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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Join LOCUS in Seattle next month at ULI's annual housing conference

The Urban Land Institute (ULI)’s annual housing conference brings together housing professionals from across the country to discuss current challenges and opportunities for supporting a full spectrum of housing choices in cities and suburbs increasingly challenged by the new economy.

Joining the discussion at this year’s conference is LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors. LOCUS Managing Director Christopher Coes and Steering Committee member John Hempelmann, of Seattle-based business law firm Cairncross & Hempelmann, will join a panel discussion at the conference about federal involvement in real estate and how it might be reformed.

Local Leaders Council LOCUS

Local Leaders Council talks smart growth implementation at 2013 New Partners for Smart Growth conference


Members of the Local Leaders Council and Smart Growth America staff. Top row, from left: Bill Fulton, Mayor Madeline Rogero, Mayor John Engen, Mayor Ken Moore, County Board Member Chris Zimmerman, Vice-Mayor Anu Natarajan and Jessica Holmberg. Bottom row, from left: Neha Bhatt, Councilmember Dave Richins, Mayor Rick Danner, and Mayor Scott Avedesian.

Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council was in Kansas City last week to collaborate, learn, and present solutions at the 12th annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference.

Over 1,100 people convened in Kansas City for the conference, including city planners, elected officials, bloggers, community leaders, health experts, and business people. Attendees traded ideas and stories, presented questions and solutions, and found new allies.

Local Leaders Council

Photo Gallery: Smart Growth America's 2013 Leadership Awards

Guests at Smart Growth America’s 2013 Leadership Awards cheered (literally!) for smart growth, as well as the three recipients of this year’s awards.

Progressive Insurance was honored for its Snapshot program, the most widely available usage-based auto insurance program on the market today. Mayor Laura McConwell and the City of Mission, Kansas were honored for their commitment to investing in infrastructure. And Mayor Randy Rhoads and the City of Lee’s Summit, Missouri were honored for their focus on healthy, active transportation systems.

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Progressive Insurance receives Smart Growth America's first Leadership Award for Business

Earlier this week we announced the winners of our 2013 Leadership Awards. Progressive Insurance was one of the winners.

As Flo, the bubbly white-aproned spokesperson for Progressive Auto Insurance says, “It’s like, from the future, right?” regarding Snapshot, the company’s “pay-as-you-drive” auto insurance. It may seem futuristic, but Progressive has been developing the concept for a long time – the company first launched a forerunner of today’s plan in 1998 and introduced the latest iteration, Snapshot, in 2010.

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Join us next week for "The Next Generation of Transit: the key to Montgomery’s green future"

Join Smart Growth America’s President Geoff Anderson, the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Montgomery County Sierra Club next week for a panel and discussion about transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and smart growth solutions in Montgomery County, MD. Get the latest updates on Montgomery transit projects and join fellow advocates for discussion about smart growth issues in the county.

When: Wednesday, February 13, 2013
6:00-8:00 PM
Where: Silver Spring Civic Center,
One Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910
RSVP: Click here to register for this free event.
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Roundtable series in six cities this spring will discuss federal real estate issues and their solutions


LOCUS members at 2012’s Leadership Summit.

LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors is proud to announce a new series of industry roundtable discussions about improving the federal government’s role in today’s real estate market.

The discussion series will gather leading real estate developers and investors from across the country to address the federal government’s role in real estate, and create solutions to align federal involvement in real estate to better support walkable development across America.

LOCUS

Join us next week at the New Partners for Smart Growth conference

Next week, the 12th annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference kicks off in America’s heartland—Kansas City, Missouri. The three-day conference will explore sensible strategies for helping communities arcoss the country create healthy, convenient, equitable and livable cities and towns for all. This year, the conference will include over 90 sessions and close to 400 total speakers across multiple disciplines including elected officials, state and federal agency leaders; professionals in planning and transportation; realtors, developers and many others committed to building sustainable communities nationwide.

Smart Growth America’s staff will among the many speakers talking about best practices in implementing smart growth strategies – covering everything from local policies to federal legislation about Complete Streets, public transportation, economic development, effective communications and more. Join us at one of our several sessions.

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Gabe Klein Ties Complete Streets to Chicago's Economic Success at National Complete Streets Coalition Dinner

Last week, fifty Partners and friends of the National Complete Streets Coalition gathered in Washington, DC to celebrate the Complete Streets movement, the Coalition’s work over the last year, and the generous annual support of our Partners.

The dinner’s featured guest, Commissioner Gabe Klein of the Chicago Department of Transportation, added to the room’s enthusiasm. Commissioner Klein tied Chicago’s Complete Streets efforts to city’s economic success, citing the growing attention Complete Streets receive from local leaders, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Chicagoans are seeing Complete Streets as the pathway to safer and more attractive places for people to live and attract top companies to the city. Commissioner Klein encouraged Complete Streets supporters to “be brash” when talking about your goals, clearly communicate the benefits of the approach, use all available funding sources, and demand more from the private sector.

Complete Streets