Heidi Simon has been the Director of Thriving Communities at SGA for a year and also leads our work with the National Complete Streets Coalition. In this Q&A, she reflects on her first year at SGA and what she’s looking forward to in 2024.
Tell us about your background and how your experience led you to the Thriving Communities team at SGA.
I started in this space working for America Walks, the national pedestrian advocacy organization. I quickly realized that many of things I took for granted and enjoyed growing up and in my early adult life were unique in far too many places in the U.S.—being able to walk to school, enjoying time with friends on my bike, and living car-free as an adult. For me, transportation and mobility independence are things you can’t unsee once you’re exposed to the issue. Joining the Thriving Communities team at SGA felt like a natural next step in supporting communities in finding their way to many of the benefits I have always valued and enjoyed.
Can you tell us about some upcoming projects/opportunities that you are looking forward to this year?
We have some big things coming out in early 2024 that I think are exciting. Dangerous by Design 2024 will be bigger than ever, with not only the well-known report but also a technical assistance program and related videos. As a team, we are exploring opportunities to find different ways to engage champions by revamping tools, exploring new media forms, and building out new resources related to quick-build demonstrations.
How is transportation and thriving communities connected to the smart growth space?
Transportation is something that many take for granted and yet is foundational to the way we move and engage with our communities. Unfortunately, it’s often not until something goes wrong or someone is inconvenienced that they realize their transportation system actually doesn’t do what we need or want it to. What makes working at Smart Growth America exciting is our holistic approach to address transportation and help communities thrive. We don’t think about transportation solely as how someone gets from point A to point B, but we consider the paths and connections it provides to people and places.
What is an important lesson you’ve learned in your first year working with SGA?
One of my favorites came from our work with the California Complete Streets Leadership Academy: don’t take the first no as the last no. Just because you encounter opposition or hit a roadblock doesn’t mean the work should stop. It’s often a sign to get creative, think big, and power through to the next step in achieving the vision.
Describe your vision for the future of the transportation and thriving communities team at SGA.
I want to make sure we continue to do work that is providing value to those in the trenches: the staff and advocates championing a new way of doing things and putting in the work to see it become reality. And while we celebrate the wins, I think it’s important to remember that we need to be fighting for system-wide change, making sure that the vision Smart Growth America has for communities becomes the default.