HUD Challenge grants

Spotlight on Sustainability: Burlington, VT gets creative with its comprehensive plan

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Downtown Burlington, VT.

Burlington, VT’s new comprehensive plan, PlanBTV, looks more like a magazine than a technical planning document. Based on extensive community input, the plan establishes a clear and comprehensive vision for how Burlington’s downtown and core neighborhoods should continue to evolve.

Burlington is located at the heart of the largest urbanized area in Vermont, and is the region’s principal economic and cultural engine. It is home to the University of Vermont and major employers including Burton Snowboards and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. When City leaders began considering how and where the city should grow in coming years, they knew they would need a plan to make sure that growth benefitted the community as much as possible.

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Partnership in the News: HUD officials visiting Texas witness economic development in action

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During a recent trip to seven Sustainable Communities grantees in Texas, Department of Housing and Urban Development staff were able to see new and innovative economic development strategies in action. They visited Regional Planning grantees Houston-Galveston Area Council and Heart of Texas Council of Governments near Waco, as well as Austin, which received both Regional Planning and Community Challenge grants, and other Community Challenge grantees Dallas, Fort Worth, and Garland.

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Spotlight on Sustainability: Austin, TX

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The neighborhood of Colony Park in east Austin, Texas, is historically underserved and underutilized. Despite previous local investment in new infrastructure and a recreation center, there is still a significant lack of mixed-income housing and transportation options for residents. A new community pilot project aims to change all that. With a $3 million HUD Community Challenge grant through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, the City of Austin has a unique opportunity to foster a mixed-income neighborhood that could be used as a model for sustainability and economic development.

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Spotlight on Sustainability: Denver, CO

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In the areas of Denver surrounding the South Platte River, industrial buildings, coal-fired power plants, and blighted communities contrast with newer greenspace, trails, natural spaces and emerging mixed use developments. Over the past few decades, efforts at revitalization have made major progress in creating more walkable and recreational spaces, as well as cleaning up the river itself. But many of the surrounding neighborhoods and industrial areas are still disadvantaged, isolated, and underutilized. The City of Denver is now conducting a study to identify opportunities to spur economic development and revitalization in these communities.

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Partnership in the News: Ranson, West Virginia Unanimously Adopts New Plan and Zoning for Future Growth

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At a recent meeting of the Ranson City Council, members unanimously approved proposals that were two years in the making, adopting a new Comprehensive Plan and zoning code that will guide growth and development in the area for years to come. In all, 640 acres of Old Town Ranson and 1,000 acres of greenfield properties will be rezoned. Ranson, a rural town on the edge of the Baltimore-Washington region and the recipient of a HUD Community Challenge grant through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, is starting to create a comprehensive plan for regional growth.

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