WASHINGTON DC — In language that puts politics ahead of public safety and economic development, the House of Representatives’ Fiscal Year 2013 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill zeroes out funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s smart growth program and reduces EPA funding overall by 17 percent. “Though House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers … Continued
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With the Republican Convention just over two months away, where does the party’s presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney, stand on brownfield issues? His time as Governor of Massachusetts provides some insights. The following is one of the ten Sustainable Development Principles outlined in Smart Growth Resources for Cities, and Towns written by Massachusetts’ Office of Commonwealth Development in 2006:
Announced at an October, 2003 Pittsfield, Massachusetts event, Mitt Romney’s economic development plan included “Doubling the Economic Opportunity Tax Credit from 5 to 10 percent for the redevelopment of a brownfields site.” Romney cited job creation and the potential to entice new companies to existing development as reasons to increase the credit. Read more >>
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In the most recent round of TIGER grants announced last week, the City of Tampa, Florida will receive $11 million to finish its Riverwalk project. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the grant, awarded by U.S. DOT through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, will help fix two gaps in the walkway in a section of downtown Tampa where crashes between cars, cyclists and pedestrians are common. The 2.6-mile walkway along the Hillsborough River will also be connected to a 1.7-mile multi-use trail, which will create pedestrian and bike connections to bus and streetcar lines.
Today, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the recipients of the fourth round of the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant program. Nearly $500 million will go to fund the 47 transportation projects in 34 states plus the District of Columbia. Many projects are not eligible for other kinds of federal funding or have difficulty finding funding due to their regional or multi-state nature.
The Ames Intermodal Facility in Ames, Iowa, a transportation hub that will bring together parking, transit access, public and private transportation providers, and the Iowa State University and Ames communities, opened its doors last week. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin as well as the mayor of Ames and the president of Iowa State.
The greater Yellowstone region stretches across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, encompassing dozens of counties and mile after mile of unparalleled natural resources. Its stunning beauty attracts thousands of visitors every year and is the primary basis for economic development in the area. As a result, residents and tourists alike see significant value in preserving the environment and ensuring its existence for future generations.
That concern for the Yellowstone ecosystem as a vital community asset is the underlying principle of the Yellowstone Business Partnership.
“The Yellowstone business partnership is a non-profit organization that works at an eco-system level,” says the organization’s communications specialist Kim Billimoria. “It was founded by a group of business people that recognized that if we’re going to preserve the greater Yellowstone ecosystem – which is one of the largest last intact ecosystems in the entire world – we have to harness the power of business.”
Downtown Huntington, Long Island. Photo by Smart Growth America.
This past Friday, several hundred people – including elected officials, developers, bankers, preachers, business executives – gathered in Melville, NY for Vision Long Island‘s annual smart growth awards luncheon. Vision Long Island, an ally of Smart Growth America, confers the awards to plans and projects using smart growth strategies to strengthen Long Island’s unique collection of downtowns.
Although Long Island grew quickly after World War II as an archetypal auto-oriented suburb, it still has dozens of small downtowns from the prewar era, each with a commuter rail station nearby. And while plenty areas on Long Island have prospered, many have struggled. For every Brooklyn neighborhood that has seen a spectacular revival, there’s a village in Nassau County that is struggling with population loss and a faltering downtown.
Stakeholders and key decision-makers from Baton Rouge and the Greater New Orleans area came together Tuesday on the LSU campus to discuss how the city and region could best harness transit and planning measures to enable economic development and the creation of great Louisiana neighborhoods. The engaging policy forum was hosted by the Connect coalition, … Continued
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