This is Reconnecting America's second monthly email newsletter, with an update on the status of the streetcar movement in the U.S.; a link to a new mixed-income housing "action guide" that helps users select the suite of strategies best-suited for a particular neighborhood; news of the formal launch of the Transportation for America campaign and coalition that will be working on the next federal transportation bill; and a few more best practices from around the world.
Second Edition Of Street Smart Book Available
March 5, 2009|By Gloria Ohland, Reconnecting America
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The explosion of interest in streetcars stalled only slightly in 2008, with the U.S. economy on the skids and a dawning awareness that streetcars would not win federal funding through the new Small Starts program. The Seattle streetcar opened in December of 2007 with half the $52 million cost paid for by property owners, and predictions that Seattle¹s South Lake Union neighborhood could see even more streetcar-oriented development than Portland¹s Pearl District. The hybrid Savannah streetcar opened in December 2008 for just $1 million, less even than the dirt-cheap $6 million Kenosha streetcar, with no overhead wires, and operating on cooking grease from nearby restaurants.
Growing Mixed-Income TOD
March 4, 2009
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As TOD planning processes proliferate there is a broader understanding that mixed-income housing supports many TOD goals including stable transit ridership, better public health, broadened access to opportunities, and deeper affordability. This Mixed-Income TOD Action Guide was developed for the nonprofit Great Communities Collaborative (GCC), which is working in the San Francisco Bay Area to ensure TOD planning processes result in neighborhoods that include households of all income levels. The guide “walks” users through a three-step analysis to determine the most effective strategies and tools.
Transportation For America Launched
February 27, 2009
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Rep. Earl Blumenauer called the Transportation for America campaign the "most formidable" transportation reform coalition ever assembled Thursday at its formal launch in Washington D.C. The coalition, which is co-chaired by Reconnecting America and Smart Growth America, includes more than 17,000 individuals and 225 organizations ranging from the National Association of Realtors to PolicyLink to the Environmental Defense Fund.
More Studies Added to Best Practices Library
March 5, 2009
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We've added three more studies to our best practices library, including Terry Clower's and Bernard Weinstein's fourth assessment of the fiscal impacts of development around stations on DART's 50-mile-long light rail system. Like their previous studies, this one finds a robust market for TOD in Dallas.
