Reports

New report: State transportation decisions could save money and reduce carbon emissions

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Download the ReportA new report released today by Smart Growth America and the Natural Resources Defense Council found that transportation policies in every state could save money and reduce carbon emissions by making smarter decisions with state funds.

In “Getting Back on Track: Climate Change and State Transportation Policy,” SGA and NRDC found that current transportation policies in almost all 50 states either fail to curb carbon emission rates or, in some cases, actually increase emissions. This contradiction between state policies and broader efforts to reduce carbon emissions means not only that many states are missing opportunities to protect clean air; it means they are missing economic opportunities as well.

In a press conference this morning, former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening remarked:

Transportation makes up an enormous proportion of our national economy and our environmental impact: it must be front and center as we think about how to get the most out of our public investments. The states that rose to the top in this report, California, Maryland and New Jersey, are there because they are meeting the challenge to innovate.

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New Report Offers Lessons and Insights for Vacant Property Revitalization

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Restoring Properties, Rebuilding CommunitiesIn the wake of a major housing crisis and rising foreclosure rates, American cities and towns are experiencing a glut of vacant properties. Once a sign of urban blight, empty lots and abandoned buildings now mark the landscape of neighborhoods in rural and suburban areas as well, negatively impacting housing values, tax revenues, crime rates, and more. The sheer scale of the issue has helped bring national attention to the challenges these properties present, and the need for new solutions to blight and disinvestment.

On Friday, the Center for Community Progress released Restoring Properties, Rebuilding Communities: Transforming Vacant Properties in Today’s America. The report, completed with writing and research help from Smart Growth America, offers a systemic look at the legacy of vacant properties in many of our older towns and cities, as well as new vacancy trends, and some of the innovative initiatives that have been implemented to address these trends.

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National traffic congestion report gets daily driving backwards

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A new report out today from CEOs for Cities criticizes the Travel Time Index, an annual scoring of metropolitan areas and their congestion. The Index for each urban area in the US is released annually as part of the Texas Transportation Institute’s Urban Mobility Report and heavily influences decision-makers looking for solutions to traffic congestion. … Continued

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Smart Growth and Economic Prosperity: A Sourcebook

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The economic benefits of smart growth are broad and deep. The experience of communities across the country, urban to rural, shows that smart growth directly reduces public costs, improves rates of return for public and private investors, and avoids the expensive environmental, health and social equity costs of sprawl.

This overwhelming evidence is only helpful if we can put it to work when we need it. The goal of this Sourcebook is to help you do that.

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Future of Transportation National Survey

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In spring 2010, SGA partnered with T4America and the Natural Resources Defense Council to commission a national poll assessing public opinion towards transit and transit funding, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies Inc. and Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, and Metz and Associates. This presentation outlines the poll results.

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