Smart Growth America is seeking a qualified media/PR firm to manage the rollout of its most popular, visible, signature national report: Dangerous by Design. The contract will run from (beginning date ASAP) through July 31, 2022. The release of the report is tentatively scheduled for July 11, 2022. Background: Dangerous by Design identifies the most … Continued
During COVID-19, expanded public spaces, wider sidewalks, and increased active transportation options became critical for providing opportunities for physical activity, accessing essential needs, and safely getting outdoors. But the burden of vulnerability to the pandemic was not spread evenly across our communities. Our newly released field scan explores how decision-makers did (or did not) account … Continued
Activity-friendly streets, public spaces, and active transportation options became critical components of our daily lives during the COVID-19 crisis, providing avenues for physical activity, accessing essential needs and being outdoors safely. But vulnerability during and the burden of the pandemic was not spread evenly across our communities. This field scan explores how decision-makers did (or did not) account for existing inequities in their emergency responses and identifies common barriers and lessons for the future.
Applications are open for the third round of the Active People, Healthy NationSM Champions Institute, an opportunity for local elected officials to gain the knowledge needed to effectively advocate for safer and more Complete Streets hosted by Smart Growth America (SGA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity.
This package of three profiles of safety demonstration projects is one of the end products of the yearlong Washington Complete Streets Leadership Academy, conducted by our National Complete Streets Coalition.
With the use of a pop-up event that pulled in local stakeholders and a well thought-out engagement strategy, a small city with a history of successful quick-build Complete Streets projects gained a better understanding of community goals and created a strong case for funding a project to improve safety and health outcomes.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently issued a report to Congress outlining the agency’s commitment to using Complete Streets as its default approach to funding and designing roadways, as well as the agency’s ongoing challenges and opportunities in advancing safety and reducing traffic injuries and fatalities. This is an important step forward, especially when combined with a newly established Complete Streets hub and additional roadway design guidance.
Graduates of Smart Growth America’s inaugural Active People, Healthy Nation Champions Institute are using what they learned to advocate for Complete Streets and safer activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations across the country. After completing the institute in 2020, Councilmember Sallie Alcorn from Houston, TX, Mayor Robyn Tannehill from Oxford, MS, and Mayor Jerry Martin from Alma, … Continued
In a small but suburbanizing city on the extreme northern edge of metro Seattle, a temporary pedestrian crossing and median refuge helped improve safety, reduce speeds, educate residents and drivers about the importance of slower speeds and better walking access, and spark important conversations about the future of the community in Arlington, WA.
Airway Heights, WA deployed their safety demonstration project on a key north-south connector in the city that abuts the town’s only school and a public park, generating excitement in the community and creating new safe spaces for people to gather during the pandemic.