http://www.smartgrowth.org A selection of published news articles, resources, and events relating to smart growth issues. en-us Copyright 2003 DevX http://backend.userland.com/rss Tues, 9 Mar 2010 17:10:00 EST webmaster@smartgrowth.org http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/article.asp?resource=4550 Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area today remains unaffordable to a large portion of the region’s workforce and the problem is expected to continue to grow with severe housing shortages by 2025, according to new research published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing. The severity of the problem threatens the region’s future economic viability and, unless serious policy changes are made, new home development will leave significant unmet demand, leaving thousands of working families ''priced out'' of affordable housing options. Tues, 9 Mar 2010 17:10:30 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7579 State officials in Maryland are launching a year-long effort to write a statewide growth plan with the intent of planning how Maryland can prevent sprawl while accommodating for an additional one million people over the next 20 years. According to this article in the Baltimore Sun, planners will be holding workshops throughout the state focusing on how to balance population and economic growth with environmental protection and quality of life. Tues, 9 Mar 2010 17:10:30 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7565 Nearly nine in ten (88 percent) Americans support the idea of using high-speed rail travel for long-distance travel within the United States, according to a survey conducted by America THINKS for the HNTB Corporation. ''The time has come for high-speed rail,'' said Peter Gertler, HNTB high-speed rail services chair. ''Stimulus money is seeding initial projects. It’ll be up to those of us in the industry – working in partnership with transportation agencies and elected officials – to keep up the momentum.'' Tues, 9 Mar 2010 17:10:30 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7575 To ensure the best management of water supplies across Dane County, its Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC) wants municipalities to work together on Future Urban District Area development plans. Without such plans, CARPC could withhold approval for extensions of water and sewer lines in the next 20 years, a requirement sharply criticized by builders. Tues, 9 Mar 2010 17:10:30 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7574 Having promoted wind-power technology as a source of renewable energy and jobs since 1998, Oregon has become the sixth nationwide in wind-energy production, with nearly 1,200 turbines on more than a dozen farms so far. Still, some of 23 planned projects face resistance because of views, noise and environmental impacts of the systems. Oregonians value green power, but also open vistas and wildlife habitat, said Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) Hermiston Office spokeswoman Sue Oliver, noting, ''We are about to have a clash of two things very important to the state.'' Tues, 9 Mar 2010 17:10:30 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7568 Adopted in 2007, Charlotte's Urban Street Design Guidelines won a 2009 U.S. EPA National Award for Smart Growth Achievement and may soon become rules. But in the meantime, Mayor Anthony Foxx advises flexibility toward developers who tell horror stories, though City Manager Curt hears only ''horror rhetoric.'' With the City Council looking to strengthen Charlotte's 32-year-old tree ordinance and make the street design guidelines enforceable too, reports Charlotte Observer writer Steve Harrison, some developers argue that overly rigid regulations could hurt the economy. They also note wider concerns about high housing prices. Tues, 9 Mar 2010 17:10:30 EST http://smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4543 Switching to a land value tax could results in a number of outcomes: including lower house prices, more improvements per acre of land, higher population density, more employment and higher wages, and less sprawl. Details and theory of land value tax are discussed in the new report Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation, published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Tues, 2 Mar 2010 17:10:30 EST http://smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4544 Based on a unique combination of capital markets and sustainability knowledge, Value Beyond Cost Savings provides those with money the methods and practices necessary to assess the value and risk of sustainable property investment, while providing those seeking money an insider's view on how capital providers value property and make investment decisions. Tues, 2 Mar 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4530 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed a Secretarial order establishing a new water sustainability strategy for the United States on February 22. Salazar showcased the Department of the Interior's WaterSMART Initiative at a press conference featuring a geospatial presentation on water supply and demand in the high-tech operations center at the Department's headquarters. The ''SMART'' in WaterSMART stands for ''Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow.'' The WaterSMART Secretarial Order has several parts, all of which are focused on improving water conservation and helping water and resource managers make wise decisions about water use. Tues, 2 Mar 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7565 Nearly nine in ten (88 percent) Americans support the idea of using high-speed rail travel for long-distance travel within the United States, according to a survey conducted by America THINKS for the HNTB Corporation. ''The time has come for high-speed rail,'' said Peter Gertler, HNTB high-speed rail services chair. ''Stimulus money is seeding initial projects. It'll be up to those of us in the industry – working in partnership with transportation agencies and elected officials – to keep up the momentum.'' In addition to the high level of support found for high-speed rail projects, more than four in five (83 percent) Americans agree that public transit and high-speed rail infrastructure should receive a larger share of federal funding than they do now. There was wide consensus that building additional highway capacity was not a realistic solution to solving the nation's long term transportation needs. Tues, 2 Mar 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7558 Calling himself ''a glass-half-full kind of guy,'' who sees expects success when others fear failure, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann feels in this recession and fiscal crunch that ''hope must begin with the economy'' and the city's planned 20-mile rail. ''There is no other shovel-ready project anywhere in this state that will create as many jobs, in as short a time, as rail,'' Mayor Hannemann said in his sixth State of the City address. ''Rail will create an average of 10,000 jobs a year. Once we get the go-ahead to begin construction, we'll be pumping $300 million into our local economy. And once we break ground, we believe 4,000 people will be put to work right away.'' Tues, 2 Mar 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7558 Despite the recent investment of TIGER grant funds to mass-transit projects across the nation, the City of Atlanta did not receive a grant to start building a streetcar down Peachtree Street. ''We worked very hard on this project, and we will continue to,'' said Luz Borrero, the city's deputy chief operating officer. "It was disappointing to learn that we did not get the grant, but at the same time, it is encouraging to see the commitment of our partners remaining intact." Atlanta will continue to pursue money for the streetcar line through other grant opportunities including another $600 million in federal grants that would soon become available. Tues, 02 Mar 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4530 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now accepting applications for the 2010 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. This competition is open to public- and private-sector entities that have successfully used smart growth principles to improve communities environmentally, socially, and economically. The application period is open from February 8, 2010 to April 5, 2010. Up to five awards will be given in the following categories: Programs, Policies, and Regulations; Smart Growth and Green Building; Civic Places; Rural Smart Growth; and Overall excellence. Tues, 23 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4541 The current housing crisis has played a major role in destabilizing the foundation of our nation's economy. During this crisis, many property owners have walked away from their homes, leaving many communities with a large number of abandoned properties, rising crime rates, and deteriorating neighborhoods. This new report, from the Northeast-Midwest Institute, brings together both local and federal policy perspectives on the current housing crisis and lays out clear and innovative strategies for how the federal government can assist these communities. Tues, 23 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/article.asp?resource=4538 The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with Michelle Obama's anti-childhood obesity campaign, has released a web-based map application to help show how factors such as store/restaurant proximity, food prices, food and nutrition assistance programs, and community characteristics influence food choices and diet quality. The Atlas allows users to map out 90 food environment factors including access to local grocery stores, expenditures at restaurants, food taxes, access to local food markets, and socio-economic characteristics. Tues, 23 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7553 Anchorage is considering ways it can reform its zoning code to make developers build more attractive buildings. Under the proposals currently being considered, blank, windowless walls would no longer be allowed to front a street, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Buildings would be required to provide a more architecturally pleasing façade with a street side entrance and to help enliven the street. New design standards will impose higher costs and prevent visionary architectural design. Tues, 23 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7547 Derided sometimes for its ''wide streets and narrow minds,'' Mesa may now reverse that perception by closing curb lanes of the six-lane, two-mile Southern Avenue stretch across the Fiesta District to slow down traffic and restore its full economic and civic significance. South of the avenue, relatively recent investments of hundred of millions of dollars have already benefited the district with a new children's hospital, new Mesa Community College building and Fiesta Mall improvements. In contrast, the avenue's north side suffers blight and shuttered storefronts, with the once-thriving Fiesta Village retail, dining and entertainment hub neglected and fenced-off after far-flung competitors began to pull away its customers in the mid-1990s. Tues, 23 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7540 Alarmed by the loss of Space Coast jobs, especially in construction, Brevard County countered last March with a two-year moratorium on transportation impact fees from projects granted permits before this March. But the slump continues and the commissioners have now moved to extend the permit deadline for another year. Though the county waived and returned $6 million in impact fees since March to spur construction, developers seek more help. ''I have queried many of my peers in the commercial and residential industry. And many of them fear they'll be out of business in the next year or two,'' said Home Builders and Contractors Association of Brevard CEO Franck Kaiser. ''We're just trying to hold on to what we have.'' Tues, 23 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7524 Communities nationwide may inscribe various local meanings to ''sustainability,'' said Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan at the 9th Annual New Partners Smart Growth Conference in Seattle, but their common question is how to ''meet the needs of today without compromising the futures of their children and grandchildren.'' Outlining HUD efforts to ''tie the quality and location of housing to broader opportunities such as access to good jobs, quality schools, and safe streets,'' and to reverse frequent perception of the federal government as ''a barrier to smart growth rather than a partner in smart growth,'' Secretary Donovan said it's no coincidence the sudden 2008 recession often hit hardest the neighborhoods farther away from transportation, good schools and economic possibilities. Tues, 9 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7525 The first administration to make smart growth a federal policy, President Obama entrusted its implementation to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which created an interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities last June and now work to inject some $667 million more into the economic foundation for a ''cleaner and greener'' America. Tues, 9 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7533 The Greater Lincoln Regional Innovation Grant Region, a 12-county area that is looking to partner on economic development, has released a draft report outlining how the area will seek regional cooperation in economic development. The report seeks to coordinate economic development among Lancaster, Saunders, Seward, Saline, York, Fillmore, Gage, Otoe, Johnson, Nemaha, Pawnee and Richardson counties, which collectively have 411,000 people and nearly 210,000 jobs. It is hoped that more regional cooperation would allow the area to better compete against Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, Wichita and Denver—all of which are part of regional partnerships. Tues, 9 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7523 Long felt a natural American right, free street and other public or private sector parking is being increasingly recognized as a subsidized market commodity that encourages driving instead of using transit or biking and walking. California legislators may abate this problem by limiting the commodity supply. Tues, 9 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7497 Slated to go into effect on March 4, tougher development runoff rules to protect streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay face a backlash from builders and some local officials who believe the rules are likely to induce sprawl rather than smart growth. Called for by the state's Stormwater Management Act of 2007, the rules require ''environmental site design'' for new development in order to minimize impervious surfaces and let soil and vegetation absorb most stormwater instead of collecting it in tanks for subsequent piping to local creeks. There are somewhat eased standards for redevelopment projects. Tues, 9 Feb 2010 17:10:00 EST http://smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4492 This lavishly illustrated, hardcover awards book from the Urban Land Institute profiles 48 top development projects throughout the world. Each project description includes photos, the development story, and project data. Each project is a winner or finalist for the prestigious ULI Awards for Excellence. The annual prize is based on financial viability, the resourceful use of land, design, relevance to contemporary issues, and sensitivity to the community and environment. Thurs, 21 Jan 2010 17:10:00 EST http://smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4491 The latest booklet in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development's series of ''100'' and ''200'' manuals is now available. These booklets explain the theory and best practices of transit-oriented development. The TOD 201 booklet Mixed-Income Housing Near Transit: Increasing Affordability With Location Efficiency discusses how providing for a mix of incomes in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods near transit improves the already considerable benefits of having mixed-income neighborhoods by significantly reducing transportation costs. Thurs, 21 Jan 2010 17:10:00 EST http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/article.asp?resource=4499 The LEED 2009 Reference Guide for Green Neighborhood Development is a user's manual that guides a LEED-ND project from registration to certification. This guide is specifically designed to provide the tools necessary for sustainable choices to be made by developers, planners, architects and others involved in the vertical and horizontal development of a neighborhood development project. The Reference Guide includes detailed information on the process for achieving LEED-ND certification, detailed credit and prerequisite information, resources, and standards for the LEED 2009 for Neighborhood Development Rating System. For each credit or prerequisite, the guide provides: intent, requirements, point values, environmental, economic and social issues, related credits, summary of referenced standards, credit implementation discussion, timeline, and team recommendations, calculation methods and formulas, documentation guidance, examples, exemplary performance options, regional variations, resources, and definitions. Thurs, 21 Jan 2010 17:10:00 EST