Happy New Year

by: commonweal

Fri Jan 01, 2010 at 08:15:45 AM EST

1. REUSE AND REHABILITATE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE

2. PLAN REGIONALLY

3. EXPAND HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION OPPORTUNITIES

4. CREATE MODEL ZONING REGULATIONS

5. GIVE GRANTS TO SUPPORT THESE POLICIES

The above will take leadership at the state and local level.  Please vote accordingly!

Thank You Heidi Green

by: commonweal

Sat Dec 12, 2009 at 17:21:07 PM EST

Heidi was kind enough to answer a few questions I submitted to her in order to get her take on the progress Smart Growth advocates have made over the past few years and what the future holds:

Commonweal:   What attracted you to the Smart Growth issue in general and specifically 1000 Friends of CT?

Heidi: Keeping our cities and downtowns lively competitive places, maintaining pristine spaces for recreation and biodiversity, and preserving our agricultural economy and delivering high quality locally-grown food, how could anyone not be attracted to that? Managing growth to develop smartly and sustainably has been a passion for as long as I can remember. I was tremendously excited when I heard a group of leaders was forming 1000 Friends. I wanted to jump right on that bandwagon!  

Commonweal In your opinion, what do you think were the major accomplishments of 1000 Friends during your tenure as president?

Heidi I am most proud of the smart growth project evaluation program, building the Campaign to Grow Connecticut Smart, and raising the level of awareness about smart growth and the related suite of policies statewide. I am also tremendously proud of the work we did to write Developing Connecticut's Economic Future. From that report came the smart growth working group, the comprehensive economic development strategy, the regionalism bill, and more. We've only just begun to shape policies to encourage smart growth in Connecticut, but it's a strong start!

Commonweal:  What else needs to be accomplished at the state level in order for meaningful Smart Growth policy to be enacted?

Heidi: To get to smart growth in Connecticut, we need to stop funding such a high percentage of government services at the local level. We rely too much on the property tax and it makes us develop unsustainably as a way to maximize tax revenues; we need to encourage cities and towns to work better together on economic development and natural resource stewardship; we need to invest strategically in transit, transit oriented development, brownfield cleanup and reuse, affordable housing near jobs and priority property preservation. We need to elect a governor who will make smart, sustainable development the pattern for the state's future growth!

Commonweal: What do you you say to those who contend that Smart Growth interferes with property rights (the "I can do anything I want with my property" crowd) or is some type of centralized planning that will take land use decisions away from the local level?

Heidi: I think it's really important to keep in mind that property rights advocates aren't opposed to smart growth. They're opposed to zoning laws and they're opposed to environmental regulations. I think it is absolutely appropriate for us to have regulations that protect health, safety and viability today, tomorrow and in perpetuity. Those regulations should be developed through an inclusive and democratic process, and they should be transparently and equitably imposed. I also believe that land is a legacy for us to steward. Scale is really important because habitats, water resources, air currents, etc. don't confine themselves to individual parcels. They often do not even confine themselves to individual towns.

Commonweal:  Any advice for your successor at 1000 Friends?

Heidi: The citizens of Connecticut are way ahead of their elected representatives on smart growth, encourage them to speak out!

Quick Hits

by: commonweal

Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 10:17:52 AM EST

2. How Healthy are Connecticut's Forests? -- UConn's Center for Land Use Education and Research(CLEAR)recently released an analysis of forest fragmentation in our state.  Forest fragmentation-the breaking up of large forested blocks into smaller and smaller pieces-is considered by forestry, wildlife, water and social experts alike to have serious implications for the condition of our natural resources, character of our communities and health of our citizens.  During the 1985 - 2006 period, Connecticut lost about 264 square miles of core forest, while gaining area in the categories of forest influenced by development. This core forest represents only about 46% of the total forest cover.  "The increasing fragmentation of our forested landscapes sheds more light on the natural resource side of the smart growth/sprawl debate," CLEAR Associate Director Chet Arnold points out.  If you are interested in looking how your town or watershed forest stacks up, visit the forest fragmentation website.

3. Did Smart Growth Initiatives in Maryland Work? -- A little over ten years ago, Maryland burst onto the Smart Growth scene when its general assembly passed a package of bills called the Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation Initiative. Almost immediately, the stategained national recognition and earned several awards.1 By creating a system for concentrating state spending in urban areas as well as using other economic incentives to contain urban growth, it seemed the state had found a way to promote smarter growth without usurping local land use control.  However, a new study says the law has been a bust, largely because it has no teeth to force local governments to comply and because builders have little incentive to redevelop older urban neighborhoods.  The study shows that voluntary incentives alone are not enough to curb sprawl and direct growth.  Simply put, we cannot sit idly and expect smart growth just to happen.

Quick Hits

by: commonweal

Thu Sep 10, 2009 at 20:57:24 PM EDT

2.  Driving and the Built Environment --The Transportation Research Board has issued a new report on the effects of compact development on motorized travel, energy use, and CO2 emissions.  Key findings include:

** More compact development patterns are likely to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT).

** The most reliable studies estimate that doubling residential density across a metropolitan area might lower household VMT by 5 to 12 percent, and perhaps by as much as 25 percent, if coupled with higher employment concentrations, significant public transit improvements, mixed uses, and other supportive demand management measures.

** More compact, mixed-use development can produce reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions both directly and indirectly.

3. Simsbury Charrette -- Simsbury kicks off its downtown charrette this coming Saturday, September 12.  Check out the details at the Town of Simsbury web site.  Many meeting are open to the public, so even if you are from out of town you can attend and see the charrette process in action.

4.  Where We Want To Be --- A new report by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute examines claims that most households prefer sprawl-location housing and so are harmed by smart growth policies. The report indicates that smart growth tends to benefit consumers in numerous ways and  indicates that most households want improved accessibility (indicated by shorter commutes), land use mix(indicated by nearby shops and services), and diverse transport options (indicated by good walking conditions and public transit services) and will often choose small-lot and attached homes with these features.

5.  Dude, Where's My Economic Development Strategic Plan -- Jon Kantrowitz over at My Left Nutmeg reports on the continuing sad story of a lack of leadership from state officials when it comes to Smart Growth.  It seems that House Bill 7090, "An Act Concerning Responsible Growth," required a state economic development plan to be delivered to Governor Rell on or before July 1 of this year.  Guess what?  The plan is not only delayed, but appears to not even exist.

Quick Hits

by: commonweal

Mon Jun 01, 2009 at 10:07:39 AM EDT

2.  Time for a New Form of Governance -- Retrofitting for the new low-carbon economy will mean more than overhauling old buildings and transit systems: it requires an updated governance model, integrated at federal and regional levels, said White House Office of Management and Budget Associate Director Xavier de Sousa Briggs at a recent conference in Cambridge, Mass.  See the articles by Anthony Flint and Tom Condon for more about this subject.

3.  The Future of Empty Car Dealerships --
Planetizen asked their readers for ideas for reusing the empty car dealerships cropping up around the country.  
The top five:
1. Ask the local residents about what the community needs (228 votes)
2. Urban gardens (213 votes)
3. Create walkable, vibrant places and improve current communities (141 votes)
4. Farmers markets and local events (124 votes)
5. Solar and wind energy park/vehicle charging stations (109 votes)

4.  Planners Talk About CT's Future --  Excellent article about Friday's regional planners' forum in Hartford.

Children Prescribed Livable Communities by Doctors

by: commonweal

Thu May 28, 2009 at 11:14:21 AM EDT

1.  Pass and promote laws and regulations to create new or expand existing efforts to promote active living.

2.  Create and maintain playgrounds, parks, and greenspaces within communities as well as the means to access them safely.

3.  Promote legislation and fund programs that allowcommunities to create programs and environmental improvements to neighborhoods that can support children's active commuting to school.

4.  Fund research on the impact of the built environment at neighborhood and community levels on the promotion of overall health and active lifestyles for children and families.

5.  Serve as a model for communities. Whenever possible, new government buildings should be sited within walking distance of public transportation, walking trails, and residential areas to promote active living.

And in related news the AARP Public Policy Institute recently released a report that encourages roadway planners and engineers to approach road design through the lens of Complete Streets and employ design strategies that support older drivers and pedestrians.  Specifially, the report recommends three basic planning and design principles:

Slow Down - Engineer roadways to reduce vehicle travel speeds in areas where drivers and pedestrians interact and where older drivers and pedestrians need more time to make decisions.

Make It Easy - Make the physical layout of the transportation network easy to navigate for older drivers and pedestrians by creating a connected network of streets with lower-speed routes and intersections that are easier to maneuver.

Enjoy the View - Make it easy for drivers and pedestrians to notice, read, understand, and respond to visual cues by reducing sign clutter, creating better access management, and improving landscaping, signs, and lighting to make the roadway more intuitive.

A Bad Smart Growth Bill

by: commonweal

Mon May 18, 2009 at 13:40:01 PM EDT

The bill generally defines smart growth, delays the next state Plan of  Conservation & Development til 2011, and mandates the DEP report on CO2 emissions consistent with the recommendations of the Connecticut Climate
Change Action Plan.

However, the amendment added this language in section 3 (f):
Any revision made after the effective date of this section shall be consistent with each municipal plan of conservation and development  adopted under section 8-23, as amended by this act. If the secretary determines that it is not possible for the state plan of conservation and development to be consistent with each such municipal plan of conservation and development, the revision shall include a statement describing the reasons such plans cannot be consistent.

In the view of the Sierra Club and other Smart Growth advocates, this amendment says that you start with town-level planning, then do state-level planning, but you can't consider regional perspective if it is not in line with what has already happened at the town level.  They feel the language actually dispenses with any scale planning other than micro at the town level, so works against the smart growth concept of regional planning. Some feel that it dispenses with the need for a state Plan and will actually make the state Plan nothing more than a binder in which to store the 169 town plans.

The bill is now in the Senate. It will be debated this week. The environmental community would like to see this section deleted from the bill. I agree.  I understand the need for bottom-up planning, but such planning should be done in concert within a region to guide and coordinate the planning of economic growth and conservation of natural resources.  I would advocate a series of charrettes within a region in order to maximize citizen participation and input with the understanding that the results of the  charrette process will be used to create a regional land use and economic development plan.

Here is the Courant's take on this issue.

Smart Growth and Healthy Communities

by: commonweal

Tue May 05, 2009 at 14:59:49 PM EDT

Since that discussion, I have come across several studies that show a direct correlation between the build environment and public health.  A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia finds  that people who take public transit are three times more likely than those who don't to meet the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada's suggested daily minimum of physical activity.  There is also an excellent April 2007 report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on the relationship between the built environment and physical activity.  Some of the key questions addressed in the report are What is the association between the built environment and physical activity? Does the association between the built environment and activity vary across subgroups? What is the impact of the built environment on health?

Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute cites a number of recent studies that show that high quality public transit service can improve public health by:

* Reducing per capita traffic fatalities (residents of cities with high quality public transit have about a quarter of the per-capita traffic fatality rates as residents of more automobile-dependent communities)
*  Increasing physical activity (people who use public transit on a particular are about 3 times more likely to achieve the basic amount of walking required for public health as people who drive and do not use public transit)
* Increased affordability and therefore less stress and more money left in the household budget for healthy food and other necessities (residents of cities with high quality public transportation spend about 20% small portion of household budgets on transportation, and this effect is probably larger for lower-income households)
* Improved accessibility for non-drivers, and therefore less difficulty reaching medical services and healthy food.

Of course, as he also points out, these factors cannot overcome other demographic and economic factors that reduce poor people's health, but it does suggest that everybody, particularly poor people, are much better off in a transit oriented community than in an automobile-dependent community.

Here are some of the studies he cites:

Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity

Building healthier communities through transportation and land use policies and practices

A Morning Stroll: Levels of Physical Activity in Car and Mass Transit Commuting

So, how can we create a better built environment that encourages walking, biking and mass transit use?  Well, as a new on-line tool from the Natural Resources Defense Council illustrates, sprawling, unwalkable places around the US could become more livable and sustainable with just a little bit of work.  As NRDC's Kaid Benfield explains, "Open the map, zoom in on a location, without leaving our web site, you will be shown a Google Maps satellite view of the existing site, given some context about the metro area, and treated to a brief slide show demonstrating how each can be converted, step-by-step, from sprawl, vacant property or disinvestment into a lively, beautiful neighborhood." You can explore 70 different locations from coast to coast.

Efforts to create healthy communities is also gaining traction here in CT.  A team of national experts assembled by the U.S. EPA will engage residents, decision-makers and developers from Hartford and the surrounding region to develop strategies to create compact, mixed-use, mixed-income housing that provides residents with better access to jobs and services.

The two-part workshop, supported by EPA's Smart Growth Program and to be convened by the Capitol Region Council of Governments beginning May 14, will focus on how to implement sustainable approaches to housing and mixed-use development.

The first part of the workshop on "Visualizing Density" will take place from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 14 at the Lyceum, 227 Lawrence Street in Hartford. The second part of the workshop on envisioning development alternatives at three or four potential sites in the Capitol Region will take place from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 at the Lyceum in Hartford. All are welcome to attend both events. Click here for more information and how to register.

Channeling Joe McCarthy

by: commonweal

Thu Apr 16, 2009 at 10:34:12 AM EDT

By the way, check out Heidi Green's post on the 1000 Friends Blog.  Let's face it, until we get a governor who truly embraces Smart Growth, we will make little headway against sprawl.

I often hear the same thing when I speak to individuals or groups about the negative consequences of our current land use patterns in Connecticut.  Someone, usually a male, stands up and says there is nothing we can do about sprawl because it is the result of our free market system -- that low-density, auto-dependent development dominates our state and our country because that is what Americans prefer.  We chose sprawl, and corporations being the profit driven entities that they are, gave us want we wanted in the form of big boxes, big cars, and big houses.  Sprawl is nothing more than the fulfillment of the American dream, and any effort to challenge that dream, is, well, downright un-American.

Well, the fact is that we had no choice.  Far from being the result of a free market system, urban sprawl is the direct consequence of government subsidies, intense corporate lobbying and manipulation through the legalized bribery we call campaign contributions, and stifling zoning regulations that have limited the choices Americans have when it comes to where we live and how we get from place to place.  

2009 Legislative Agenda

by: commonweal

Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 16:29:19 PM EST

From 1000 Friends of CT:

It's a big year for smart growth in the Connecticut General Assembly! There are quite a few bills before the General Assembly addressing policy and funding concerns. On the budget side -funding for programs that restore historic properties, clean up brownfields, finance transit oriented development, subsidize afordable housing, preserve farmland, and protect open space are all slated for significant cuts or elimination in the Governor's Budget (Bill 6375 LCO # 3036).

Please let members of the Appropriations Committee know that investing in smart growth now has immediate and long-term benefits to Connecticut's environment, economy and people. In the short- term smart growth investments will leverage federal stimulus dollars to create or maintain more jobs. Long-run benefits include a robust economy, lively attractive communities, locally-grown food, and cleaner air, water, and natural habitats.

Budget Analysis

by: commonweal

Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 09:53:32 AM EST

Governor M. Jodi Rell presented her proposed budget earlier this week. She said the budget makes for a leaner more efficient government that would position the state to soar when the economy recovers.

Connecticut's future prosperity and competitiveness hinges on developing robust downtowns and urban centers; fostering
desirable communities where millennials can start their careers, Gen X-ers can start their families, and baby boomers can transition to the challenges of aging within walking distance of shopping, recreation, education opportunities and easy access to transit. That behooves the state to play a significant role in reducing cities and towns' reliance on the property tax to pay for government services; improve regional cooperation to realize efficiencies in government service delivery and coordinate land
use & economic development at a sustainable scale; and invest strategically in assets that guarantee a positive long-run return to the state's economy, environment and society - investments in transit, transit oriented development, brownfield revitalization, affordable housing, and priority property preservation.

Does the Governor's proposed budget advance smart growth in the next biennium? Not so much.

Stimulus Update

by: commonweal

Tue Jan 27, 2009 at 10:09:30 AM EST

Fortunately, Smart Growth and mass transportation blogs, commentators, and organizations are bringing some light to this important issue.  John Norquist, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism, urges the Obama administration to move federal transportation policy in a new direction in this piece on Planetizen.  The coalition known as America 2050 calls for an emphasis on repair and maintenance, projects that foster energy independence, compact communities, and emissions reductions; a phasing-in of spending to allow for strategic planning; workforce training; and a new system of oversight to ensure the projects have desired outcomes.  And Transportation 4 America highlights the fact that even as ridership is spiking local transit systems are talking about having to cut service, raise fares, or even lay off workers to cope with the struggling economy (check out their interactive transit cut map.)  Unfortunately, emergency assistance to save jobs and protect service, which had been proposed by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar (D-Minn.), was removed from the House economic recovery bill without explanation. Funds for rail and other transit construction were cut as well, while funding levels for highway construction remained intact.

2009 Legislative Agenda

by: commonweal

Wed Jan 21, 2009 at 14:44:47 PM EST

The Working Group's agenda includes a comprehensive series of recommendations and 15 legislative proposals. The working group broke new ground. These recommendations are the result of a months-long, bipartisan, bicameral, iterative process. Going forward the bills will progress down the legislative committee track as a coordinated whole. The process has been and continues to be compelling, but the real story is in the proposals themselves. These policies and investments will lead Connecticut to smart, sustainable growth!

As you know, we're in the midst of unprecedented economic turbulence. Preserving the robustness of our cities and the character of our communities is critical Connecticut's competiveness and prosperity when the storm clouds clear. Toward that end, the working group makes the following recommendations:  

Where Will the Road Lead Us

by: commonweal

Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 11:53:51 AM EST

The President-elect is right to seek an economic recovery package that includes infrastructure spending to create jobs, boost our economy and make America competitive over the long term. When it comes to transportation, however, infrastructure spending could do more harm than good if it goes primarily toward building bigger roads rather than the clean transportation network we need for a truly 'green' recovery.

"Yesterday, Congressman David Obey (D-WI), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, stated on National Public Radio that stimulus funding directed towards transportation infrastructure will be allocated directly to states to determine how best to use the American tax dollars. While T4America agrees with the sentiment of letting states and localities decide what projects best suit their needs, a review of 19 proposed 'ready to go' project lists developed by state Departments of Transportation (DOT's) indicates the need for Congress to set clear standards for how the spending of these federal dollars should be prioritized.

"According to the 19 lists, most state DOTs favor big, new highway projects at the expense of repair and maintenance needs, and investing in energy-saving options, such as public transportation and safe walking and biking. For example, the proposed $1.9 billion expansion of I-94 in Chairman Obey's home state makes up nearly one quarter of the Wisconsin DOT's 'wish-list.' It makes little sense to allow a handful of such large highway expansions, which can take years to complete, to gobble up near-term 'stimulus' money while existing highways and bridges are allowed to crumble.

Affordable Housing Gets a Boost

by: commonweal

Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 10:19:07 AM EST

Connecticut is not alone when it comes to a lack of affordable housing. There is an alarming national trend of increasingly wide gaps between housing costs and household income.  A 2006 study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that there was not one county in the country where a full-time minimum wage worker could afford even a one-bedroom apartment at the fair market rate.  Even solid middle class workers are being priced out of housing.  A 2007 study by the Center For Housing Policy found that licensed practical nurses would not qualify to purchase the median priced home in 187 of the 202 metropolitan areas studied. Registered nurses were priced out of 115 metropolitan areas and nursing aides and home health aides are priced out of every metropolitan area studied.

Unfortunately, Connecticut ranks in the top ten among the 50 states when it comes to lack of affordable housing -- the sixth overall least affordable rental housing market in the country and the Stamford/Norwalk area's rank as the first most expensive metropolitan area in the nation according to the Center For Housing Policy Study.  If you want to know why so many young people just out of college are fleeing the state, just look at these figures:

- A person must earn $20.42 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment

-  A single parent in Connecticut making only the minimum wage of $7.40 an hour would have to work 110 hours a week, or the equivalent of 2.8 full-time jobs, in order to afford an apartment.

-  The Stamford/Norwalk area is the first most costly rental market in the nation, with a "housing wage" of $30.62 an hour.

-  A Connecticut Department of Labor survey of the state's occupations shows that more than half (321 of 630) of the state's occupations do not, on average, provide an income sufficient to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment - including bus drivers, computer operators, construction laborers, EMTs, food service workers, machinists,nursing aides, pre-school teachers, police and fire dispatchers, retail salespersons,reporters, secretaries and tellers.

If one of the overarching goals of smart growth is to seek the adoption of new policies and practices that, as a package, provide better housing, transportation, economic expansion, and environmental outcomes than do traditional approaches to development, then smart growth must embrace affordable housing initiatives.

 Thankfully, it looks like towns are beginning to understand the importance of affordable housing and its link to Smart Growth.

Obama and Smart Growth

by: commonweal

Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 10:45:17 AM EST

1.  Oil Security and Energy Independence

Over the longer term, we know that the amount of fuel we will use is directly related to our land use decisions and development patterns, much of which have been organized around the principle of cheap gasoline...we must move beyond our simple fixation of investing so many of our transportation dollars in serving drivers and that we must make more investments that make it easier for us to walk, bicycle and access their transportation alternatives.

2.  Cities and Rural Areas

Obama's Urban Policy understands the connection between healthy communities and urban design.  

How a community is designed - including the layout of its roads, buildings and parks - has a huge impact on the health of its residents. For instance, nearly one-third of Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and less than half of our country's children have a playground within walking distance of their homes.

Furthermore, Obama has promised to create a White House Office of Urban Policy to develop a strategy for metropolitan America and to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest-impact programs.  Obama's understanding of the word metropolitan, however, is more than just cities themselves but includes entire regions.  As he stated during his address to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June of this year:

Our population has grown by tens of millions in the past few decades, and it's projected to grow nearly 50% more in the decades to come. And this growth isn't just confined to our cities, it's happening in our suburbs, exurbs, and throughout our metropolitan areas.
This is creating new pressures, but it's also opening up new opportunities - because it's not just our cities that are hotbeds of innovation anymore, it's those growing metro areas...To seize the possibility of this moment, we need to promote strong cities as the backbone of regional growth. And yet, Washington remains trapped in an earlier era, wedded to an outdated 'urban' agenda that focuses exclusively on the problems in our cities, and ignores our growing metro areas; an agenda that confuses anti-poverty policy with a metropolitan strategy, and ends up hurting both.  Yes, we need to strengthen our cities. But we also need to stop seeing our cities as the problem and start seeing them as the solution. Because strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions, and strong regions are essential for a strong America. That is the new metropolitan reality and we need a new strategy that reflects it.

His rural policy will encourage support for family farm, organic farming and conservation of private lands by creating incentives to conduct sustainable agriculture and protect wetlands, grasslands, and forests.

T4America Campaign

by: commonweal

Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 09:31:43 AM EDT

The coalition, which includes Smart Growth America, U.S. PIRG, Apollo Alliance, NRDC, and many more, is focused on creating a national transportation program that will take America into the 21st century by building a modernized infrastructure and healthy communities where people can live, work and play.  Specifically, the campaign promotes the following vision:

1.  21st CENTURY INFRASTRUCTURE, 21st CENTURY JOBS.
Create green jobs through greater investment in modernized infrastructure and healthy communities - from highway maintenance and repair to public transit upgrades to green housing and neighborhood construction.

2.  A WORLD-CLASS RAIL SYSTEM
Build a world-class rail network - both between cities and within them - that links our communities, transports people and goods more smoothly and makes our economy more competitive.

3.  FIXING IT FIRST
Protect the integrity of our existing highway and public transportation systems with an aggressive program of rehabilitation and upkeep, and financial support for superior service.

4.  HELPING PEOPLE DRIVE LESS
Help people drive less, avoid unpredictable gas prices, get healthy and stay active in their own neighborhoods through expanded construction of public transit, bicycle routes, and safe sidewalks to walk on.

5.  FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
Set and enforce national transportation standards, but empower local communities to decide what is necessary to meet those goals as well as the needs of its neighborhoods and residents.

Please visit their website to learn more and sign up!

***Also, check out this new blog called Urban Planning Research

Smart Growth Success Story: Georgetown

by: commonweal

Wed Oct 15, 2008 at 08:52:18 AM EDT

The Town of Redding immediately began seeking a partner who would purchase the million dollars' worth of tax liens and revitalize the blighted  Brownfield site.  The right partner materialized in 2002: Georgetown Land Development Company (GLDC), headed by Stephen Soler, a local developer with proven expertise in Brownfield reclamation projects and a fervent belief in the anti-suburban-sprawl principles of Smart Growth.

In October 2003, GLDC hosted a week-long "charrette" at the Redding firehouse, a series of public meetings where everyone-government officials, business and civic leaders, the public-was invited to share their ideas and concerns for developing the Gilbert & Bennett (G&B) property. Over 1,000 people attended. An on-site team of architects and designers working 12-to-18-hour days analyzed and fleshed out all suggestions. Every idea received a full hearing and assessment.  By incorporating the ideas of residents and working with various state agencies as partners, Mr. Soler's redevelopment of the old mill complex has moved through the regulatory process in record speed.  In September 2004, GLDC received unanimous approval for their master plan with no appeals.

The master plan is a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, environmentally responsible new village center.  The project earned a US EPA National Award for Smart Growth Achievement and is one of only four developments in the country to earn a designation from the US Department of Treasury as a Qualified Green Building and Sustainable Design project.    

SB 375 Becomes Law

by: commonweal

Thu Oct 09, 2008 at 11:56:15 AM EDT

A soon to be released study explains the important Smart Growth/global warming link.  Conducted by PB Placemaking, Dr. Robert Cervero, The Urban Land Institute, and the Center for Transit Oriented Development, for the APTA (American Public Transit Association), the study  finds that tranist oriented developments reduce care trips even more than expected.

The study analyzed 17 transit oriented developments in Washington, DC, Portland, OR; the San Francisco Bay Area; Philadelphia and Newark and found that actual car trips were significantly lower than Institute of Transit Engineers models predicted they would be.  For example, in Washington D.C. five mid-to-high rise apartments near Metrorail stations outside the District of Columbia produced 60 percent
fewer trips than the ITE manual predicted. In Portland, the workday morning peak rate was 49.6 percent lower.

The entire study will be released this month, but these preliminary findings illustrate the ability of TOD to reduce car traffic significantly and provides even more impetus for state and local governments to work together to plan for TOD developments here in CT.  Only through cooperation, not competition, will we achieve the benefits of Smart Growth.  California has taken the lead.  Will our legislators here in CT follow?

I Want a New Drug

by: commonweal

Thu Jun 19, 2008 at 10:52:41 AM EDT

Instead, with the dismantling of the Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on top of the White House by Ronald Reagan, a new era of gluttonous oil consumption was ushered in.  Like a strung out heroin addict, we just couldn't break the habit, but hey, it seemed the good times would just keep on rolling along (in a SUV, of course) -- after all, our drug was cheap, our elected officials enabled our addiction, and our supplier was more than willing to keep feeding our habit.

Well, the good times are coming to a crashing halt.  Just like the 1970s, our oil addiction is becoming an expensive habit.  This time, however, in addition to spiraling gas prices and a weakened economy, we have people dying in Iraq and the spectre of global warming hanging over our heads -- we are now willing to kill for the drug.  The situation cries for innovative leadership from our elected leaders, but all we get from the Bush Administration is short term thinking.  "In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil, and that means we need to increase supply here at home," Bush said yesterday.  In other words we need more of the drug.