Guest Post: Who loves abandoned Wal-Marts and K-Marts?

rock bottom rollback, originally uploaded by sssteve.o. Doug Simpson shares one education company’s exciting efforts — presented last Friday at the Louisiana Smart Growth Summit — to breathe new life into abandoned big box retailers. AUGUST 20, 2010 – An Alabama-based adult education company seeks out vacant “big box” retail sites and shopping malls to … Continued

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Guest Post: DOT likely to continue funding for rail expansion, Osborne says

Capitol Grocery, originally uploaded by de*. Doug Simpson provides us the following update from the 2010 Louisiana Smart Growth Summit, underway now in Baton Rouge: AUGUST 19, 2010 – The federal government is expected to continue providing funding for cities to expand passenger rail service because public transport can drive down travel costs for residents, … Continued

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Housing bill links preservation to location

Affordable Senior Housing, originally uploaded by faceless b. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the combined burden of housing and transportation on low-income families. Many household budgets are being squeezed and people from every income level are looking to decrease their costs. A number of new studies have shown that neighborhoods that … Continued

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A step forward for smart growth: Senate advances Livable Communities Act

Downtown intersection, originally uploaded by Complete Streets. Building local capacity to plan for growth and development in ways that cut traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect rural areas and green space, revitalize urban centers, and create more affordable homes just makes sense. Today, the Senate moved forward a bill that would provide federal resources … Continued

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Smart Growth and Economic Prosperity: A Sourcebook

The economic benefits of smart growth are broad and deep. The experience of communities across the country, urban to rural, shows that smart growth directly reduces public costs, improves rates of return for public and private investors, and avoids the expensive environmental, health and social equity costs of sprawl.

This overwhelming evidence is only helpful if we can put it to work when we need it. The goal of this Sourcebook is to help you do that.

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New York passes bill to make infrastructure investments smarter

In a time when state public infrastructure funds are already stretched thin, can we afford to exacerbate the problem by making infrastructure decisions that support sprawl, requiring expensive extension of roads and utilities? According to the New York state legislature the answer is no. Last month the state passed the Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Policy Act.

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North Carolina passes Sustainable Communities Task Force legislation

The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed legislation establishing a Sustainable Communities Task Force within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. North Carolina is now the latest state to recognize the connections between cross-agency governance at the state level, coordination with stakeholders at the local level, and sustainable communities on the ground.

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