Livability and Sustainable Communities – Taking Action For A Clean Energy Future
Reconnecting America Participates in White House briefing
A desire to advance local livability efforts brought Reconnecting America and about 100 other people to the White House on March 3 for a forum titled, “Livability and Sustainable Communities – Taking Action for a Clean Energy Future." The event brought together private developers, leaders of the faith community, transportation practitioners, local mayors and transit agency CEOs, social equity advocates and federal agency leaders.
(March 9, 2010)
FTA Livable Communities Website
Federal site links to many Reconnecting America resources for the development of sustainable communities, affordable housing and transit-oriented development
The Federal Transit Administration has launched a new Livable and Sustainable Communities Website to advance the Department of Transportation’s Livability Initiative and the Interagency Sustainable Communities Partnership.
(February 25, 2010)
TIGER Grants Fund Wave Of Transportation Innovation
TIGER program demonstrates Administration’s continued commitment to livability, says Reconnecting America CEO John Robert Smith
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was in Kansas City, Missouri today, February 19, to announce that 51 projects in 41 states and the District of Columbia have been awarded $1.5 billion in TIGER Discretionary Grants. The TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and funding was awarded on a competitive basis to transportation projects of national or regional significance that also create jobs and provide economic benefits.
(February 17, 2010)
John Robert Smith Discusses Why He Left His Hometown For Washington, DC
Reconnecting America's CEO and co-chair of Transportation has grandson's future in mind as he works on reforming federal transportation program.
John Robert Smith, CEO of Reconnecting America and co-chair of Transportation For America, discusses why he left his hometown of Meridian, MS, where he grew up in the house his grandfather built, a home he had lived in all of his life, to come to DC and work on reforming our country's federal transportation program. [video]
(February 12, 2010)
Obama Administration Charts New Course For Transportation, Housing Investments
Emphasis on coordination and collaboration, sustainability and livability
The Obama Administration is clearly charting a new course for policy and investments in housing and transportation with announcements in recent weeks by U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. The three agencies have formed an interagency partnership that signals an unprecedented level of collaboration among the agencies, with the goal of achieving sustainability and livability through coordinated transportation and housing policies and investments. Reconnecting America’s analyses of these developments is provided at the links below.
(February 5, 2010)
HUD Announces Office Of Sustainable Housing And Communities Directed By Shelley Poticha
Secretary Donovan also cites Reconnecting America CEO John Robert Smith, Affordability Index, regional planning initiatives, and says he’ll find new financing tools for TOD
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has launched HUD’s new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities under the management of former Reconnecting America President and CEO Shelley Poticha. He told an audience at the New Partners smart growth conference in Seattle on Feb. 4 that this new office would be the center of HUD’s sustainability efforts, and would work toward connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation and building a clean energy economy. The three agencies have not coordinated their policies and funding in the past.
(February 5, 2010)
Reconnecting America Analyzes New Starts/Small Starts Program
FY2011 projects and $1.8 billion funding listed, impact of changes to funding criteria is discussed
President Obama has proposed $1.82 billion for 27 New Starts/Small Starts transit projects in his FY 2011 budget, including 10 new projects, nine that had previously been recommended for funding and eight projects already under construction. Winners of new Full Funding Grant Agreements include two bus rapid transit projects in Oakland and Connecticut, San Francisco’s Central Subway, rail projects in Honolulu and the Twin Cities and two lines in Denver.
(February 4, 2010)
President Signals Support For Livability, Transit And Jobs
Reconnecting America has long advocated the kind of funding and programs supported in the President’s budget
President Obama released his fiscal year 2011 budget proposal Feb. 1, 2010, signaling a clear commitment to the Sustainable Communities Initiative he announced last year as well as his continuing support for the federal interagency partnership between the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed budget, the Obama Administration’s first, includes several new programs supporting livability, sustainable communities and transportation choices including investments in high-speed rail and public transportation. The budget comes less than a week after the President’s announcement of $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, and an additional $1 billion a year for five years. A few of the programs in the budget are listed below; there is more description of these programs in the analysis provided at the bottom of this story.
(February 1, 2010)
- U.S. Department of Transportation budget · PDF
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development budget · PDF
- Narrative about FY 2011 budget · PDF
- Reconnecting America budget analysis of programs related to livable and sustainable communities and transportation choice · PDF
- Hidden In Plain Sight market study
- Jumpstarting the Transit Space Race (overhaul of federal funding criteria)
- Realizing the Potential: Expanding Housing Opportunities Near Transit
- The Affordability Index
Reconnecting America At New Partners For Smart Growth Conference
Staff members will discuss strategies for advancing livability and sustainability and opportunities for greening affordable housing
Sam Zimbabwe, technical director at Reconnecting America, and Catherine Cox Blair, program director, will talk about strategies for advancing livability and sustainability in the regional context at a Federal Transit Adminstration sponsored Brown Bag Session at 12:15 p.m. Feb. 4 at the New Partners conference in Seattle. Reconnecting America Chief of Staff Allison Brooks will speak on a panel about the challenges and opportunities for greening affordable housing, and the resources available on Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. Thursday evening, Feb. 2, the plenary session will feature EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, and U.S. Department of Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, will talk about their Sustainable Communities Partnership.
(February 1, 2010)
Reconnecting America welcomes 3 new staff members
Abigail Thorne-Lyman, G. Sasha Forbes and Vicki Watkins
Abigail Thorne-Lyman comes to Reconnecting America from our Center for TOD partner organization Strategic Economics, where she was a principal who specialized in regional economic and fiscal impact. Abby had worked with the Center for TOD since 2004, and is now a project manager in the Oakland office. G. Sasha Forbes joins the Washington DC office as a policy associate and will be focusing on federal and local TOD policies as they relate to mixed-income housing, green communities and energy efficiency. Sasha previously worked with a land use firm in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Vicki Watkins has also joined the Washington DC office as administrative assistant, where she will keep this growing office operating smoothly. Vicki has served as an executive secretary and executive assistant in the DC area.
(February 1, 2010)
