Washington Update: With 2013 budget finalized, talks begin for 2014 funding levels

Federal budget

Intense budget negotiations in Washington over the past few weeks have made little reference to funding for the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities. But Congress is already discussing next year’s budget, and now is the time to weigh in on future spending.

On March 26, President Obama signed into law a final Fiscal Year 2013 spending package which retained the automatic $85 billion in spending cuts known as the sequester. Most federal agencies—including HUD, DOT and EPA—will have to make reductions in spending by the end of FY 2013 on September 30th, 2013.

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Spotlight on Sustainability: Charm City works to improve housing, transportation, and jobs


Baltimore, Maryland. Photo by Kevin Labianco via Flickr.

The Baltimore metropolitan area is planning for the region’s future development thanks to a Regional Planning Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

The Opportunity Collaborative for a Greater Baltimore Region spans a diverse landscape ranging from the dense urban streets of Baltimore to the rural, pastoral landscapes of Northeastern Maryland. The project encompasses Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, Carroll County, Harford County and Anne Arundel County – an area home to more than 2.5 million people.

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What the BUILD Act could build: Tassafaronga Village in Oakland, CA

Image: Matthew Millman

Tassafaronga Village has brought affordable and accessible housing to east Oakland, California, and created bright public space and environmentally innovative design on land that was once contaminated.

In 1945 the U.S. government developed the land and built temporary housing for wartime workers in Oakland’s shipyards. In 1964, the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) acquired the property and replaced the original structures with 87 public housing units: grim low-rise concrete buildings in a barren hardscape.

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Upcoming Webinars: April 2013

Want to learn about new, innovative strategies for creating great places? Several upcoming webinars provide ideas and inspiration for local leaders.

Food Access & Health Impacts: Trends and New Research
Thursday, April 4, 2013 – 2:00-3:00 PM EDT
Click here to register
Limited retail access to healthy foods affects the dietary patterns and health outcomes of many Americans. Join this webinar, hosted by PolicyLink, to learn how new research and evaluation practices are helping to generate fresh solutions that stimulate change in local communities.

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Ideas for creating better DOTs at Good Jobs, Green Jobs 2013

How can state departments of transportation (DOTs) cut costs while creating better transportation choices and creating quality jobs?

That’s what Smart Growth America’s Vice President Roger Millar will discuss at this year’s Good Jobs Green Jobs conference, on April 16, 2013 in Washington D.C. Joining Millar for a panel discussion called “Not Your Father’s DOT” will be Eric Sundquist, Managing Director, Smart State Transportation Initiative and Douglas Shinkle, Senior Policy Specialist, National Conference of State Legislatures.

Many state DOTs face falling revenues but rising demand for services. In response to these challenges, DOTs across the country are changing the way they do business. Agencies are taking new approaches to transportation that fit the unique demands of their states and that provide greater benefits at less cost. They are improving existing services in the short term and planning effectively for the long term. They are adopting innovative yet pragmatic reforms. They are reevaluating and retooling traditional practices to ensure that those practices continue to provide users with a robust, economically beneficial transportation network.

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Celebrate DC's startups and the neighborhoods they call home


YOU ARE INVITED

Tech in the City:
Startup Communities in Startup Places
Washington, DC is one of the best places in the country for tech startups, and the city’s great neighborhoods are helping make that possible.

Join us for a panel discussion and reception about the intersection of smart growth development and DC’s startup community. Weigh in about how startups are changing DC’s real estate, and how the city can support the startup community through better development.

Leading the conversation will be Peter Corbett, CEO of iStrategyLabs; Harriet Tregoning, Director of the DC Office of Planning; and Ilana Preuss, Vice President and Chief of Staff of Smart Growth America.

Thursday, April 18, 2013 | 7:00-9:00 PM
iStrategyLabs, 1630 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC, 7th floor
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What the BUILD Act could build: Hope Tree Nursery in Providence, RI


Image courtesy Groundwork Providence

In Providence, Rhode Island, on the site of a former factory, an urban nursery is helping make the whole city more green.

Hope Tree Nursery is the first financially self-sustaining nursery constructed on a brownfield in the United States. The site was once home the Rau Fastener Company on Sprague Street, southwest of Downtown Providence.Years of producing metal fasteners left the site contaminated with heavy metals and today, Sprague Street is part of an economically distressed community lacking green space. Known as a “legacy city,” the area is characterized by the vestiges of a past, productive era.

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Advocating for great places: Smart Growth America and coalition partners visit Capitol Hill

Federal decisions about development, infrastructure and transportation impact communities across the country, and no one has a better understanding of how those decisions play out than the members of Smart Growth America’s national coalition.

Coalition members from across the country came together last week in Washington, DC to ask members of Congress to support the federal programs that are helping communities across the country achieve their economic development goals.

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Partnership in the News: Blueprint Binghamton launches community planning efforts

A local Binghamton resident’s idea for community improvement. Photo courtesty Blueprint Binghamton

Over the past 60 years, the city of Binghamton, New York gradually lost residents due to a shrinking industrial economy, eventually falling to about half its population from 1950. Unemployment rates above the national average and education and income levels below national averages present Binghamton with many challenges. However, a comprehensive plan for the region, supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is an opportunity to build upon Binghamton’s valuable community assets and existing infrastructure.

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