Last month, Smart Growth America brought together partners from community-based organizations across the country to discuss climate, land use, and housing issues impacting their communities, with a special focus on strategic communications and intersectional storytelling in the climate and social justice space. The convening celebrated nine months of working collaboratively to advocate for planning policies … Continued
Smart Growth America is working with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (AKDOT&PF) to bring the Complete Streets approach to the 49th state. I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Alaska in my first month on the Thriving Communities team, where I joined colleagues and collaborators to participate in several events aimed … Continued
Hi everyone, I’m Katharine Burgess, Vice President of the Land Use and Development team at SGA. Our goal is to support neighborhoods to be more vibrant, resilient and connected while maintaining affordability—working toward liveable communities where everyone can thrive. Given today’s housing access crisis, and the rising costs of household energy and transportation, this work … Continued
Last month, more than 100 participants from the 15 communities selected to participate in the Community Connectors program convened in Atlanta to start building trust and relationships, plan out the scopes for the capacity-building grants they’re receiving from this 18-month program, and lay the groundwork for their ambitious projects to reconnect their communities. Joined by … Continued
Thanks to generous funding from The Barr Foundation, over the last several months, SGA has provided technical assistance to two Massachusetts-based community organizations: Westside Legends of Pittsfield, MA, and CultureHouse of Somerville, MA. These technical assistance partnerships with these two community organizations are oriented around the goal of advancing equitable zoning reform and affordable housing … Continued
Smart Growth America partnered with Community Workshop LLC to work with Vermont decision makers as they reevaluate and reimagine their state’s Designation Programs. The recent Designation 2050 Design Summit helped advance this project to improve climate resilience and housing affordability. Last month, planners, state and local leaders, and business and property owners came together to … Continued
The Equity Forum: Upending Cultural Displacement held on July 13th also included the first-of-its-kind live technical assistance workshops with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the community of Royal, Florida, who were selected to receive expert advice from our panelists and selected SGA staff members. The workshop sessions were an open discussion about each … Continued
On Wednesday, October 20, Smart Growth America and LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors held the second session of Commonwealth Communities: Smart Growth Strategies for Our Emergent Future- a 5-part virtual series of technical assistance sessions exclusively designed for Massachusetts’ elected officials and municipal staff. From October through December 2021, over a dozen expert speakers from across the country will engage audiences in a variety of discussions around walkability, small businesses, transit and TOD, equity in municipal practice, and zoning and land use regulations.
On Wednesday, October 6, Smart Growth America and LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors kicked off Commonwealth Communities: Smart Growth Strategies with Make Way for Walkability.