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.
Far too often, the insanity of minimum parking requirements drive development decisions, to the detriment of just about everyone — a theme best developed by UCLA’s Don Shoup in his terrific book, The High Cost of Free Parking. Another story, as both data point and lesson: Our favorite local micro-brewery gives tours; we went last Friday evening, where we heard a version of this story.
This report reviews American Recovery and Reinvestment Act project choices to answer critical questions about states’ accountability to the taxpayers who are providing tens of billions of dollars for new transportation projects.
The Transportation for America campaign, of which Smart Growth America is a co-chair, debuted a new site today to help frustrated commuters and travelers to share their awful commuting stories — and learn about the connection that transportation policy and Congress have to the state of our transportation system. Check out the site, share your story, and tell your friends.
Are all transportation projects of equal value to long‐term economic growth? If not, is it possible to select projects with better return and still move money and employ people in the economy quickly? Smart Growth America commissioned the following papers to answer these questions.
The results of November’s Presidential election may have represented a change of direction for our country, but at least one trend at the ballot box remained unchanged from the past few elections: Taxpayers across the country again approved a bevy of ballot measures to conserve land, protect farmland, promote smart growth; and expand public transportation, … Continued
Yesterday, on the heels of the Wall Street bailout and hours before the final presidential debate, policymakers, community and business leaders, activists and citizens gathered in six cities across the country to call on the next President and Congress to strengthen our economy by building a 21st Century transportation system. They were joined by more … Continued
While we have our offices here in Washington, D.C., we try our best not to come at things with a DC-centric focus, thinking “outside the Beltway.” So pardon me for just a moment while we toot the horn of our hometown. It may be local for us, but it’s certainly national in significance, representing an … Continued
You might remember the online tool Walk Score that debuted to rave reviews last year and was immediately all over the web. (It was one of our first blog entries last year). It became extremely popular, and was responsible, at least by some measure, for how popular the term “walkability” became over the course of … Continued
After years of inactivity while gasoline was cheap, leaders are now scrambling to “do something” about the high gas prices that are making life difficult for everyday Americans. The solutions range from short-sighted (drill ANWR) to ultimately ineffective (national speed limit), and most fail to address the core issue that makes gas prices matter so … Continued