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New book from Philadelphia's City Parks Association highlights opportunities created by vacant properties

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Cities and towns across the country face a number of complex problems associated with vacant and abandoned properties, including public health concerns, environmental hazards and reduced property values. Solving these problems is a formidable challenge for any city, but solutions too often lack the long-term vision and planning necessary to rejuvenate a disintegrated community.

In Philadelphia, a city with more than 40,000 vacant properties, one nonprofit organization took an innovative approach to addressing the problem. Philadelphia’s City Parks Association (CPA), a non-profit land use organization, has played a catalytic role in establishing and maintaining public parks and open space in urban areas of Philadelphia. With a mission “to stimulate visionary thinking about natural resources and open space in the urban community” and experience in city planning, CPA recognizes that Philadelphia’s ecology and community engagement are essential parts for finding solutions to the city’s vacant property issues.

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Voters agree: U.S. would benefit from better roads, improved public transportation options

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A new survey by the Rockefeller Foundation about transportation infrastructure has found that two out of three voters say making improvements to the country’s transportation infrastructure is very important, and most voters say that in its current state the nation’s transportation system is barely adequate according to.

The new survey, released yesterday, finds that there is wide agreement among voters – even across partisan lines – that leaders in Washington should seek common ground. Nowhere is this more true, the survey finds, than with legislation related to the country’s transportation infrastructure. Voters want better and safer roads and more public transportation options, widely agreeing that the United States would benefit from an expanded and improved public transportation system.

Moreover, few believe that current government spending in this area is efficient and wise, and voters welcome a range of reforms in how transportation projects are financed. At the same time, as is the case with many spending-related issues today, voters are unwilling to personally pay for additional funding of national transportation projects. While wide support exists for encouraging more private investment, imposing penalties on over-budget projects, and establishing a National Infrastructure Bank, there is very little support for increasing the federal gas tax or increasing tolls on interstate highways and bridges.

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Misguided Budget Cuts Proposed by House Leadership Take Aim at Programs Driving Economic Growth

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Washington, DC – Leaders of the House of Representatives submitted their recommendations this week for the 2011 federal budget, including cuts to several programs that create jobs and drive economic growth. Geoffrey Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, issued the following statement in response:

“The budget proposed by the Republican House leadership takes aim at America’s middle class and attempts to balance the federal books on their backs. Many programs on the chopping block are meant to help this country’s economic recovery and cutting these programs is short-sighted and counterproductive. What’s worse, many of these cuts will take their highest toll on families and communities – precisely the people Congress should be working to help right now.

Leaders of the House of Representatives submitted their recommendations this week for the 2011 federal budget, including cuts to several programs that create jobs and drive economic growth. Geoffrey Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, issued the following statement in response:

“The budget proposed by the Republican House leadership takes aim at America’s middle class and attempts to balance the federal books on their backs. Many programs on the chopping block are meant to help this country’s economic recovery and cutting these programs is short-sighted and counterproductive. What’s worse, many of these cuts will take their highest toll on families and communities – precisely the people Congress should be working to help right now.

“Our leaders in Congress need to take a close look at the federal budget and cut programs that are wasteful, outdated and no longer effective in the 21st century economy. At the same time, however, Congress should protect and promote programs that help jumpstart the private sector, allow local leaders to respond to local economic needs and provide clear and effective outcomes.

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Smart Growth America Applauds President Obama for Budget Provisions that Strengthen Communities

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President Obama today unveiled a budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 that includes strategic investments in America’s economic competitiveness and promotes long-term economic growth. Geoffrey Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, issued the following statement in response:

“The President’s proposed budget rightfully acknowledges the difficult financial times we as a country are facing. Many provisions propose spending the federal government’s limited funds in smarter ways that will help make the towns, cities and regions in our country more economically effective. Several aspects of the proposed budget focus on programs that will catalyze job creation and economic growth in the United States and we applaud the Obama Administration for putting taxpayer dollars to such good use.

“Smart growth is about building neighborhoods that work for the people who live there – meaning rural, suburban and urban communities with more housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops and schools where people want them. These are places where strong economies and a healthy environment can both thrive at once. Places where community leaders choose to get the most out of each federal or state dollar invested in the neighborhoods. Where the private sector can help jump-start the local real estate market in a way that is right for that unique community. Where we make decisions to save money in our municipal budgets and in our own wallets and invest for the future.

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Good Jobs, Green Jobs on the benefits sustainable communities bring to jobs and economies

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The annual Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference is wrapping up today in Washington, DC. Coordinated by the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation, the multi-day conference shares ideas and strategies for building a green economy that creates good jobs and preserves America’s economic and environmental security. It brought together a diverse group of agencies and organizations to tackle questions about revitalizing our economy, replacing jobs lost in the “great recession” and building the infrastructure needed to keep America competitive in the 21st century.

Smart growth strategies are a key part of all these goals, and yesterday’s morning plenary at the conference was dedicated to just that. U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison (DFL-MN), Amalgamated Transit Union International President Lawrence Hanley, Kaiser Permanente Vice President of Workplace Safety and Environmental Stewardship Kathy Gerwig and American Institute of Architects President Clark Manus spoke on a panel about Sustainable Communities, moderated by Kojo Nnamdi, host of WAMU’s “The Kojo Nnamdi Show.”

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Photo by Keith Mellnick/Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference

Congressman Keith Ellison discussed how sustainable communities have the ability to increase independence, maximize efficiency and encourage innovation. Clark Manus, President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), detailed how AIA is “working with communities on more than just buildings,” and emphasized the possible depth of what “more sustainable, more responsible communities” can offer their residents – from increased access to transportation options to a stronger economy.

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First Annual Smart Growth America's 2011 Leadership Awards goes to North Carolina leaders

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For leading the way with smart growth policy making that will make North Carolina neighborhoods even greater places to live, Smart Growth America is pleased to recognize North Carolina State Senator Floyd B. McKissick and Representative Jennifer Weiss with Smart Growth America’s 2011 Leadership Award.

In 2010, Senator McKissick and Representative Weiss sponsored legislation to establish an innovative Sustainable Communities Task Force in North Carolina. Excitingly, the legislation passed – making North Carolina one of the latest states 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.

As co-chairs of the Legislative Study Commission on Urban Growth and Infrastructure, McKissick and Weiss helped develop and refine the Sustainable Communities Task Force legislation from the earliest stages. The legislation lays out six guiding smart growth principles, similar to the Livability Principles of the federal HUD, DOT, and EPA Sustainable Communities Partnership.

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Tim Geithner on middle-class jobs and long-term growth

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Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner with CNBC anchor Erin Burnett at the Port of Tacoma, WA. Photo: Flickr/Port of Tacoma

In a post on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s website today Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner voices his support for infrastructure investments as a tool for economic growth. Geithner explains that “targeted infrastructure investments are a necessary component of creating the middle-class jobs we need now and strengthening our foundation for future economic growth.”

Today’s post comes on the heels of October 2010’s Economic Analysis of Infrastructure Investment, a report by the Treasury which reiterated the fact that well designed infrastructure investments have long term economic benefits that disproportionately benefit the middle class. The report also noted that there is currently a high level of underutilized resources that can be used to improve and expand our infrastructure, as well as strong demand by the public and businesses for additional transportation infrastructure investments. From Treasury.gov:

Well-targeted infrastructure investments create both immediate and long-term economic benefits. Those benefits accrue not only where the infrastructure is located but also to communities all across the country.

When the Port of Seattle improves its connection with local freight railroads, it creates construction jobs for local workers – but the project’s benefits extend far across the heartland. By making it cheaper to transport cargo, this improvement will allow cattle ranchers in rural Montana to ship their beef to new markets across the world. Consumers who purchase imported goods and American businesses that are expanding their exports enjoy lower prices and improved access to new markets and goods…

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Response to new report focuses on missed opportunities for fast, effective job creation

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Last week, Smart Growth America released a report about how states spent their flexible transportation funds from 2009’s American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and whether the projects funded with that money created the most jobs possible. The research revealed that most states failed to invest in projects that create the most jobs per dollar: namely, public transportation and road repair and maintenance. Money spent on paving new roads, by contrast, creates fewer jobs per dollar spent, making it a worse value for the government’s money.

The mounting criticism of states’ use of their stimulus funds is coming from people who want to see the U.S. economy recover quickly and effectively. Investing in public projects that create jobs in the short term and economic sustainability in the long term – as public transportation and road repair do – is one of the best ways to do that. As former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening explains in an editorial in The Hill:

Past decisions about transportation spending are detours, not dead ends. While the golden opportunity of ARRA funding has passed, state and federal governments can learn the lessons of ARRA and meet President Obama’s challenge to do what is best for the economy.

Tanya Snyder at Streetsblog highlights the point that states have to make smarter investment decisions if they want to see results:

In just the last month, several reports have quantified…how investing in transportation infrastructure pays off in jobs and economic health. Now Smart Growth America is out with new research showing that it’s not enough to plunk down a bunch of money and expect miracles. You’ve got to do it right.

Megan Owens, spokeswoman for Transportation Riders United explained to The Detroit News that even though Michigan doesn’t spend that much on new roads, the state’s public transportation spending doesn’t even come close:

“We can do a better job of spending on public transportation, especially when you see that SMART and DDOT are looking at cutbacks…We spent as much on widening a few miles of M-59 in Oakland County as we did for all of public transportation in southeastern Michigan.”

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