David Warm, Executive Director of the Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City, Missouri, talks about smart growth in the midwest and working to create healthy, vibrant places that people want to live and work in. See more interviews with issue experts here >>
Dani Simons, of Sustainable Streets Marketing, talks about starting the annual Summer Streets event in 2008 during her time with the New York City Department of Transportation. See more interviews with issue experts here >>
Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council recently spoke with Laura Jackson, an Executive Vice President of Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, to get her perspective on why smart growth strategies should be a priority for the health care industry and how the way we build communities can help abate rising health care costs and improve public health.
“Smart growth practices are a way to help people understand that there are certain things you can do, either low cost or no cost in many cases in communities, to live a longer healthier life,” says Jackson.
Jeremy Madsen, Executive Director of Greenbelt Alliance, California’s San Francisco Bay Area land conservation and urban planning organization, talks about urban growth boundaries. By adopting a line beyond municipal services cannot extend, cities and counties can protect open space and agricultural lands and promote growth where they want it to occur. See more interviews with … Continued
Missoula, Montana passed an affordable housing ordinance to build a community where residents of all income levels can live, work, and play together. Mayor John Engen talks about the importance of building affordable housing for any community. See more video interviews with Local Leaders here >>
Karl Dinkelspiel, Senior Project Manager at the Portland, Oregon Housing Bureau, talks about the importance of incentivizing growth around transit and the steps the city has taken to encourage the development of affordable housing. See more interviews with issue experts here >>
The City of Greer had a vision for turning around their downtown. Mayor Rick Danner talks about they went about implementing that vision through a Master Plan created with the help of a public-private partnership and turned their downtown from a couple of restaurants into a vibrant center that includes a new city hall, a … Continued
Vice-Mayor Anu Natarajan believes her city of Fremont, CA, can be an economic leader in the region and the country. Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council sat down with Vice-Mayor Natarajan to learn more about her ideas for building on the city’s existing diversity to make Fremont more vibrant and economically competitive.
Today is the start of a brand new focus for Transportation for America.
Since 2008, T4America has been a leading advocate in Washington for a national investment plan for transportation that matches today’s challenges and opportunities. Smart Growth America is proud to call T4America one of our programs.
Today, T4America is launching the next phase: A new alliance of business, elected, and civic leaders from cities, towns and suburbs across the nation. They know how valuable a robust transportation network is for local economies, and that stronger local economies build a stronger America. They will be there to stand up for local communities as Congress in 2014 addresses the growing hole in the transportation fund and the expiration of last year’s MAP-21 law.
Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council recently interviewed Madeline Rogero, mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee, to ask her how local governments can catalyze brownfields redevelopment and jumpstart revitalization. In the video above, Rogero discusses how strategic investments by local government have made brownfield sites in Knoxville more attractive to potential developers.