Maryland leaders gather to discuss leadership in smart growth at Maryland Association of Counties Winter Conference

 Maryland Association of Counties Winter ConferenceCounty Executive Rushern Baker, Councilmember Roger Berliner, and County Executive Jan Gardner describe the smart growth efforts they are championing.

Over 50 local elected leaders from Maryland, including members of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council, gathered on Wednesday, January 7 to discuss smart growth successes and challenges during the Maryland Association of Counties Winter Conference in Cambridge, MD. Smart Growth America and 1000 Friends of Maryland cosponsored the event.

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Join Smart Growth America at the 2015 New Partners for Smart Growth conference

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The annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference brings together public officials, development professionals, advocates, and civic organizations to connect with experts from across the country and catch up on the evolving best practices in smart growth. Hundreds of speakers cross disciplines to share insights, tools and strategies for making smart growth a success in communities across the country.

This year’s conference will take place January 29-31, 2015 in Baltimore, MD, and Smart Growth America is excited to be one of the many organizations participating. If you plan to attend the conference, be sure to catch the following sessions featuring Smart Growth America’s members and staff.

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Save the date for the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit

Real estate developers can help address gentrification, make housing more affordable, and improve social equity—all while making a profit. How do we make this possible? And how does public policy need to change in order to do so?

Join us to discuss these and other questions at the 2015 LOCUS Leadership Summit: Private Sector Solutions to the Affordability and Social Equity Crisis. This fourth annual national Summit will be held on June 2-3, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

LOCUS

LOCUS invites developers and investors to make transit-oriented development deals in Atlanta

Pre-register now and join LOCUS on February 10, 2015 in downtown Atlanta, GA for a private luncheon at our LOCUS LinkUp: The Next Big Deals around Transit-Oriented Development in Atlanta. Municipalities across the country are eager to draw investment and bring jobs to their communities through mixed-use transit-oriented development. To help facilitate these efforts, LOCUS launched the LinkUp program to connect local elected officials with LOCUS real estate developers and investors to create more models of walkable, sustainable developments on the ground.

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Leaders discuss strategies for supporting local smart growth

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Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council Advisory Board met in Washington, DC to discuss strategy and local progress.

On November 10, the Advisory Board of Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council gathered for its third Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The central topic of discussion was how to support local leaders who are striving to build great communities through smart growth strategies.

“Interest in the Local Leaders Council has been impressive, and the incoming stories about local smart growth work are inspiring,” said Mark Mallory, former mayor of Cincinnati. “Opportunities for mayors, council members, commissioners, and other leaders to connect and support one another make a difference. As a leader, you know you are not alone and that you have smart colleagues in other communities who are willing to help you.”

Local Leaders Council

LOCUS Member Benefits: LinkUps


At LOCUS LinkUps, smart growth deals between local leaders and real estate developers and investors get done.

When great new walkable real estate gets built, both communities and developers reap the benefits. But strong relationships are key: Smart growth-minded local leaders must connect with developers and investors—in the right place, at the right time—to get the ball rolling.

That’s where our LOCUS LinkUps come in.

In 2013, LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors launched the LinkUp program to bring smart growth-minded local leaders and real estate professionals together. Through these private networking events, key players get the opportunity to discuss new smart growth deal opportunities and objectives for creating walkable, sustainable development. Every LinkUp features networking opportunities with top real estate CEOs and executives, information about available sites from local officials, and expert guidance on supporting the development of walkable places through policy change.

LOCUS

State and local partnerships prove essential at State Resilience Summit

080609-F-6967G-196Flooding in places like Lake Delton, WI prompted the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to focus on local disaster recovery strategies. Photo by Paul Gormond, via Wikimedia Commons.

How can states partner with local authorities to improve disaster resilience, while also addressing local economic, environmental and equity concerns?

An expert panel tackled this question earlier this week at the Governors’ Institute on Community Design State Resilience and Economic Growth Summit in Washington, DC. The two-day event brought together experts on disaster recovery and long-term resilience to discuss best practices and new strategies with state and federal leaders. The Governors’ Institute on Community Design is an initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation administered by Smart Growth America.

In a day two breakout session on “The Role of State and Local Partnerships”, participants heard from leaders on the challenges of building strong state-local partnerships for resilience implementation.

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Innovative partnerships drive economic discussion at State Resilience Summit

netherlandsA project in the Netherlands combined flood mitigation with local housing development. Photo by Royal Netherlands Embassy.

When state governments focus on resilience, who should be their key partners? How can unconventional stakeholders lend their support to the process?

Those questions took center stage today at the Governors’ Institute on Community Design State Resilience and Economic Growth Summit in Washington, DC. The two-day event is bringing together experts on disaster recovery and long-term resilience to discuss best practices and new strategies for states. The Governors’ Institute on Community Design is an initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation administered by Smart Growth America.

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Join Smart Growth America at ULI Washington’s Walkable Urban Places Conference

Photo via the George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis. Smart Growth America will join ULI Washington’s third annual Walkable Urban Places Conference on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 in Washington, DC, and we want to see you there. The day-long conversation about housing affordability in revitalizing neighborhoods will dive into the complexity … Continued

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