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Partnership in the News: Houston-Galveston Residents Shape Their Future

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An article posted by Houston’s Atascocita Observer reports on an unprecedented effort in the 13-county, Houston-Galveston area to shape the future of the region based on recommendations from residents, the business community, the local government, and others gathered through a series of meetings.

More than 6 million people now live in the region and as many as 4 million new people could live in the 13-county area by 2040. This two year planning project is the first step in answering questions such as “Where will those residents live?” “How will they move around the region?” and “How will change affect quality of life?”

Over the next two months residents will have an opportunity to give their feedback on what they think are the most pressing issues facing their communities and the region overall and share their hopes for what a better tomorrow may look like.

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Welcome to the coalition: Alliance to Save Energy

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Smart Growth America is proud to welcome the Alliance to Save Energy to our coalition of state and national allied organizations.

The Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit organization that promotes energy efficiency worldwide through research, education and advocacy. The Alliance encourages business, government, environmental and consumer leaders to use energy efficiency as a means to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment and greater energy security.

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Welcome to the coalition: Madison Area Bus Advocates

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Smart Growth America is proud to welcome Madison Area Bus Advocates to our coalition of state and national allied organizations.

Madison Area Bus Advocates works for an expanded and improved urban and regional bus system to serve more people, places, and trips throughout the greater Madison, WI area. The organization is a diverse group of bus users and friends who believe that good public transit supports the dignity and freedom of all individuals, creates an open, hospitable and welcoming community, respects the environment, opens economic opportunity to all and moves people to where they need to go. A variety of transportation options – including good bus service – needs to be available in the greater Madison area so people and businesses can choose a transportation mode that considers convenience, time, health, safety and cost. We want an expanded and improved regional transit system that includes better transit options within the city of Madison itself.

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Using historic preservation tax credits to revitalize urban communities in Rhode Island

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The Alice Building in downtown Providence, RI, was built in 1898 and recently renovated to become apartments in the heart of town. Photo by Flickr user Mr. Ducke.

Advocates in Rhode Island seek to reinstitute the state’s Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credit. The redevelopment success of the previous credit, and Rhode Island’s need for affordable housing and economic stimulation, means that restoring the credit will be key to help the State successfully recharge its real estate sector. Restoring the credit will also help to implement Rhode Island’s land use plan aimed to “achieve excellence in community design” by supporting redevelopment in traditional neighborhoods and focusing growth in town centers.

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Local Sustainability Matching Fund Announced

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The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth, in partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Fund, announces the launch of the Local Sustainability Matching Fund.

The purpose of the Matching Fund is to catalyze partnerships between local government (city or county) sustainability directors and local, place-based foundations to advance important community-based sustainability initiatives. The Matching Fund is intended both to support significant urban sustainability projects and to build bridges between public sector sustainability leaders and local foundations. The Fund will provide matching investments from national foundations on a competitive basis to build partnerships between sustainability directors and local place-based foundations to advance discrete sustainability initiatives that demonstrate broad-based community support and engagement.

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Join Smart Growth America at the 2012 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference

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After celebrating its 10th anniversary last year in Charlotte, NC, the New Partners for Smart Growth conference begins its second decade back where it started in San Diego, CA. Sun, Surf, and Smart Growth: The 11th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference from February 2-4, 2012 will bring together participants and speakers who cross disciplines to share experiences and insights, and valuable tools and strategies to make smart growth strategies a reality.

Members of Smart Growth America’s knowledgeable staff will be among the many speakers at this year’s conference. Join us to learn about: Smart Growth for Clean Water; Infill Development Strategies for Small Cities; Achieving the Prosperity Benefits of Transit and Smart Growth; Not Your Father’s DOT: Progressive Trends in State Transportation Policy; Leveraging Smart Growth Solutions to Build Political Support; Area-wide Planning: Innovations at the State, Local, and Federal Level; Smart Valley Places — Taking Advantage of the Great Reset; Facing the Critics: Tools and Trainings to Successfully Counter Smart Growth Opponents; and Implementing Green Infrastructure: Creative Approaches to Reducing Regulatory and Financial Barriers in Rural and Urban Communities.

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Ohio selects six communities to participate in the new Brownfields Action Plan Pilot Program

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The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) announced last week six communities that will participate in the state’s innovative Brownfields Action Plan Pilot Program, a new initiative designed to help communities with multiple brownfield sites create area-wide plans to address them.

ODOD launched the program in August of this year and selected the pilot communities after a four-month application and review process. The chosen communities will each receive technical assistance and a $50,000 grant to develop and implement their area-wide plans. The six communities selected include the cities of Fairborn, Newark, Piqua, Ravenna and Xenia, as well as the Seneca Industrial and Economic Development Corporation.

ODOD’s initiative is an exciting milestone for brownfields redevelopment and will provide major benefits to Ohio communities. Area-wide planning is a smart growth strategy that looks at vacant and contaminated sites within a region comprehensively – rather than individually – and allows communities to address each site within the context of broader revitalization and economic development goals. This strategy is particularly helpful for communities plagued by sites that are too small or distressed to be viable for redevelopment individually. Addressed collectively, these sites can all become more attractive to potential developers and can ultimately catalyze community-wide revitalization.

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Welcome to the coalition: Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation

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Smart Growth America is proud to welcome Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation to our coalition of state and national allied organizations.

Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation is a national non-profit organization formed to create and preserve affordable multifamily housing for low-income families throughout the United States. Rainbow renovates and rehabilitate housing that will be a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization.

Formed in 2002, Rainbow creates and preserves affordable housing for families throughout the United States. The organization renovates and rehabilitates distressed properties with the goal of being a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. Rainbow has successfully turned around formerly distressed properties, preserving affordable housing opportunities for thousands of low-income households.

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