacy

Webinar recording: Three toolkits for smart growth in rural places

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In late April Smart Growth America released three new toolkits for smart growth in rural places. Our Community Facilities Location toolkit helps communities make the most of new facilities like hospitals or post offices. Our Well-Placed Affordable Housing toolkit looks at creating centrally located housing infrastructure. And our Fiscal Impact Analysis toolkit looks at how local government can better understand the long-term financial implications of decisions about new development.

Rural Development

Speaker presentations from the 2017 LOCUS Leadership Summit

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Commissioner John Schroer of the Tennessee Department of Transportation was one of the presenters at the 2017 LOCUS Leadership Summit.

The 2017 LOCUS Leadership Summit featured an exceptional group of real estate developers, investors, local elected officials, and transportation professionals who came together to discuss a range of topics affecting walkable, urban development in the United States today.

The Summit’s speakers talked about cutting-edge ideas for public/private partnerships, local and federal policy, place-making benefits, and more. If you are interested in a recap of what got discussed, all of this year’s speaker presentations are below.

Local Leaders Council LOCUS

Complete Streets News — May 2017

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Webinar next week: Making the Most of Main Street — Join the National Complete Streets Coalition Wednesday, May 17, 2017 from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT for our webinar “Making the Most of Main Street: Complete Streets & Walkable Communities.” Co-host America Walks and speakers from Langley, WA will join the Coalition to discuss how a Complete Streets approach can help communities revitalize downtowns. Participants will learn about developing and implementing Complete Streets, the intersection of public health and rural economic development, how to get community members involved, and finding funding.

Complete Streets

What the new, short-term federal budget means for smart growth

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Today, President Trump signed into law a $1.1 trillion budget to continue funding the government for the rest of Fiscal Year 2017, which runs through the end of September.

This legislation overall maintains funding for key federal programs critical to rebuilding neighborhoods and providing attainable housing and affordable transportation options. Here’s what the bill contains for smart growth-related programs

Advocacy

New CDC recommendations combine transportation and land use strategies to promote physical activity

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released new recommendations to promote physical activity by implementing a combination of transportation and land use interventions. The recommendations stem from the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF), an independent panel of 15 public health and medical experts appointed by the CDC Director with the objective of identifying evidence-based interventions to improve health and quality of life. The panel includes distinguished doctors, professors, and researchers with expertise in health promotion and disease prevention. They conducted a comprehensive review of 90 studies examining the relationship between the built environment and physical activity to determine how best to promote exercise. Their new recommendations are an important step forward to understanding the linkages between health-related behavior and how we build our towns and cities.

Complete Streets

A recap of the 2017 LOCUS Leadership Summit

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The 2017 LOCUS National Leadership Summit took place at the historic National Press Club in Washington, DC, bringing together responsible real estate developers, investors, transportation professionals, and local leaders from across the country to talk about obstacles and opportunities in building walkable neighborhoods served by transit.

Local Leaders Council LOCUS

Announcing the winners of the 2017 LOCUS Leadership Awards

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For the past five years, LOCUS has presented our annual LOCUS Leadership Awards to developers and investors who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to public leadership, smart growth development, and who have furthered our mission of advocating for sustainable, walkable urban development. We received an unprecedented number of nominations this year and are pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 LOCUS Leadership Awards.

LOCUS
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