The Boulder Civic Area is a visionary “community driven” project to rethink and evolve the downtown’s most expansive public space. Image via Bouldercolorado.gov on Flickr.
Boulder, CO officials and local residents will meet with representatives from Smart Growth America on March 4 and 5, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aim to find innovative travel and mobility strategies that will give Boulder the tools to achieve the next level of the city’s ambitious carbon-reduction goals.
Boulder residents are invited to join the workshops first day for an open house on the city’s 2013 Transportation Master Plan Update (from 4:30 to 6 p.m.) and a presentation by Smart Growth America (from 6 to 8 p.m.). The event will be held Monday, March 4, 2013 at the Hotel Boulderado Conference Center, 2115 13th Street, Boulder, CO.
“The City of Boulder is very excited to host Smart Growth America’s Cool Planning events,” said Tracy Winfree, Director of Public Works for Transportation. “These events provide great opportunities for city staff and the community to learn from national and international best practices and discuss potential strategies to assist us with achieving Boulder’s transportation, land use and climate goals. The outcome of these events will be helpful for the current update to the city’s Transportation Master Plan, as well as for other citywide planning initiatives.”
“Smart Growth America is committed to providing the tools and training to help community leaders keep their cities and towns livable, sustainable and vital places,” said Roger Millar, Director of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute. “Boulder is a leader in climate action. Boulder’s Climate Action Plan was one of the first of its kind, and the community passed the nation’s first carbon tax to create funds to support both residential and commercial energy efficiency programs. Smart Growth America’s technical assistance can help Boulder take this work to the next level by expanding their efforts and identifying land use and transportation solutions to minimize carbon emissions, and impact on climate.”
In November 2012, Boulder was one of 22 communities selected by Smart Growth America to participate in the free technical assistance program. Stretching from Maine to Washington State, these communities represent major cities, suburban centers, and rural towns alike.
The program, made possible through a five-year Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities, seeks to develop local planning solutions that help communities grow in ways that benefit families and businesses, while protecting the environment and preserving a sense of place. Three other nonprofit organizations—Forterra, Global Green USA and Project for Public Spaces—also received competitively awarded grants under this program to help communities get the kinds of development they want.
Workshop Materials
- Cool Planning Tool Description (PDF)
- Evening Presentation (PDF)
- Boulder: Next Steps Memo (PDF)
- Boulder: Progress Report – 1 month (PDF)
- Boulder: Progress Report – 6 months (PDF)
- Boulder: Progress Report – 12 months (PDF)
Workshop Outcomes