Housing Archives - Page 7 of 9 - Smart Growth America

National Associations Congratulate HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Awardees

By Smart Growth America · October 15, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 14, 2010

National Associations Congratulate HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Awardees
Organizations Urge Continued Federal Investments to Ensure Nationwide Community Economic Competitiveness

WASHINGTON, DC – The National League of Cities (NLC), National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), Smart Growth America (SGA), the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI) congratulate the cities, towns, communities and regions which today were awarded Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These communities will now undertake critical regional planning and implementation activities that support building sustainable, livable communities through regional cooperation, broad stakeholder and community involvement and coordinated processes. The organizations also offer gratitude to HUD and the other federal agencies involved for undertaking an inaugural and historic process that will yield results for years to come.

Shouldn't the cost of housing be the measure of affordability?

By Admin · March 15, 2010

Should an apartment, townhouse, or condo automatically be considered affordable – no matter the cost or rent? That would be crazy, right? A New Jersey State Senator has introduced a bill that would do exactly that, letting cities and towns off the hook for producing desperately needed affordable housing units if they merely have a lot of multi-unit buildings.

Uncategorized Affordability Housing New Jersey

President Obama’s FY 2011 Budget Will Help Create Jobs, Cut Transportation Costs for Families, and Improve Access to Affordable Housing

By Steve Davis · February 2, 2010

President Obama’s budget for the 2011 fiscal year, released this morning, contains more than $1 billion in programs and grants that will help create and support livable, sustainable communities and neighborhoods across the country. “This is good news for anyone looking to cut their transportation costs, find an affordable home in a walkable neighborhood, or live in a community with a multitude of transportation options,” said SGA President Geoff Anderson.

Uncategorized Budget DOT EPA Housing HUD President Obama press releases

EPA joins inter-agency effort to support livable communities and smarter growth

By Steve Davis · June 16, 2009

There’s some exciting news out of Washington, DC to report this morning, where US EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced in Senate testimony this morning that EPA is joining with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Transportation (USDOT) in a special partnership to work together to promote smart growth and more livable, sustainable communities across America.

Uncategorized DOT EPA Housing HUD sustainability Transportation

Inward momentum: Residential growth in American center cities

By Steve Davis · February 27, 2009

You’ve probably seen some of the anecdotal evidence in newspaper stories or other outlets recently about how many center cities have experienced a resurgence of residential growth within their borders over the last 10 to 20 years. Many of us had wondered if there had been any systematic examination of building permit trends to document … Continued

Uncategorized Consumer preference Demographics EPA Housing Market New Reports Trends

New HUD chief on the connectedness of housing policy and sustainability

By Steve Davis · February 18, 2009

There’s an old problem in government — probably at all levels, but most notably at the federal level — of agencies working at cross purposes with each other. For example, new transportation investments in unneeded highways in exurban areas works against the EPA’s effort to reduce emissions and satisfy the Clean Air Act. Sometimes this … Continued

Uncategorized Federal Policy Housing

Applying the brakes

By Steve Davis · August 5, 2008

Good story today in the Washington Post as part of their ongoing “Oil Shock” series, with this one focusing on the consumer impacts of rising prices. If it’s not already, this is beginning to sound like the theme of 2008, as rising energy prices are like a rudder in the water turning the ship of … Continued

Uncategorized Commuting Consumer preference Gas prices Housing Market

Video: More on the CEO's for Cities gas prices study

By Steve Davis · July 22, 2008

The CEO’s for Cities study from a few months ago, “Driven to the Brink,” has gained some traction, this time in video form. YouTube’s editors picked it up last week to highlight on the main page, and as a result, it’s gotten over 120,000 plays and nearly 800 comments. Do check it out below. From … Continued

Uncategorized Gas prices Housing suburbs Video

What constitutes country life?

By Smart Growth America · June 25, 2008

updated 6/27: The NYT changed the previous headline from “country living” to the “far suburbs.” Good piece today in the New York Times, surveying the scope of changing preferences for buying in the suburbs as energy prices continue rising: Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the … Continued

Uncategorized Gas prices Housing Sprawl suburbs

What do houses in distant suburbs and low-mileage cars have in common?

By Steve Davis · June 20, 2008

Unfortunately for the owners of either, they’re both losing value. That’s the connection — echoed by SGA — in a Wall Street Journal piece this morning on today’s front page by Ana Campoy on gasoline consumption and miles driven trending downwards, and how it’s beginning to drastically affect Americans’ housing and transportation choices: Meanwhile, people … Continued

Uncategorized Affordability Gas prices Housing Polling suburbs Trends VMT