6th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth:
Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities

The 2007 New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Los Angeles, California, hosted record attendance of over 1500 people from across the country for three full days of presentations, discussions, and information sharing.

The conference was produced by the Local Government Commission (LGC), with support from a very impressive and multi-disciplinary group of partners and sponsoring organizations, agencies and companies. Without their collective support, this dynamic event would not have been possible. For a complete list of sponsors and cosponsors, visit www.newpartners.org/sponsors.html.

The conference program is reproduced below and PowerPoint presentations have been made available courtesy of the presenters and the LGC, as PDF files. Presentations from each day may be viewed by selecting the appropriate link. Please note: while nearly all the PowerPoint presentations given at the conference were collected and are posted here, there were several speakers who did not use PowerPoint as part of their presentation.

Audio CDs of the conference are also available. Nearly all of the conference sessions, plenaries, breakouts and workshops were audio recorded. Get audio order form (PDF).

Please note: Some presentation files are large and may take time to download. Number of pages and file size information is provided next to the presentation link.

Thursday, February 8 | Friday, February 9 | Saturday, February 10

Promoting Healthy Eating and Active Living through Improvements in the Built Environment: What Health Professionals Need to Know and What They Can Do This daylong session will explore the role of health professionals in influencing community design to help create health-promoting live, work, and play environments for their patients and families. Environmental causes of the nation's obesity crisis and the supporting research will be reviewed. Interactive and role-playing sessions will help participants learn skills for working both inside and outside the clinical setting to contribute to environmental and policy changes. This is a unique opportunity to interact with physicians, planners, local government officials, and other partners to uncover effective ways to collaborate around creating communities with increased physical activity opportunities and access to healthy food.   Esteban Cruz, MD, Physician Co-Lead for Community Initiatives, Southern California Kaiser Permanente Scott Gee, MD, Medical Director, Prevention & Health Information, Kaiser Permanente Loel Solomon, PhD, National Director, Community Health Initiatives and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Richard Jackson, MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health Phillip Wu, MD, Pediatrician, Kaiser Permanente Northwest James F. Sallis, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, San Diego State University; Director, Active Living Research Program Paul Zykofsky, AICP, Director, Transportation and Land Use Programs, Local Government Commission Keith Bachman, MD, Clinical Lead, CMI Weight Management Initiative, Kaiser Permanente Trina Histon, PhD, Director, Weight Management Initiative, Kaiser Permanente Dan Burden, Senior Urban Designer, Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart Mark Horton, MD, California State Public Health Officer Lisa Feldstein, JD, Senior Policy Director, Public Health Institute Supervisor Kathy Long, Ventura County, California Supervisor Josie Gonzalez, San Bernardino County, California Randall Lewis, Executive Vice President, Director of Marketing, Lewis Operating Corp. Janet Ruggerio, Community Development Director, City of Citrus Heights, California Christine Maulhardt, MPH, Director, Obesity Prevention, California Medical Association Foundation View Jackson PDF (152 pages, 6.2mb) View Wu PDF (27 pages, 0.2mb) View Sallis PDF (23 pages, 0.5mb) View Zykofsky PDF (77 pages, 7.0mb) View Bachman/Histon PDF (12 pages, 0.1mb) View Burden PDF (46 pages, 6.3mb) View Feldstein PDF (6 pages, 0.2mb)

Water, Water Everywhere: Exploring Stormwater Strategies in Smart Growth Communities Join national experts and designers for an all day hands-on workshop that explores different regional and site-specific strategies for minimizing stormwater runoff in smart growth communities. Workshop attendees will participate in several exercises that will examine approaches for allocating projected growth regionally and then apply site specific stormwater strategies to further minimize runoff. This workshop will allow participants to work with architects and urban designers to figure out the best stormwater strategies for a variety of urban design barriers, such as infill sites, narrow streets, and compact buildings.   Pat Stoner, Director, Resource Conservation Programs, Local Government Commission Geoffrey Anderson, Director, Development Community Environment Division, U.S. EPA Lynn Richards, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. EPA Clark Wilson, Associate Principal, Community Design + Architecture Jeff Loux, Director, Land Use & Natural Resources Program, UC Davis Extension Jessica Millman, Maryland Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth View Anderson PDF (39 pages, 3.2mb) View Wilson PDF (6 pages, 0.5mb) View Millman PDF (24 pages, 0.7mb)

Finding the Dollars and Making Them Grow: Funding for Smart Growth As smart growth becomes a more mature movement, the range of activity increases in depth and breadth while sources of funding for smart initiatives evolve. Old funders are moving to other issues, new funders seek more diverse portfolios, and all have insights into what is working and what is not. Join panelists to explore the current world of smart growth funding as seen through the eyes of the funders themselves. This interactive discussion will consider lessons learned, possible models for the future, and how smart growth practitioners might think about initiatives and trends for the future.   Moderator: Julia Seward, Director of State Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation L. Benjamin Starrett, Executive Director, Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities Jon Jenson, Senior Program Officer, George Gund Foundation Diane Forte, Director of Sustainability Programs, Environment Now No Presentations available from this event.

Why Streetcars and Why Now? Not all transit is alike. Streetcar systems are about a third the per-mile cost of light rail -- and typically just 2-3 miles in length -- and are much quicker and less disruptive to construct. Moreover, new systems have been shown to correspond to significant private investment in walkable development that uses less land and generates far fewer car trips, and many are built using local funding and public-private partnerships. That's why more than 70 cities across the U.S. -- from Tucson to Miami -- are either planning or building streetcar lines to promote and to serve all the higher density development being built in their downtowns. Hear about the innovations in partnerships, planning, finance and construction that have convinced both small towns and big cities to use streetcars to travel back to the future.   Moderator: Gloria Ohland, Senior Editor, Reconnecting America Rick Gustafson, Executive Director, Portland Streetcar, Inc. Charles A. Hales, Senior Vice President, HDR Inc. Jeffrey F. Boothe, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP Mark L. Dorn, PE, URS Corp. Scott Bernstein, President, Center for Neighborhood Technology View Ohland PDF (11 pages, 1.2mb) View Boothe PDF (11 pages, 0.1mb)

Livable Communities, Southern California Style: Circumstantial Urbanism in Los Angeles Congestion, the lack of affordable housing, and the migration of immigrants from across the globe to Southern California has created a landscape of urban innovations. The changing economic conditions, lack of land for development and deterioration of the environment makes individuals creative in solving their own spatial needs in the existing built environment. People bring with them what they know from other countries and retrofit the physical landscape to create innovative development patterns. As a result Southern California becomes a complex urban environment not always easy to read or plan. From the ubiquitous illegal street vendors to gentrification of neighborhoods the living, business and movement patterns of residents is always shifting. Southern California has become a region of urban innovations from the ground up with or with out the help of government. As good, bad or indifferent how we fill toward these urban innovations we need to learn to understand and appreciate the Southern California urban laboratory.   Moderator: Lewis MacAdams, Friends of the LA River Mott Smith, Principal, CIVIC ENTERPRISE John Kamp, Urban Planner, City of Los Angeles, California Robert Gottlieb, Professor, Urban & Environmental Policy Institute, Occidental College View Kamp PDF (25 pages, 1.3mb)

Smart Growth 101 This session is geared towards first-time attendees to the conference or for participants who are new to the practice of implementing smart growth solutions. The session will cover general topics, such as the ten principles of smart growth, the process of how land development typically occurs, and the basics of planning and zoning for smart growth. The goal of the session is to provide a good working background on smart growth and prepare participants for more in-depth sessions during the main conference.   Paul Zykofsky, AICP, Director, Transportation and Land Use Programs, Local Government Commission John Frece, Associate Director, National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education View Zykofsky PDF (170 pages, 14mb) View Frece PDF (66 pages, 2.6mb)

Preserving Workforce Housing through Civil Receivership & Rental Inspection Programs Local governments and community development organizations are searching for new tools and strategies to preserve and maintain an aging housing stock -- both as one of the few meaningful opportunities to provide affordable homes and to prevent these properties from becoming public nuisances. Through its national technical assistance program, the National Vacant Properties Campaign has identified two complementary strategies that assist communities in preserving and protecting aging housing stock: civil receivership and systematic rental inspection programs. Hear from experts about how these programs have successfully been led by government entities, nonprofits, and tenant organizations.   Moderator: Jennifer Leonard, National Vacant Properties Campaign Director, Smart Growth America Co-Moderator: Joseph Schilling, Professor in Practice, Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech Elissa Barrett, Esq., Bet Tzedek Legal Services & Tenant Rights Diane Silva-Martinez, Head Deputy City Attorney, Code Enforcement Unit, Office of the City Attorney, City of San Diego Mel Plummer, Chief Inspector, Los Angeles Housing Department View Leonard/Schilling PDF (5 pages, 0.2mb) View Barrett PDF (18 pages, 0.1mb) View Silva-Martinez PDF (35 pages, 0.6mb) View Plummer PDF (48 pages, 1.6mb)

Tales from the 25: Success Stories and Lessons Learned through Active Living by Design Many communities are discovering the importance of community design to public health and are forming multidisciplinary partnerships to build greater opportunities for routine physical activity and healthy eating into the fabric of their communities. Active Living by Design has supported community-based partnerships throughout the United States to promote physical activity and healthy eating by means of its "5P model of community change", and has learned a lot from these partnerships' experiences about pursuing health goals through a combination of policy and environmental change, public health programs and social marketing. Learn how active living initiatives are succeeding in a variety of contexts using a variety of strategies and what they've learned along the way. Explore what we need to build around urban design policies for citizens to adjust their travel behavior and other routines to fulfill the cultural promise of smart growth.   Rich Bell, Project Officer, Active Living by Design Leah M. Fraser, Ph.D., Director of Policy, Latino Health Access View Bell PDF (32 pages, 2.5mb) View Fraser PDF (30 pages, 2.0mb)

The Tax Toolbox: Financing Mechanisms for Encouraging Smart Growth Ever feel overwhelmed by the financing options that make smart growth happen? What will be the most effective? Which will provide the most return on investment? What steps can I take to ensure that the tools that I use can encourage smart growth? This session will explore some of the most common, but at times, misused and misunderstood resources from the tax toolbox. Hear from national experts who can break down Tax Increment Financing, New Markets Tax Credits, and the Local Income Housing Tax Credits and show how they can be most effectively applied.   Moderator: Kevin Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. EPA Toby Rittner, EDFP, Executive Director, Council of Development Finance Agencies Abby Sigal, Vice President of Syndication, Acquisitions, Western Region, Tax Credit Syndication, Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. Robert Poznanski, Director, New Markets Initiative, Local Initiatives Support Corporation View Rittner PDF (30 pages, 0.2mb) View Sigal PDF (20 pages, 0.2mb) View Poznanski PDF (15 pages, 0.1mb)

Thinking Outside the Grid There are multiple advantages to streets built in a grid pattern. However, research suggests that this might not be the best way to encourage and support walking and biking. This panel will look at the theory, research and practice of an alternative to the grid -- the Garden City pattern of development.   Moderator: David Crossley, President, Gulf Coast Institute Susan Handy, Associate Professor, ESP, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis Bill Emlen, City Manager, City of Davis, CA View Crossley PDF (68 pages, 10mb) View Handy PDF (54 pages, 3.0mb) View Emlen PDF (50 pages, 2.5mb)

Planning for Excellence: The 2006 Transportation Planning Excellence Awards As communities across the United States grapple with growth and development, metropolitan planning organizations are learning to effectively use unique and innovative planning and implementation tools to integrate transportation and land use at the local and regional level. Join us in hearing how award-wining communities have used these tools to bring consensus through "cooperatively addressing growth, transportation and environmental quality planning." From voluntary urban growth boundaries, intergovernmental agreements to implementation, and comprehensive multi-modal corridor visions to consensus building through branding, photo-realistic renderings and video documentation, there is something in this session for everyone.   Moderator: Effie Stallsmith, Community Planner, Office of Systems Planning, Federal Transit Administration Robert Ritter, Team Leader, Office of Planning, Federal Highway Administration Jeffrey Lambert, Owner, Lambert Consulting; Boardmember, American Planning Association Supervisor Steve Kinsey, Marin County, California Thomas Thomson, PE, AICP, Executive Director, Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission Larry Mugler, AICP, Planning Services Manager, Denver Regional Council of Governments View Ritter PDF (6 pages, 0.1mb) View Kinsey PDF (40 pages, 2.0mb) View Thomson PDF (40 pages, 2.3mb) View Mugler PDF (42 pages, 3.0mb)

Technical Assistance: How to Help Communities and States Get to Smart Growth This session will host a panel discussing best practices from the first two years of the US EPA and EPA-NOAA Smart Growth Implementation Assistance programs. Panelists will present case studies from some recipient locations, steps communities are taking toward implementation, and lessons learned. The session will also host a discussion of practices transferable to other localities and how to create a state or regional technical assistance program. Representatives from some of the recipient communities will be available for peer discussions. Communities interested in applying for technical assistance or agencies and programs interested in creating new technical assistance programs are encouraged to attend.   Facilitator: Ilana Preuss, Senior Policy Analyst, U. S. EPA Will Schroeer, Vice President, ICF International Dena Belzer, Principal, Strategic Economics Jim Charlier, President, Charlier Associates, Inc. Reid Ewing, Research Professor, National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, University of Maryland Mary Madden, Principal, Ferrell Madden Associates Tim Van Meter, Architect/Partner, Van Meter Williams Pollack View Preuss/Schroeer PDF (29 pages, 3.0mb) View Belzer PDF (19 pages, 2.5mb) View Charlier PDF (87 pages, 6.2mb) View Van Meter PDF (52 pages, 5.5mb)

Acquiring Land to Curb Sprawl Many urban areas are dealing with vacant and abandoned properties while at the same time experiencing booming land prices. Beyond using eminent domain or tax liens, most cities do not have the capacity to acquire property and hold it for redevelopment at the right time. Learn how entrepreneurial nonprofits are working with financial institutions and foundations to create long-term acquisitions funds that help reclaim vacant, abandoned or underutilized land in urban areas. These funds allow nonprofits to build new affordable homes where existing infrastructure is in place as well as retain needed green space. This session also will examine how groups with different agendas (i.e. conservation, open space, development) can work together to build mutually beneficial acquisition funds. These funds can take the pressure off of cash-strapped municipalities that need development to boost their economies and still create livable, sustainable communities.   Moderator: Noreen Beatley, Sustainable Communities Advocate, Innovative Consulting Lori Chatman, Vice President, Chief Credit Officer, Enterprise Community Loan Fund Anthony Flint, Public Affairs Manager, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy View Beatley PDF (11 pages, 0.3mb) View Chatman PDF (11 pages, 0.3mb) View Flint PDF (13 pages, 0.7mb)

Smart Schools and Smart Growth This session will focus on the importance of coalition-building and linking concerns between smart growth advocates and education equity and reform advocates. Cutting-edge collaborations across the country are working to break through the longtime intractable problems that held back both schools and the communities in which they serve. At the national level, the Smart Schools Initiative of Smart Growth America has been developing common ground between the movements for smart growth and quality public education, and encouraging grassroots reform efforts. Some citizens are mobilizing at the state level to lessen local reliance on property taxes to promote education equity and reduce sprawl. Others are working to repeal state minimum acreage requirements that have fueled "school sprawl." Still others are promoting smaller, neighborhood-based schools that can better serve as centers of community. The session will hear about such efforts, and will include a focus on the path-breaking work of New Schools, Better Neighborhoods, which has rallied support in the state of California for smarter, more community-based school facilities.   Moderator: Jonathan Weiss, Senior Counsel, SRS Technologies David Abel, Chairman and Founder, New Schools Better Neighborhoods Robert Garcia, Executive Director, The City Project View Abel PDF (19 pages, 0.7mb) View Garcia PDF (18 pages, 2.3mb)

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) SAFETEA-LU authorizes the Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 5-year period 2005-2009. In SAFETEA-LU, metropolitan and statewide transportation planning processes are continued; however, a number of changes have been made in the planning processes for surface transportation; some of these changes add flexibility and efficiency, while others add new consultation and environmental planning requirements. This session will explore the opportunities and requirements for incorporating land use, environmental stewardship and mitigation, public participation and community values in the transportation planning and project development processes.   Moderator: Robert Ritter, Team Leader, Office of Planning, Federal Highway Administration Effie Stallsmith, Community Planner, Office of Systems Planning, Federal Transit Administration Shari Schaftlein, Team Leader, Office of Project Development & Environmental Review, Federal Highway Administration View Ritter PDF (25 pages, 0.6mb) View Stallsmith PDF (17 pages, 0.1mb) View Schaftlein PDF (27 pages, 1.2mb)

Gentrification in the Name of Smart Growth: Lessons and Strategies for Maintaining Diversity Smart Growth strives to reduce the need for the automobile and encourage neighborhoods that encompass opportunities for live, work, and play. In Los Angeles, as commutes grow longer, restrictions impede higher densities, and land costs in desirable and moderate neighborhoods skyrocket, developers have increasingly been looking to historically low-income neighborhoods as places to provide workforce housing affordable to the middle class. Although not at the high end of the market, these new homes are more expensive than the existing stock and, thus, some level of gentrification ensues. In doing so, low income residents of those neighborhoods are being pushed further out in to the fringe to make way for housing that is affordable to the workforce, but not necessarily for low-income households. As a result, with little available income to spend on transportation and housing, the low-income households find themselves with even fewer choices than before as they are pushed further out and/or to areas underserved by transit. The session will include a panel discussion representing various viewpoints on the pitfalls of and solutions for displacement as a result of enacting Smart Growth principles.   Moderator: Howard Kozloff, Development Manager, The Martin Group Victor Rubin, Director of Research, PolicyLink Mary Wright, AICP, Program Manager, Planning Department, City of San Diego, California Michael Woo, Planning Commissioner, City of Los Angeles, CA View Rubin PDF (19 pages, 0.3mb) View Wright PDF (26 pages, 1.4mb)

Implementing the Next Generation of Smart Growth and Farmland Protection The challenge to achieve smart growth faced by urbanizing agricultural counties has resulted in a new generation of strategies for farmland protection. Participants in the session will explore the key elements and approaches communities can use to successfully link smart growth and planning for agriculture. Panelists who spearheaded nationally recognized projects in California, Pennsylvania and Maryland will highlight: utilizing urban lands as efficiently as possible while protecting strategic farmland; recognizing the importance of agriculture to both the local economy and environment; and the need to elevate decisions that effect agriculture to the same level as decisions about the built environment.   Moderator: John Miller, Project Manager, Technical Assistance Services, American Farmland Trust Mike Nelson, Executive Officer, San Diego River Conservancy Stephen Hammond, Principal, Director of Planning, Wallace, Roberts and Todd LLC View Miller PDF (14 pages, 0.3mb) View Hammond PDF (61 pages, 5.2mb)

Making Rating Systems Work The session will begin with a brief overview of rating systems from around the nation, describing what the programs were designed to do, how they are measuring their success, and what spin-off benefits and pitfalls they've encountered. We will then introduce the LEED-ND rating system (which will be in its Pilot stage by the date of this session), what it is designed to promote, and its intended audience. After that introduction, we will call a civic organization that has successfully deployed scorecards, endorsement programs or rating systems to discuss a specific project and how it fares under their own rating system vs. LEED-ND. The point of this case study will be to draw out the relative advantages of each system. Panelists from Section One will be invited to comment, and then this session will end with a round of detailed discussion, in which the audience will be invited to raise questions, concerns and ideas for the integration of LEED-ND with any existing local programs. This part of the session will be geared towards those implementing or developing systems of their own and advocates considering adopting the LEED-ND criteria in lieu of developing their own.   Moderator: Jessica Millman, Maryland Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth Janet Milkman, President & CEO, 1000 Friends of Pennsylvania Tom Steinbach, Executive Director, Greenbelt Alliance Kaid Benfield, Co-chair, LEED-ND Core Committee, Director, Smart Growth Program, Natural Resources Defense Council View Milkman PDF (17 pages, 0.8mb) View Steinbach PDF (21 pages, 5.8mb) View Benfield PDF (27 pages, 0.6mb)

It's Easy Being Green.... and Healthier Too! Smart growth looks at where we build and attempts to curb the sprawl that's become prevalent across the U.S. But to really grow smartly we need to look at not just where we grow, but how we grow. The built environment plays a major impact on our environment - the building sector consumers 40 percent of all the world's energy and material resources. Buildings in the U.S. are responsible for more CO2 emissions than any other country in the world except China. Building "green" maximizes building performance while minimizing environmental impacts. Moreover, the benefits of green building accrue across the community. Learn how to increase the performance of the buildings in your neighborhood - schools, healthcare facilities, homes, etc., to ensure Smart Growth holistically across your community. Hear how high performance buildings not only curtail energy usage and save precious resources, but also improve our health and productivity. Children living and studying in green buildings get sick less and perform better in school. Green hospitals increase recovery periods. Green retail sells more products. This session will examine how creating high performance building throughout our communities takes smart growth one level higher. Speakers will come from the across a wide variety of sectors -- from healthcare to education to housing.   Moderator: Noreen Beatley, Sustainable Communities Advocate, Innovative Consulting Kollin Min, Senior Program Director, Enterprise Community Partners Reid Ewing, Ph.D., Research Professor, National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland Todd Jersey, Owner, Todd Jersey Architects View Min PDF (11 pages, 0.3mb) View Ewing PDF (28 pages, 1.2mb) View Jersey PDF (80 pages, 3.1mb)

Getting Developers On Board Transit-Oriented Development The market for TOD products has now been well established, a few hundred TOD projects have been built in recent years, and more and more developers understand that TOD can out perform traditional real estate products. Local governments advocate TOD, yet getting development approval for TOD projects remains highly problematic in most communities. Learn from developers what they need to develop TOD on your site and in your community.   Facilitator: GB Arrington, Principal Practice Leader, PB PlaceMaking Tony M. Salazar, President, McCormack Baron Salazar Katherine Perez, Vice President of Development, Forest City Development Dan Rosenfeld, Principal, Urban Partners LLC Mark Farrar, Principal, Millennium Partners No Presentations available from this event.

Complete Streets: Innovations for Planning and Policies Officials and planners are discovering street design as an effective route towards healthier, sustainable communities. By asking if planned and existing streets are complete for all users they are getting at the root of much more evasive issues such as economic growth, optimizing mixed-use and accessibility for all residents and visitors. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit users of all ages and abilities enjoy traveling along and across complete streets. Complete streets policies require that all of these users are accommodated in all transportation projects. Come learn from others and share your experiences in this interactive workshop that will give you the tools you need to complete the streets for your communities.   Moderator: David Goldberg, Communications Director, Smart Growth America Barbara McCann, Principal, McCann Consulting Sue Knaup, Executive Director, Thunderhead Alliance Mike Davis, Design Section Manager, Charlotte Department of Transportation View McCann PDF (42 pages, 1.5mb) View Davis PDF (35 pages, 2.0mb)

Growing Smarter Workplaces The influence of smart growth principles on the design of neighborhoods, streets and town centers is indisputable. Major planning and visioning efforts have also embraced smart growth, and illustrated how the principles might play out at the regional scale. But largely left out of this progress is a dominant shaper of the sprawl landscape -- the business park. This session will report on efforts and achievements at transforming business park environments, while also inviting participants to explore the meaning of growing smarter workplaces, from the perspectives of experts in economics, urban design, and transportation.   Ellen Greenberg, AICP, Principal, Freedman, Tung and Bottomley Dena Belzer, Principal, Strategic Economics View Greenberg/Belzer PDF (127 pages, 5.4mb)

Safe Routes to School: The Key to Walkable Communities Walking and bicycling to school is about as American as mom and apple pie. Creating a Safe Routes to School program offers you an opportunity to partner with many different constituencies to create a more walkable and bikeable community with political ease. Learn how to start a Safe Routes to School program in your community from the national experts. Learn more about the 5 E's, engineering, encouragement, education, enforcement, and evaluation. Find out about the $612 million SAFETEA-LU federal funding program and how you can make the program work in your state. Learn the specific engineering tools that apply to Safe Routes to Schools.   Facilitator: Wendi Kallins, Founder & Program Director, national model Safe Routes to Schools program in Marin County, California Tim Torma, Policy Analyst, U.S. EPA Paul Zykofsky, AICP, Director, Land Use and Transportation Programs, Local Government Commission Deb Hubsmith, Coordinator, Safe Routes to School National Partnership Diane Wigle, Chief, Safety Countermeasures Division, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration View Kallins PDF (66 pages, 2.7mb) View Torma PDF (22 pages, 1.2mb) View Zykofsky PDF (84 pages, 6.4mb) View Hubsmith PDF (18 pages, 0.4mb) View Wigle PDF (34 pages, 1.4mb) View Traffic Safety Game Show PDF (25 pages, 0.2mb)

What's DAT? The Design Assistance Programs of the AIA Architects and other design professionals play a unique role in leading sustainable change for community growth. The AIA's Center for Communities by Design provides design assistance through several design assistance programs--the AIA has provided these services for 40 years. This workshop explains the Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) model through an interactive charrette format. Participants will learn about charrettes, community engagement, and design assistance in general as well as the SDAT and Regional and Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) programs in particular. They will review a sustainable design checklist, and participate in a simulated community design assessment charrette based on the three E's: environment, energy and equality.   Facilitator: Ann Livingston, Esq., Director, Center for Communities by Design, The American Institute of Architects Robert G. Shibley, AIA, AICP, Director, The Urban Design Project; Professor of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo Grace Perdomo, Assoc. AIA, Wallace + Perdomo, Inc. Erica Gees, AIA, Associate, Kuhn Riddle Architects View AIA-I PDF (14 pages, 0.1mb)

Developing a SmartCode for Your Community The SmartCode is a comprehensive form-based zoning and planning approach that incorporates Smart Growth and New Urbanism principles to help organize the human habitat. It is based on the idea of the Transect, which defines a continuum of urbanized conditions ranging from the permanently rural and undeveloped, to the dense, intensely urbanized city centers. Developed over the past decade by Andres Duany of DPZ, with input from professionals around the country, the SmartCode is receiving increasing attention nationwide. It has been particularly well received in many Mississippi gulf coast communities looking to rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In this session, Andrés Duany will present an overview of the SmartCode and highlight ways in which it can be successfully applied to communities across the nation. This session will be particularly applicable to those professionals and public sector officials who have some preliminary knowledge of the SmartCode and are interested in learning how to successfully implement it in their communities.   Robert Alminana, LEED AP, CNU, Director of Town Planning, HDR Inc. Andrés Duany, FAIA, Principal, DPZ View Duany PDF (22 pages, 7.9mb)

Conference Welcome & Acknowledgements 6:30-7:00pm Vice Mayor Jake Mackenzie, City of Rohnert Park, California; LGC Board Member Supervisor Kathy Long, Ventura County, California; LGC Board Chair Charles Kent, Director, Office of Business and Community Innovation, U.S. EPA No Presentations available from this event.

Realizing the New Urban Form in Los Angeles and Beyond 7:00-7:15pm California has always been for dreamers, and Los Angeles is the city making those dreams a reality. Over the past two years, issues about growth and quality of life have risen to the top of the Mayoral agenda, with cornerstone themes of increasing the supply of affordable housing, providing transportation choices and creating vibrant mixed-use urban neighborhoods that inform a smart planning policy. Michael Woo, one of Mayor Villaraigosa's appointees to the City Planning Commission and the first trained urban planner elected to the L.A. City Council, will discuss how the evolution of the city into a dense yet sustainable metropolis will provide opportunities of affordable housing and good jobs for its residents. Investment in core services such as housing, parks and transportation help stabilize and grow neighborhoods but also sets forth an agenda for community vitality consistent with those who dream of economic and environmental prosperity.   Michael Woo, City Planning Commissioner, City of Los Angeles, California No Presentations available from this event.

The Next Chapter for Smart Growth: Capacity Building to Institutionalization 7:15-8:45pm Ten years ago, smart growth was a burgeoning concept -- one that had gained footing in a few progressive places throughout the country. These days, smart growth plays an important role in communities across the nation. This plenary will focus on how the smart growth movement has evolved from the first seeds of the movement to its current iteration of implemented principles and policies adopted by many communities. Speakers from diverse professions will assess threats and opportunities, and offer action items for implementers who seek to move smart growth from cutting edge to business-as-usual.   Judy Corbett, Executive Director, Local Government Commission Harriet Tregoning, Director, Office of Planning, City of Washington, DC Panelists: Will Fleissig, Director for Development, Urban Villages Ed Thompson, Jr., California State Director and Senior Associate, American Farmland Trust Doug Farr, Founding Prinicpal, Farr Associates Celeste Cantu, General Manager, Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority; Former California State Water Boards Director Loel Solomon, PhD, National Director, Community Health Initiatives and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Cielo Castro, Deputy Director of Constituency Services, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Stefanos Polyzoides, Principal, Moule Polyzoides -- Urbanists and Architects No Presentations available from this event.

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Morning Welcome 8:30-8:40am Vice Mayor Jake Mackenzie, City of Rohnert Park, California; LGC Board Member No Presentations available from this event.

Smart Growth: Growing Our Economy and Accelerating the Pace of Environmental Protection 8:40-9:15am For the last 10 years the EPA has played a leadership role on smart growth at the national level. But, ultimately EPA is a catalyst and resource; change comes about as a result of new directions in the states, local governments, and the business and non-profit sectors. Administrator Johnson will discuss how EPA is partnering with these sectors to support their efforts, the challenges and opportunities smart growth presents for the environmental community, and what it will take to reach the next level of environmental protection.   Introduction: Wayne Nastri, Regional Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 Steve Johnson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency No Presentations available from this event.

Ensuring Equitable and Healthy Communities 9:15-10:00am Smart Growth is about quality of life and the ability for all people to have access to decent livable communities. For some, this is inherent in their daily lives. For many others, especially those in the middle and lower classes, choices and options for safe and healthy living are few. This discussion will focus on strategies smart growth advocates employ to ensure greater access to opportunity, and provide safe, economically attainable, livable neighborhoods. In doing so, these communities are models of healthy lifestyles and practice. We will hear from Robert K. Ross, the President and CEO of The California Endowment who will expound on the Endowment's efforts to strengthen communities and provide opportunities for its residents.   Robert K. Ross, MD, President and CEO, The California Endowment No Presentations available from this event.

Community Benefits Agreements: A Development Tool to Ensure Jobs, Housing and Other Benefits for Your Community Pioneered by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, Community Benefits Agreements have now become a nationally recognized tool for promoting equity in urban redevelopment. CBAs are project-specific contracts between community coalitions and developers to provide for community benefits such as local hiring, affordable housing set-asides, living wages, open space, environmental amenities and/or space for services such as child care or health care. CBA projects embody smart growth standards such as density, transit access, and mixed use; they also address the increasingly salient issues of displacement and gentrification by enabling area residents to capture more value from redevelopment. This session will use a Los Angeles case study the Staples Center expansion to provide practical advice on how a CBA is structured and negotiated; it will also include lessons learned from how it has been implemented to date.   Moderator: Donald Cohen, Executive Director, Center on Policy Initiatives Madeline Janis-Aparicio, Executive Director, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza, Policy Director, Environmental Defense View Mendoza PDF (13 pages, 0.2mb)

Coming Out Strong and Getting it Right: 2006 Smart Growth In The States As smart growth priorities have ebbed and flowed in during the last decade, state smart growth policies, messages, and players have evolved to reflect pressing initiatives, public sentiment and political opportunity. 2006 has been a banner year! Join this panel for a look at hot policy issues and meet key players. Explore how local groups are getting the attention of state leaders; how governors are translating their interests into policies and action; and how these state actions are having a dramatic effect at the local level. Learn more about emerging issues at the state level and about strategies that are effecting long-term change on the ground.   Moderator: John Frece, Associate Director, National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education Missy Neff, Assistant Secretary of Natural Resources for Administration, Commonwealth of Virginia Nick Bollman, Senior Advisor, California Center for Regional Leadership Joanne Denworth, Senior Policy Manager, Governors Office of Policy, State of Pennsylvania View Denworth PDF (15 pages, 0.2mb)

Smart Growth Development in the West: What are the Water Implications? The Western US is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation; it also has some of the scarcest water resources. Accommodating growth while ensuring sufficient and reliable water is a critical challenge facing the region. This session will connect smart growth strategies to managing water supplies in the rapidly growing West. It will illustrate why smart growth development is less water resource intensive than conventional development patterns. Examples of communities in the West that are counting the water supply benefits of smart growth in their land use strategies will be highlighted. Strategies for implementation and overcoming barriers will be included.   Moderator: Martha Davis, Executive Manager of Policy Development Inland Empire Utilities Agency Susan Spegar, Special Project Manager, City of San Antonio, TX John Norris, Founding Principal, Norris Design Laura J. Huffman, Assistant City Manager, City of Austin, Texas View Spegar PDF (26 pages, 0.4mb) View Norris PDF (44 pages, 2.8mb) View Huffman PDF (10 pages, 0.9mb)

Latino New Urbanism As great numbers of Latino immigrants settle into large parts of Los Angeles, they bring a different use of urban space to an already existing built environment. Latino growth is occurring at a time when California is conflicted between several urban development models -- a choice between developing compact cities, preserving the environment or increasing urban sprawl and slums. This session will examine the impacts Latino urbanism has on the built form and discussed needed policies to address these issues.   Moderator: Councilmember Maribel de la Torre, City of San Fernando, California Brittanya Murillo, Fannie Mae - Enterprise Fellow, Los Angeles Housing Department James Rojas, Chair, Latino Urban Forum; Project Manager, Central Area Team, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority View de la Torre PDF (34 pages, 4.5mb) View Murillo PDF (12 pages, 0.3mb) View Rojas PDF (26 pages, 1.5mb)

Healthy Eating in the City: Improving Access to Fresh Foods and the Connection to Sustainable Food Systems This session will feature: 1) strategies that have either emerged or evolved since January 2006 in the service of increasing access to healthy foods and improving health in urban centers, 2) recent or current policy and programmatic efforts to support local sustainable agriculture work, and 3) a case illustration of how one community is working to both increase food access and support a local food system with multiple strategies. Speakers will focus on providing implementation strategies and current examples of how this work can be done in local communities.   Moderator: Raquel Luz Bournhonesque, MPH, Food Policy Council Program Manager, Community Food Security Coalition Andy Fisher, Executive Director, Community Food Security Coalition Leslie Mikkelsen, MPH, Managing Director, Prevention Institute Phil McGrath, Owner, McGrath Family Farms View Bournhonesque PDF (9 pages, 0.3mb) View Mikkelsen PDF (17 pages, 1.4mb)

From City to Suburb: Urbanity Embraced Downtown Vancouver may be the poster child for high-density urbanism, but now the suburbs want a piece of the action. The "D" word is no longer verboten in the single-family suburbs, as Mayors and Councils increasingly accept density and mixed-use -- so long as it gives their municipalities a sense of place, more housing choice and a guarantee of improved transit. Gordon Price once again tells the Vancouver story, but this time explores how the lessons learned are being adopted by suburban communities.   Gordon Price, Director, City Programs, Simon Fraser University View Price PDF (103 pages, 14mb)

The Challenges of Joint-Use School-Based Community Planning As many communities across the country struggle with the social and environmental consequences of suburban sprawl and unmanaged urban growth, a new trend in school design that addresses a range of community problems is emerging. Joint-use schools that create partnerships with other community resources including libraries, parks, health clinics, youth programs, and even farmer's markets. These partnerships can reverse the trend of sprawl, attract more people to live and raise families closer to the core of the city, and make efficient use of scarce materials and land. This session will explore some of the major challenges and opportunities facing joint-use school-based development and will look at several success stories and the lessons learned from these experiences.   Moderator: David Abel, Managing Director, New Schools Better Neighborhoods John R. Dale, AIA, LEED AP, Associate Principal, K-12 Schools Studio, Harry Ellis Devereaux Randall Lewis, Executive Vice President, Director of Marketing, Lewis Operating Corp. Gail Goldberg, Planning Director, City of Los Angeles, California View Abel PDF (78 pages, 6.3mb) View Dale PDF (38 pages, 4.4mb)

Turning 5,000 Acres into Smart Growth -- Can it be Done? Smart growth developments seem obvious as infill sites or even as 500-acre developments, but what happens in the wide open plains when 5,000-acre are available for a smart growth plan? Or a 25,000-acre site? What can we learn from successful smart growth developments of 200-500 acres? Come meet with people who are trying to make it happen and discuss lessons learned. This session will include presentations by the panelists and provide an opportunity for participants to brainstorm ideas for smart growth in large-scale developments.   Moderator: Carol Whiteside, Executive Director, Great Valley Center Dena Belzer, Principal, Strategic Economics Laurel Prevetti, Deputy Director, Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement, San Jose, California Jim Schulte, Vice President, Long Range Planning, Kennecott Land View Belzer PDF (20 pages, 1.5mb) View Prevetti PDF (15 pages, 1mb)

Everybody's Talking At Me: Communication, Negotiation, and Mediation Strategies for Managing Conflicts over Development Decisions Many land use policies and development decisions are fraught with conflict and controversy. Caught in the middle of a firestorm of irate residents and frustrated developers, local officials, civic leaders, and community groups often need help in how to strategically frame issues and define terms to avoid impasse and enhance understanding about the real versus perceived impacts of a development project or a change to the communities' comprehensive plan or zoning ordinance. This session will initially examine essential communication strategies for project managers, department heads, elected officials, and executive directors of nonprofit organizations. As former chief of staff for Los Angeles City Councilmember Ruth Galanter and former Executive Director of Heal the Bay, Adi Liberman has worked with government officials and community leaders on framing land use and environmental issues. He will explore strategies they can use to minimize miscommunications and enhance trust and credibility. For the second half of the session, Donna Silverberg, former director of Oregon's Office of Dispute Resolution will share her experience designing and facilitating multi-party, public policy consensus building processes along with specific mediation and negotiation techniques and skills.   Facilitator: Elizabeth Schilling, Principal, Urban Associates Adi Liberman, President, Adi Lieberman & Associates Donna Silverberg, Principal, DS Consulting View Schilling PDF (1 page, 0.1mb) View Liberman PDF (12 pages, 0.6mb) View Silverberg PDF (5 pages, 0.1mb)

Turning Bases into Great Places The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendations slated 25 military installations for closure around the nation. These communities now face the challenge of losing a major employer and, for many, an emotional center of the community. Smart growth approaches can help turn these challenges into long-lived assets to the entire community. Many of the lessons learned from converting former military bases into mixed-use communities are applicable to other large redevelopment projects as well. This session will explore some of the major challenges and opportunities facing communities with closing or closed bases and will look at two success stories and the lessons learned from their experiences.   Moderator: Megan Susman, Policy Analyst, U.S. EPA Kathi Riser, Vice President, The Corky McMillin Companies Robert "Bob" Santos, CEO and President, Lennar Homes, Heritage Fields Division View Susman PDF (27 pages, 3.3mb) View Santos PDF (57 pages, 3.6mb)

Livable Cities -- The Best Protection for Ag Land and Open Space Ventura County has urban growth boundaries to protect agricultural land and open space. Now, the City of Ventura is pursuing urban infill as the alternative to suburban sprawl. Hear the exciting and inspiring Ventura story from three national leaders in smart growth.   Moderator: Rick Cole, City Manager, City of Ventura, California Bill Fulton, President, Solimar Research; Councilmember, City of Ventura, California Supervisor Steve Bennett, Ventura County, California View Cole PDF (40 pages, 4.3mb) View Fulton PDF (12 pages, 0.3mb)

Doing the Deal: Mistakes and Missteps in the Market for TOD Cities across the country are working to be the next light-rail star as they build entire lines and systems seemingly overnight. But these same places are making tragic mistakes and missteps in preparing the market for TOD to sprout around each new rail station. Public agencies rarely see that they are intrinsic players in the success or failure of TOD along their rail lines. With current drops in the residential market, more TOD plans are at stake. This session features discussion about cities that are becoming the Good, the Bad and the Indifferent at doing the deal for TOD to succeed in the marketplace.   Ilana Preuss, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. EPA Katherine Perez, Vice President of Development, Forest City Development Dena Belzer, Principal, Strategic Economics View Preuss PDF (15 pages, 0.6mb) View Perez PDF (11 pages, 0.8mb) View Belzer PDF (18 pages, 1.5mb)

Eminent Domain: Getting Your Arms around the Mine Field of Land Use and Property Rights 2006 was a banner year for critical state eminent domain and takings legislation that is re-shaping local capacity to redevelop and build smart, compact communities of choice. With a flurry of action in over 30 states and several major initiatives currently in play, smart growth, local government, and community advocates are on the front line of land use regulation. Join this session and get the scoop on the current arena of action. Panelists who are in the thick of activity and will explain what is happening, implications for communities, learnings and challenges as they face challenges to come in 2007. Included will be a state-by-state handout of current legislation.   Moderator: Julia Seward, Director of State Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation David Goldberg, Communications Director, Smart Growth America Michael Snodgrass, Director Neighborhoods Now, Kansas City LISC Michael Goldberg, Partner, Action Media View Snodgrass PDF (15 pages, 0.5mb) View M. Goldberg PDF (25 pages, 0.3mb)

Planning, Designing, and Building for Health: Healthcare Facilities as a Source of Health Promotion This session will uncover key opportunities, responsibilities and challenges for the health sector in designing and building facilities that promote community health. Past and current strategies in designing healthcare facilities to be "healthy buildings" have focused on environmental sustainability and environmental health issues, such as the siting of buildings and the use of "green" materials. Given the current understanding about the impact of the built environment on health, designers, architects, and facilities executives can leverage their knowledge and successes in building "green" facilities to build or renovate healthcare facilities so that they also promote public health by encouraging physical activity. This includes strategies such as linking the campus to a bus or metro stop, creating welcoming stairwells and providing walking trails on campus to promote walking. Speakers from three different fields (public health, healthcare facilities, and design/architecture) will discuss the key responsibilities, opportunities and challenges in this work. Small group breakouts will give participants a chance to interact and brainstorm ways to address problems encountered in building healthcare facilities that promote health. This session is geared towards facilities executives, planners, public health professionals, and clinical champions interested in making healthcare facilities a source of prevention and wellness.   Moderator: Richard Jackson, MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health John Kouletsis, National Director of Strategy, Planning, and Design, Kaiser Permanente John Pangrazio, FAIA, FACHA Partner, NBBJ Architects Michael Hrast, Project Director, NFS Capital Projects Modesto View Jackson PDF (34 pages, 1.1mb) View Kouletsis PDF (18 pages, 0.5mb) View Pangrazio PDF (35 pages, 2.5mb) View Hrast PDF (12 pages, 0.4mb)

Partnerships for Building Crime-Resistant Communities Public safety is a critical factor in smart growth planning, given that crime and fear have such a pronounced impact on property values, the ability of children to walk to school, the success of businesses, prospects for new investment and the overall health of residents. Likewise, planners and community developers can greatly influence crime patterns as they shape the physical environment and the landscape of economic and social opportunities in a given place. This session will explore how law enforcement and planners/developers can integrate their strategies to transform troubled neighborhoods and prevent crime in the long run. Leaders in the Community Safety Initiative (CSI), a national program of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, will discuss how and why such police-developer alliances have worked; describe ways to overcome common barriers to collaboration, such as distrust, resource limitations and institutional differences; and share examples of police-developer collaboration around land-use and infrastructure decision-making, architectural design, and community programming that have helped to create safe and healthy neighborhoods across the country.   Moderator: Julia Ryan, Program Director, Community Safety Initiative, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Theresa Carr, Executive Director, American Indian Neighborhood Development Corporation Sharon Lubinski, Deputy Chief, Minneapolis Police Department View Ryan PDF (8 pages, 0.5mb)

Farms, Forests, Food, and Mobility: Policies that Promote Livability and Healthy Communities in Rural America Historically, rural America solved a generations-old transportation problem with a distinct land use and development pattern. Post WWII, the market, transportation technology, and advances in agriculture production all changed, altering the character of the rural landscape and the clear connection between the rural economy and the rural development pattern, especially in fast growing rural areas. Many rural communities across the country are meeting the challenge of how to grow while at the same time keeping their quality of life. Some communities have adopted smart growth strategies as a way to accommodate growth and maintain rural character. This panel will address various policy options related to rural land use, access to healthy food choices, transportation, conservation, public health, and the environment. The moderator will provide a short overview of smart growth in rural America. The panelists will discuss their current work on food access, rural transportation and land use, and the connection between conservation and land development patterns outside of public and private forests.   Moderator: Matt Dalbey, Policy Analyst, U.S. EPA Judith Bell, President, PolicyLink Dan Emerine, Livable Communities Team, International City and County Management Association Stephanie Bertaina, Open Space Conservation Specialist, U.S. Forest Service View Bell PDF (15 pages, 0.3mb) View Emerine PDF (30 pages, 1.4mb) View Bertaina PDF (16 pages, 1.2mb)

Developing and Implementing a Successful Form-Based Code Form-Based (or Design-Based) Codes have become a subject of enormous interest to municipalities and jurisdictions across the country, particularly those that are interested in redeveloping and revitalizing all or parts of their communities. Such codes tend to derive, in part, from urban design and architectural design guidelines that have been used, in the past, to supplement conventional use-based zoning with a set of criteria addressing the physical attributes of proposed development. Over time, the idea has arisen of combining the use-based zoning code and the form-based guidelines into a single set of legally defensible criteria for dictating elements of future development. Most codes include three critical elements - the design components, the structuring of the code itself, and the legal implementation. This session includes experts in each of these three categories to present a short overview of each respective category and then discuss the ways in which the three must work together to create a truly viable form-based code.   Moderator: Paul Zykofsky, AICP, Director, Land Use and Transportation Programs, Local Government Commission David Sargent, AIA, Principal; California Director of Planning, HDR, Inc. S. Mark White, JD, AICP, White and Smith, Planning and Law Group Alan Loomis, Principal Urban Designer, City of Glendale, California View Sargent PDF (117 pages, 13mb) View White PDF (29 pages, 1mb) View Loomis PDF (28 pages, 3.7mb)

Smart Growth and Social Equity: Lessons in Civic Engagement Ask an environmental advocate how they engage their constituency in policy and political action and their answer will be very different from how a low-income or community development advocate engages their constituency. We know that sprawl has significant negative social, economic, and environmental consequences for low-income and immigrant communities, yet we often lack these communities' voices and input in the Smart Growth discussion. This session will examine the type of outreach needed to engage low-income and immigrant communities in the planning discussion and development stages. Panelists will address how to turn conversations with city officials around to ensure that the entire community is engaged, how to work with local residents to help them understand why their input and advocacy matters, and how to ensure that the smart growth movement is also a social equity movement. The session will highlight two cases studies and include public outreach consultants that worked with the community as well as community residents that are part of the process.   Moderator: Will Cipes, Interim Executive Director, Transportation Land Use Collaborative of Southern California Monica Villalobos, Community Outreach Director, Transportation & Land Use Collaborative of Southern California Mayor Maria Davila, City of Southgate, California Ramon Trias, AICP, Principal, Trias and Associates Elise Rollins, Resident, Ft. Pierce, Florida View Cipes PDF (12 pages, 0.6mb) View Villalobos PDF (19 pages, 0.8mb) View Trias PDF (28 pages, 2.7mb)

Reclaiming Vacant Land and Abandoned Properties: Promoting Smart Growth, Improving Housing Affordability, and Revitalizing Communities Redeveloping blighted properties helps make our communities vibrant places once again and can provide the opportunity to produce much-needed affordable housing. By revitalizing vacant lots and abandoned buildings as part of a larger strategy, we can create desirable mixed-use and mixed-income neighborhoods close to transportation and job centers while simultaneously offering affordable opportunities to home buyers and renters. Such efforts also are a key ingredient in any smart growth strategy to stimulate more reasonable development patterns and revitalize core communities. Come hear from a panel of award-winning nonprofit community developers and their partners about how they teamed up to reclaim and redevelop vacant and abandoned properties, generating affordable homes for working families and stimulating reinvestment in their neighborhoods. Learn about the challenges these organizations faced, the strategies employed to overcome those challenges, and how these models of success might be replicated in other areas.   Moderator: Chris Morton, Director of Policy and Consulting, Fannie Mae Foundation Edith C. Martinez, Project Manager, New Economics for Women Beatriz O. Stotzer, Board President, New Economics for Women Loni Willey, Director of Finance & Operations, Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development Lynn Peterson, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development